Adele

Adele is our 13+ year-old Miniature Poodle.  We don't know how old she really is and neither does our veterinarian, but she guesses around 13.

Adele came to us through my daughter, Hannah, who was staying with a friend all weekend who miraculously lives a half-mile down the road from the Humane Society.  Hannah and Maggie were riding four wheelers through a field and almost ran over this poor little dog with matted fur and full of stick-tights.

Side-note:  While I was writing this blog, I decided to Google "stick-tights" to see if I spelled the word correctly and found out that stick-tights have a few other names...

1.  Devil's Beggarticks                           
2.  Beggar's Lice
3.  Beggar Weed
4.  Burdocks
5.  Foxtails
6.  Hedge Parsley

I don't know about you, but the Devil's Beggarticks sounds like a rather harsh name for seeds from a plant!

Anyway, the girls brought the dog back to Maggie's house, gave her a bath, and tried to trim her matted fur.  They checked with the Humane Society to see if they were missing a dog and of course they said they weren't!!  They hung up signs and after a week Hannah begged me to bring the dog home because it was "having" to live in Maggie's garage.  Now, I don't know about you, but if I were a dumped dog and living in the fields and nearby woods, I'd think a garage was pretty cushy...but who am I?!

Nine years later, here we are, enjoying the lost or dumped dog.  She has brought much love and joy to our family over the years.  Back when we first brought her home she used to wear you out playing fetch with golf balls.  You were always the one quitting before she did!  She used to love taking long walks and she was the best shotgun rider during any car ride.  But, over the years, Adele has gotten cataracts and is now blind.  She can no longer play fetch or go on long walks and she doesn't realize she sits backward in the car seat pretending that she can really see!  She still gets around the house pretty good because we don't move furniture too often, but there are moments she gets turned around and bumps into something and it makes me feel bad...or we snicker so she can't hear us making fun of her!

Adele is quite spoiled and pampered but she has developed this annoying cough.  Sometimes that little "annoying" cough turns into a full-blown coughing spree anytime my son, Chet, brings over June and May, his Chihuahuas.  I've been on to her quirky behavior for some time now and decided that these coughing episodes are fake.  I think she is craving attention and jealous of May and June. 

Roll forward about three years:  I have recently learned from the vet after mentioning her peculiar behavior towards Chet's dogs that Adele has a  heart condition developing which normally happens in older dogs.  Boy!  Do I ever feel like a heel!   I learned from the vet that her airway collapses on occasion due to her age and she does the coughing to open up her airway.  The collapse is brought on by a change in temperature, nervousness or anxiety!  Did you catch that?  She gets anxious and nervous when May and June come over and here all this time I thought she was fake-coughing to gain all the attention and being drogmatic!!

Since she has been diagnosed with congenital heart failure I simply asked Hannah if she would call the vet and inquire about signs to look for when is it close to having to make a decision to put an older dog down.  Was the coughing hurting her, is she in pain, does the collapsing of the airway deprive her of too much oxygen, etc.  Little did I know that all Hannah heard in that conversation was "find out a time when we can put the dog down"!!  I received a phone call from Hannah later that day letting me know what time Adele was going to be put down.  I was beside myself.  I wasn't ready for this.  I didn't think Adele was to that point yet.  Gracie found out and told me I was being selfish and told Hannah she was a cold-hearted "snake"!  Hannah was now irritated because she had taken the time to call and make all the arrangements.   She even growled at me over the phone and told me she wasn't calling the vet back to cancel and I'd have to do it myself!  So, I called the vet and asked if I could change the euthanasia appointment to a bath and haircut appointment.  There was a pause and then the "sure, we'll get that switched for you."  The next morning, when I stopped by to drop Adele off to get her bath and haircut, I had to explain how this all went down.  The girls at the vet rolled with laughter after hearing how an inquiry turned into putting a dog down to simply getting a dog groomed!!  #doglife