Baby’s Tribute
We tried.
Ever since we adopted Baby, from a Labrador rescue on Nov. 12, 2022, she was sick. Supposedly, she was only 6 when we adopted her and had just weaned her latest batch of puppies. The backyard breeder that was using her to make money relinquished her to the rescue. Oh, that lady had de-barked her too.
This is why I really push for rescuing pets, not buying them—especially after this experience!
Baby was the absolute sweetest, most gentle, timid dog I have EVER met, and I have met a LOT of dogs over the past 13+ years photographing dogs and handcrafting pet portrait etchings.
Everyone that met her absolutely fell in love with her, especially when she was carrying around her stuffie—her ducky!
The whole time we had her, until January 13, 2025, she was sick, and I was caring for her. She came to us with a double ear infection that she was being treated for, and ever since then, we battled ear infections and tummy troubles.
About a year later, she was diagnosed with Cushing’s disease (a tumor on her adrenal making her cortisol levels wonky). It took a while to get that settled. She also had elbow dysplasia, which I literally tried SO MANY things to help, but nothing worked—until ironically right before she passed. Ugh. We had tried yet another pain med—and it worked! Oh, the irony.
In fact, the dysplasia masked her last issue, which appeared to be some type of autoimmune disease that just chewed up her paws, making them cracked, peeling, and raw. We thought she couldn’t walk due to the dysplasia, but it was the other issue.
Due to her Cushing’s Disease, she couldn’t really be treated with steroids to help her paws, so we were stuck, and she had already been through so much. I could tell she was suffering.
It wasn’t until I watched Dr. Mary’s video on the Lap of Love website, “How Do I Know It’s Time To Say Goodbye?” that I called Lap of Love—who had helped us a few times before, assisting our past pets cross over peacefully. I was going to have them do a telephone call to speak about hospice, but then realized after watching the video, we were past that point. Then I called them to come the next morning for euthanasia at home, but Baby started shaking. I took the stupid cone off and told her she wasn’t going to suffer anymore. I called our local vet who had seen her, and they said they could take her that evening. As soon as my husband got home and I filled him in, we took her over. I made SURE that we could stay with her to say goodbye.
Here is one of the very last photos I took of her. Of course, she was able to walk into the vet and even wagged her tail a bit, holding her ducky. UGH! I asked my husband if we were doing the right thing. He reminded me, “She is literally held together by chewing gum. Yes!”
Once inside the room, where they had a blanket laid out for her that Baby and I sat on, the vet came in and asked us what had been happening since we were last in a few days ago. Once I described everything, she agreed this was best. That gave me validation.
The techs came in and started an IV with a sedative before they brought the euthanasia med. I told them I wanted to proceed and not draw this out. I think I was held together by chewing gum too at this point! I pet her and told her what a good girl she was, how loved she was, and that she would not have to suffer again. I could feel her relax more and more into my arm and hand. Then the vet announced she was gone, and I got up and ran out the front door.
We had asked if her ducky could stay with her as that was her “therapy duck,” always with her. They said that is very commonly done by others.
Needless to say, she was attached to me—literally had to be touching me every day all the time. I would trip because she was always behind me, next to me, in front of me. My poor kitty boy, Stu, had to share. A lot. It wasn’t until we got home after saying goodbye that I realized how much she had NOT been my shadow lately as she couldn’t really walk.
I stayed in my pj’s the first couple of days and just allowed myself to cry as much as I needed. I snuggled my kitty boy and was so helped when my best friend shipped a little candle and statue. When I felt the worst, I’d light the candle and just let myself cry. I still light that in the morning and at night. It does help. I needed a tangible something.
It WAS nice that the vet hospital made her paw print, and I had also asked for a nose print that evening we said goodbye. They also gave us a little tiny bottle of her fur. But the candle gave me something to DO, an outlet.
Something else I started doing was sitting in the sun for just a few minutes at lunchtime on my balcony during my break from work. Stu enjoyed this as well.
I had written a very practical help guide on what helped me get through our last loss—our lab-shepherd mix rescue gal, Willow, and our cat two days later. I remembered one of the things I had listed there was making coffee just for the smell. (I’m a tea drinker.) That seemed to help as well.
I don’t think I’ll make her a paw print memorial like I had made of my other dog, as we never really got a good paw print from Baby since her paws were messed up. I think I’d like to have a special piece of jewelry with her ashes or fur in it since she was always right next to me. I feel that is most appropriate. Also, she LOVED to lay in the sun, so maybe something for our balcony.
One thing that truly struck me during this time was how all the love and care I have poured into comforting others grieving the loss of their pets through my handcrafted pet portrait etchings seemed to come back to us twofold. The messages, cards, and heartfelt texts from friends, family, and even clients just checking in to say “thinking of you” meant the world to me. I truly appreciated the love and support.
I will never ever forget our Baby girl and what a sweet, sweet heart she had.
Thank you to all her vets, pet insurance, and family and friends that helped me care for her! I literally had 52 claims I had sent to Embrace, our pet insurance, over those 2+ years. That’s one for every other week!
She will be missed by many. Thanks for loving her too!
