The Adventures of Laddie
April 20, 2006
My name is Laddie, and I'm a beautiful wheaten-colored Scottie. There are just loads of people who are worried about me and love me, so we're just going to put a few notes up about me every few days and some pictures to assure everyone that I'm doing fine.
My Mom, Loretta, is not feeling really well at the moment, and I've been in the North St. Paul Animal Hospital where they've been keeping a real good eye on me. My mom's family called my Aunt Jan last week and said that I needed to come back because Mom couldn't take care of me any longer. That sounds really sad and I'm keeping a stiff upper lip, but I do miss my Mom. Mom's friend, Michele, came and got me at the hospital and took me to her house for a couple of days. She is a really nice lady and brought Mom meals on wheels. I'd like to have my food sit still in front of me and not be on wheels, thank you. But anyway, Michele and her family are really, really nice. They felt I'd be better off with Aunt Jan since she knew me really well six years ago when I was her foster dog.
I think I remembered Aunt Jan, but she wasn't so sure. I do remember my buddy, Frasier, and I wagged my tail at him when I saw him. We both kind of smiled and sniffed. We're old farts now. I'm almost 13, and Frasier is almost 12. We both have birthdays in October, ten days apart. We used to run and play and had lots of fun. I remembered where the toys were and I made sure to check that out right away. I made sure I went into every room in the house and sniffed. Yep, I remember everything now.
I'm getting lots of attention and lots of ear, neck and chin rubs. We're just going to hang around here for a bit and get used to things. Aunt Jan said there's no hurry in me going anywhere and we want to see if perhaps my Mom doesn't get better in a while so I can go live with her again. My Mom and I were two peas in a pod. She was so sad after her Shammy, a Cairn, passed away. I went to her almost six years ago and have been a very happy boy. I made her happy, too, and that's what this rescue thing is all about.
Not much news here on this end. Kind of getting used to things here at Casa de Rescue. Aunt Jan and Aunt Michele had a long talk about me yesterday and the whole time, I was looking at Jan with those "FEED ME" eyes. In my defense, it WAS right around my dinner time!
I felt better today. I wasn't 100%, but I was trotting out in the yard and sniffing the grass. Rosie Fiona has a way of kicking up her heels after she does her business, and I was right in the line of fire. I got cleaned up when I came in the house.
Aunt Jan discovered that it takes me about 20 minutes to eat. I like the canned stuff on top of the dry stuff, but the dry stuff has to have just a bit of warm water beneath it. I scarf the canned stuff and then pick at the dry stuff trying to get some morsel of the wet stuff. I'm a messy eater. Then, I like to go clean my beard on a rug. This makes everyone smile. Last night when I did this, I got some belly rubs.
Jan talked to my Mom's daughter yesterday and they know that I'm here. They were going to tell Mom last night and we hope that she doesn't worry about me too much and concentrates on getting better. Jan said maybe we could go visit her if the people will let me in. That's pretty cool! Hope there aren't any cats there ...
The picture to the right is me (front and center, the furry one) with my Mom's daughter, Mom, and her granddaughter. They were so happy I joined my Mom on that day. It was a special day for all of us.
Love, Laddie
Hello - thank you to everyone for the nice emails and good wishes. I even have some holy people saying prayers for me! Thank you Michele for asking them to include me in their prayers. I say one for Mom every day and hope she is feeling better.
We went to the vet the other night and like the other vet's office said, I've got tumors on my liver. Dr. Harris looked at them with an ultrasound and said there were multiple ones and my liver is quite enlarged. I'm no spring chicken, and I know I'm not in good shape physically. Aunt Jan said I could stay with her and not go anywhere else. That's good because I really like Frasier, and Rosie and I are close, too. Maddie is just a mad woman, but she's nice to me too.
Last Sunday, the weather was grand! I played in the yard a bit and chased a ball. Our neighbor, Pat, came over to say hi to me and you know what? I remembered her! I wagged my tail and got all happy when she said my name and petted me!
