| Tequila |
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| relaxinshade
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Tequila - December 19, 1997 - January 28, 2010With deepest sorrow we announce that we had to make a sudden and stressful decision to assist Tequila to the Rainbow Bridge. One normal morning we discovered Tequila hiding and very upset, and upon a quick careful check we realized why and saw an awful sight. To keep it to minimal details, her left eyeball had ruptured and it appeared as if its contents was leaking out. We rushed her to the vet to find out she had what is called a "melting ulcer". It is very serious, can come on very suddenly, and deteriorate very quickly. The only solution in her case would have been to remove her eyeball immediately. That decision on its own wouldn't have been so bad, had she still had a good eyeball to fall back on, but she did not. There were also other circumstances in play, so after discussion with the vets at our clinic that had been caring for her since she was 7 weeks old, we had no option and decided that it was her time to leave us. It was not an easy choice to make. She was already on anti-inflamatories and pain medication for shoulder and spine issues. She could not jump on anything or climb stairs (up or down) any longer. She had cataracts in her right eye, as well as very poor vision in that eye resulting from an injury when she was younger in which her eye was dislocated from the socket when she got bumped into during play, so to remove this eyeball now would make her virtually instantly blind. Add in the fact that the Schnauzers had already started to harass her a bit due to her age and fragility, so that the vets felt she would likely become a target for them, much like the strong picking on the weak. She was a feisty little girl that took nothing off the schnauzers at all her whole life, in fact she had always been the boss at our house. So to put her in this weakened position could have made for a dangerous situation that she herself would have caused by her insecurity due to her blind state. She also would have gone through a lot of stress and pain with another surgery at her age, having had several already during her lifetime. With all the surrounding circumstances, we decided it was best for her to let her go. We snuggled her close and spoke softly to her, staying with her through the entire procedure until our vet told us she was gone. Tequila has given us a lifetime of memories. She's been there to help raise and give a good learning nip! to every Schnauzer that ever came through the house. She was a whopping 7 lbs but was clearly the queen bee of all of the dogs. She's had some great times, especially with Barry's mom, aka Grammy, who she would lay with all day if given the choice, until Grammy passed away a few years ago. Now we say they are together once again as Grammy was really one of her favorite people. She used to play so many fun games...she used to collect all her favorite toys around the house and pile them under the center area under the couch which was her domain, and we'd go to clean it out now and again and there'd be this little Tequila-sized hole surrounded by at least thirty of her favorite toys, most of which were squeakies. She could squeak a toy for hours on end and get such joy out of that. Christmas morning was always one of her favorite days of the year, she had come to know what it meant, that loads of new squeakies were just a moment of unwrapping away....and indeed she helped make it one of our favorite days also. She would play games with guests as well. One time when the cable man was over doing work, she ran off with one of his work gloves and we spent ages trying to find it. It was too funny, there she was just hiding under the bed laying on it, keeping it hidden all to herself. She was good at finding and then hiding her treasures, underwear and kleenex were never safe if they were within her reach. :) She was no innocent girl, though. She was a spitfire through and through, a true lady who was not afraid to say it like it was. Unlike the easygoing schnauzers who are all a joy to groom, Tequila was the only dog that we had professionally groomed on a regular basis, for her and our sanity. She has put the fear of doG in every Schnauzer from a young age, so that she left no doubt in their minds who was boss of THIS house! They knew early on she was small, but she was mighty... and she ruled the roost. But she loved to play. She loved her toys with a depth second to none, and she loved life with such exhuberance. She was so happy to go anywhere and loved almost everybody. She toughed through so many painful times, like when her other eye was dislocated from its socket during a play session outside when she got run into. Her eye was able to be surgically put back in, and she did recover, though with a damaged retina and limited vision in that eye. She'd been attacked by another dog when she was young, she was picked up by the ribcage and shaken, bruising her badly all over and leaving several puncture wounds in her ribs and abdomen, but with care and love, she endured. She had two lumps removed from her abdomen and back leg a couple of years ago that were thought to be cancerous tumours, but thankfully they were just cysts, and she toughed right through that as well. The only thing "little" about her was her size, she had more personality, more heart and soul and boundless courage than any dog we ever knew. We're all heartbroken at the devastating and sudden loss of this precious little girl.....she will never be forgotten, she'll live on inside all of us forever. RIP baby girl. Here are some photos of her life. |
