From: Chris 

Glenn,

Please forward my sympathies to your Art Director and his fmaily for the
loss of Stormy and my hopes that Spencer will recover fully.  I have two
dogs that I love dearly and can undrestand how hard it would be to lose
them.

Warmest Regards from a Fellow Dog Owner,

Chris


Glenn Meadows wrote:
> The following happened to our Art Director this weekend, and now last
> night...(At least it's a different thread than the typical politics
> discussions).
>
> Forwarded....2 emails....
>
> --------------------------------------------
>
> Hi Everyone,
>
> I won't be in the office today. I had to put Stormy to sleep this weekend
> while I was in Florence, AL... and after coming home last night (with just
> her ashes in a box) I realized I need some time to let the shock set in and
> get the healing process started. She was such a huge part of my life and
> everything in it so this is going to be a major adjustment without her. I
> loved her as though she were my child and that loss is not something I will
> be able to recover from easily. The poor little thing wasn't even a year old
> yet which makes it all the more shocking and unsettling.
>
>
> Basically her illness came on so suddenly and violently that in a matter of
> hours she was gone. Friday morning I noticed her mouth was bleeding and it
> looked like a chipped tooth or she bit something and it caused the
> bleeding... and heck, the dog chews on everything so that was a realistic
> assumption. I took her to Thomas' that morning and when I got there I
> pointed this out to him and he thought the very same thing because the blood
> was only on one side of her mouth. Well, that day she was still her normal,
> spunky, super-energetic, cheerful self. But at night when we brought her
> home she was acting very lethargic and the bleeding had gotten worse. She
> couldn't get comfortable in her bed so first thing in the morning we would
> take her to the vet. Well from 10pm to 3pm she took a drastic turn for the
> worse ... she started coughing up blood and her breathing was very
> difficult. We found an emergency vet and he met us at his clinic at 3am...
> by 4am we realized there was nothing we could do, the vet couldn't stop her
> bleeding.
>
> Looking back, I now know the doctor knew right away she had no chance, but
> for my sake he did everything in his power to try to save her. That was by
> far the most difficult few hours of my life witnessing my baby girl dying
> and in such a horrible way with gallons of blood spewing out her like it was
> a faucet . it was a living nightmare knowing I couldn't protect or help my
> little Stormy.
>
> The vet thought she must have a tumor that ruptured a blood vessel and
> filled her lungs with  blood - but the x-rays were so blurred by all the
> blood that he wasn't positive. After doing all we could, I had to make the
> decision to put her to sleep, although there was no decision to make at that
> point.
>
> The vet asked if I would like to have her cremated, and I thought this was a
> good idea. Thomas and I left there feeling so sick, heartbroken and
> confused. Apparently the vet was very unsettled by her condition as well, so
> later that morning he asked the guys to bring her body back to his clinic
> and took it upon himself to do an autopsy on her. I am so glad he did this
> because what he found was a weird bacteria strain that is similar to
> pneumonia which had completely taken over her lungs making them hemorrhage
> and turn into the consistency of liver. The little thing couldn't breath
> anymore because her lungs weren't allowing oxygen to get in and basically
> they were just mushy sacks of blood. The vet himself went out of his way to
> make sure he was the one who returned her ashes to me so he could explain
> all of this in an effort of reassuring me that there was nothing I could
> have done to prevent this, no warning signs I missed. She probably only had
> this for a day or two, but he said her case was so acute he couldn't believe
> she was alive at all that Friday. He said the only reason he can imagine is
> that she was so strong, so energetic and so full of life that she kept going
> until her little body gave out on her. Not that that helps any, but at least
> now I don't have all the guilt to add to how miserable I feel.
>
> This morning I noticed that my Lilly's came up and are blooming again (which
> is freakish,  because they bloom once a year in early spring and they
> already did that) So I guess that is where I will spread Stormy's ashes
> today. As Thomas reminded me, the Lord giveth and he taketh... I just can't
> figure out why in the world he would take my baby girl from me soo darn
> soon!?!?!?
>
> Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know this so I don't have to explain it
> when I come in, it's a bit difficult to discuss right now and I'm trying
> very hard to erase those horrific images of her last hours. She was a very,
> very special little girl and Spencer and I will miss her very much!!
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tracy
>
> -----------------------------------
>
> And this morning.....
>
> -----------------------------------
>
> hi,
>
> can you please let everyone know that I will not be at work today (thurs)
> and there is very little chance i will not be in on Friday either... I am so
> sorry for the inconvenience this is causing.
>
> However, as hopeful as I am trying to remain, there is a high probability
> that I will lose my Spencer dog too.  I took her to an Emergency clinic at
> 1am, they ran tests on her, but are beyond baffled by her condition.
> Basically for the time being we have to play the waiting game and hope she
> can hang in there. She is still at the emergency clinic (hopefully) resting,
> but scared beyond belief ... at 6:30am I need to get her and take her to her
> normal vet where they will be able to run more thorough tests in an effort
> to figure out what is causing the internal bleeding and then try to stop it.
>
> It may be too late... but please, please, please keep her in your
> prayers!!!!!!!!!!!
>
> She needs all the help she can get right now!!!!!!!!
>
> and i guess so do I.
>
> thanks,
>
> t
>
> ------------------------
>
> Tragic.
>

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