Aunt Jan is getting some of
my worldly goods from Mom's daughter soon. I will feel good having
my own bed. Even though we have lots of beds here, I prefer the
cool tile.
I'm doing good. I
sleep a lot and I follow Jan around wherever she goes. She keeps
telling me she's glad I'm here.
Love, Laddie
Aunt Jan says she apologizes to everyone for not getting my updates here sooner. But, she's had a lot going on. Still, I am a high priority for her and there's been lots happening.
I got to go to a babysitter's house for two different times recently. The first was on May 4th when Aunt Jan had to go out of town to watch her daughter graduate from college. I had a great time at Elaine and Dave's house. I loved Lucy, their older Westie girl. We got along great and we hung out together. I liked being outside in their big yard and I liked the attention I got. I got to go here again about ten days later when Aunt Jan and her daughter went out of town to celebrate the graduation with a special trip. I had all my food, treats, blanket that Aunt Michele sent to me, and other things. We liked being together again with Lucy.
Aunt Jan says that I'm hanging in there, but I have had two other health problems pop up. My hind legs are not very stable any more. This could be due to several things, but I find it harder to do stairs, so I get carried.
I've also developed a bedsore on my right front leg around the knee area. I had been licking this since Aunt Jan returned from her trip, and then all of a sudden, it broke open and bled like crazy. I've got a bandage on it and am taking some antibiotics. We're hoping it will heal up, but the vet says I am pretty sick and it may not.
I'm getting lots of love and hugs. I love to have my chest, ears and neck rubbed and petted, and there's lots of that going on here. At this point, everyone is keeping me comfy and cool. I know that everyone loves me a lot and lots of prayers are being said for me. That's really cool, and I thank everyone a bunch.
Love, Laddie
Hello Friends,
I am not feeling very well these days, and my back legs are not working the way I would like them to. Stoic boy that I am, I am doing the best I can under the circumstances. My food has been a big motivator over the years, but there are days where I just don't feel like eating, or I eat a little and walk away.
Rosie Fiona loves that and she's been stalking my food dish, but Aunt Jan always takes it away.
I am sleeping a lot these days. We had a really hot weekend and I didn't care much for the heat. I got to lay on some cool tile and everyone kept me cool
and made sure I had water. I can really down the water!
Today Maddie played with one of my toys. I watched her and if you looked closely, you could see me smile at that goofy girl. She sure enjoys toys that squeak!
Love and hugs to all,
Laddie
Laddie gets his wings
This is Aunt Jan writing about Laddie today. Laddie's condition worsened considerably in the past ten days. His immune system was depleted and he could
not fight off infection or other things happening to his body. Whatever was going on with his spine was making it difficult to walk with his rear legs. His
cancer was causing more stress on his breathing and eating ability. Laddie was suffering and that is not what we wanted for this beautiful boy. As hard as
it was to let him go, I know that he is at peace and running free and eating all he would like to.
Laddie, as sick as he was today, nailed the sprinkler in the back yard this morning. Not thinking, I set the sprinkler out and Laddie was still outside. The
other dogs were inside. When I went back out to get Laddie, he was completely soaked. No doubt, he gave the sprinkler the "what for" one last time. I
have never seen a dog attack running water like Laddie did. A Scottie true to the end. Later this morning, he enjoyed a mid-morning snack of steak and
and cheddar cheese. He loved it and the other dogs sensed what was going on and stayed out of the kitchen. That was a first.
Laddie comfortably passed away this morning aided by a wonderful and compassionate veterinarian who came to our home. He was comforted with his
favorite blanket given to him by his Aunt Michele, someone who has been a wonderful gift to both Laddie, Loretta, and now to me. When I think of all
that Laddie gave me, I know that he put Michele in our lives for a reason. She's a wonderful lady with a heart of gold and full of good.
Rest well dear Laddie. We will never forget you. You will be with us whenever we see a dog playing in water. Love, Aunt Jan
Laddie Grant
10/10/93 - 6/2/06
