In Memory of Sidney-Spread the Word

[microchick]

Thank you @cassie. If you have dogs or cats in your life, spread the word to your vet when you see them.

It's out there and it's killing our pets!

 

[Sally PB]

Thank you for spreading much needed information. Sidney lives on forever in your hearts.

 

[cassie]

Unheard of diseases are always the worst. I did all sorts of research before buying my GSD and thought I was such a good new owner. I get my puppy home and noticed his eyes seemed to water a lot. I thought it was because of the dust in the air and ignored it, its always dusty here. Almost a year later I looked closer at his eyes and noticed his eyes were covered in a dark film. Rushed him to the vet. Turns out he had Pannus and I ignored it, letting it progress to near blindness. I felt horrible, and still do.

Nothing you did was bad, you gave Sidney a great life. Even up to the end she was loved. You're a good person and she knew that. Her spirit is still with you, alive in all her siblings and your hearts.

Unfortunately I know something about unheard of diseases. I once ended up with a terrible, virulent, and until then undiagnosed and unidentified viral infection in my dairy goats. I eventually lost my entire kid crop that year. Every single kid. I spent so much time at the UC Davis large animal veterinary school I knew every patient in the large animal barn. I was even asked if I wanted the disease named after me. I declined.

 

[microchick]

OMG @cassie that just totally sux!

We started to feel like we knew about half the staff at the small animal hospital at MIZZOU. Geeze, every time the phone rang we were talking to a different doctor that was laying out test plans and what they would have to do if Sid went to surgery.

They were all so nice and considerate to our feelings.

 

[HomesteaderWife]

Thank you for sharing about this issue, best wishes and thoughts from another Heeler family

 

[microchick]

Thank you for sharing about this issue, best wishes and thoughts from another Heeler family

Thank you Homesteader.

Aren't Heelers amazing dogs? Smart, stubborn, funny, infuriating, and that is there good points, LOL.

Yesterday, One of Sid's brothers, Diesel wanted to go for a run. He literally looked around the corner to see his brother standing in the doggy door half in and half out of the house, jumped against the inside door and slammed it in his face.

I guess he made it clear who he wanted NOT to go for a run with him!

So what do you have Reds or Blues?

 

[HomesteaderWife]

@microchick - I have a female "Red Heeler" (Australian Cattle Dog) that it going on 8 give or take now and showing her age, but loves to chase rats and look in the wrong tree for squirrels.

 

[microchick]

Our UPS delivery guy has a blue heeler that is 19 years old close to 20 and still going strong so 8 is a kid in ACD years.

We had a blue heeler, Dingo that we lost at the age of 10 to Degenerative Myelopathy. He was a character. Didn't know an enemy, everyone was his friend. He taught our two border collie mixes how to hunt rabbits.. Never a dog less deserving of such a horrible disease unless it was Sidney.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Oh. @microchick, such a sad story! Thank you for sharing. I will pass this on to my SIL, who has a pond in her yard. Your precious Sidney will not have died in vain, she will save lives! Blessings to you. ❤

 

[microchick]

Thank you so much for the kind words, Blue. It's been 5 weeks today since we lost our Sidney. We miss her terribly but her brothers and sissy have been tremendous comforts for us.

We also finished filling in the lagoon which we feel was the source of the infestation that made her sick and killed her. It still amazes us that something so benign as a 'swimming hole' could be so deadly and we will never know why she was infected with this horrible disease and so far her siblings are fine.

But we are glad they are.