Friday, November 28, 2008

Trooper's Final Journey 2008


To all my animal friends,
Trooper crossed the rainbow bridge late summer 2008. Losing him has been such a difficult time for Kathy (his foster mom) & me. We know that saving him wasn't a mistake for he has brought so much unity with several rescue groups & animal lovers that never even knew each other before Trooper came into our life. Some new friends close by, a little further away & even out of state friends, our love for Trooper brought us together.
I apologize for not having the update sooner but it was difficult to talk about for the longest time, alot of tears & sadness. The joy that we do have is knowing that he was extremely loved for the months that he was in our care & he had the best life. His foster mom, Kathy, loved him very much & had planned on keeping him because he was so attached to her. She was devistated when she called me about his condition.

His final story: Trooper had the run of the house & even was left out with the other 2 dogs with out being crated when Kathy wasn't home. He was doing so good with the other dogs, he did have a crate that he liked going into but the door was left open so he could go in & out when he wanted.

A few days before Trooper took a turn for the worse, I received a call from Kathy saying that Trooper was acting really tired & was not eating well, he had a vet appt scheduled.

One evening, Kathy was gone for a little while & when she returned he was in the middle of the floor all spread out with vomit all over and he couldn't get up. Once he heard Kathy's voice & touch while she was cleaning him up, he was able to go lay in the crate. We talked on the phone off & on through all this ordeal. All of a sudden he started to vomit & lose his bowel as he was bumping into the back end of the crate. Kathy struggled to get him out & finally was able to get him in the floor on a clean blanket & clean him up again. She layed with him in the floor, held him, cried & prayed. His eyes never opened again from this point.

He once again all of a sudden jumped up again & started running into the cabinets while his eyes was still closed, he was dry heaving at this point, Kathy & I knew he had to get to an emergency room vet. It was about midnight, Kathy carry him to the car to take him to the ER vet.
By the time he arrived at the ER vet, he was in a coma. After the exam & tests, we were told that Trooper would probably remain in a coma, he was given pain meds to keep him comfortable, we did not want him to have any pain. The vet said that Trooper was never going to recoup from this & probably wasn't going to make it through the night.
The vet comfirmed that Trooper had suffered so much head trauma from the past (possible beatings in the head & severe bitings) that he had developed brain injuries & had been suffering from seizures. This is why he was running into stuff, he was loosing his vision & we had never known about it. This could be the reason that his precious eyes never looked healthy, the head wasn't well, even though the scars was healed. The vet said that Trooper had been through so much... It was about 2:30 am at this time & we made the decision to allow the vet to take his final breathe... Kathy said she wasn't going to leave him there by himself & risk the thought of him leaving this world alone without her by his side. Even though he couldn't open his eyes & was in coma, we know that he felt her by him.
Our hearts will never be the same without Trooper... Again I cry as I write this story, this all has been difficult but nothing compared to what Trooper went through before he came into our lives. My heart breaks at the thought of knowing what those sick people done to him to 'cause all of these horrible injuries.

Trooper loved Kathy & her family. God only knows how much Kathy loved him as well as I did. In his final months of life, Trooper not only knew love, he played ball, he would go swimming in the family pool (even when he was tired & still wanted to go Kathy put a life jacket on him), he always went for walks, he was a part of a loving family & he felt the gentle touch of kind hands.
Knowing he had this good life, even if it was a short time, brings a smile to my face & reminds me that saving him was one of the best things that we have done & I don't regret it for one moment. Even now when Kathy & I talk about him we choke up, we still cry & it's still hard to talk about him.

Trooper was special & he was brought into our life for a reason & he will never be forgotten, EVER!!! This has drove me to work harder to keep these animals safe, for Trooper before the next one becomes a victim. PLEASE remember that your continued support to our rescue will help to save others in Trooper's memory.....even if it's prayers!!
A special "THANK YOU" to all you who gave support in helping Trooper. Many sent in financial support to help pay for Trooper's high vet bills & we had alot of prayers & kind encouraging words.

Another very special "THANK YOU" to the ones that gave him loving care: Kathy (his foster mom), words could never thank you for the dedication & love that you gave to Trooper and Jill & Stephanie (helping with his care & giving love while critical at the vets).
As a team let's continue to make a difference.
Fondly,

Liz Bagley
President/Founder
Making A Difference Rescue

1 comment:

Joyce said...

Trooper you will be sadly missed. I'm glad you were able to experience love and the gentle touch of a hand.
You are now free from pain and running the heavenly fields.

Thank you Kathy and Liz for opening your hearts.