Our 12 year old Norwegian Elkhound, Mooksa, became very ill suddenly on the Friday before the New Year's celebrations. We've lost two other Norwegian Elkhounds at the age of 12 years so we were afraid she wouldn't recover from this. Her hips cause her terrible pain, and she can barely walk as it is. So this is not necessarily a bad thing if she passes on now. We're taking her to the vet on Monday, January 2nd, to see what he says. We don't want her to suffer unnecessarily if there's nothing to be done. We may be making a big decision on Monday.
I'm not sure she'll make it through the night. She's refusing to move from a "cave" out in the back. She's refused two rides which she loves to go on. She hasn't eaten, and will only drink water that Jay offers her. Jay goes out to check on her every 30 minutes. He just put a blanket on her because the temperature outside is dropping, and he put a light out there. Why does dying have to be so ugly?
Jay finally went to bed so I'm doing the night shift vigil. I just checked on Mooska (9:15 PM). She moved so I had to search the pitch black back yard to find her. I discovered her by the stone steps. I replaced the blanket on her and added another blanket. The wind is howling up here at our place so it's icy cold. I'm so afraid she's going to die cold.
Another check at 9:45 PM. No change. It's so cold outside. I don't want Mooska to die alone, but it's just too cold to stay outside with her for long. Jay must feel the same way. At 10:15 PM Jay got out of bed, dressed and headed outside. He came back in carrying Mooska. No easy task because she's almost literally dead weight. I'm glad she's in the house.
Wind gusts up to 55 miles per hour tonight in our part of La Grande. I'm so happy Jay carried Mooska into the house tonight. She hasn't moved from where Jay laid her in the living-room. It's midnight.
Mooska came into our bedroom at 2 AM, and lost the contents of her stomach. She's breathing really hard and seems listless. We cleaned up the mess and went to back to sleep.
At 8 AM, January 2, 2012, we took Mooska to Dr. Omann. She was running in doggie heaven just minutes later. We miss her already.
I'm very thankful we've always had two dogs at a time that were different ages. After we left Mooska's body at the vet for disposal we came home to Bandon waiting for us. This is the third Elkhound we've lost, but we've always had another one at home waiting for us. We are going to look for another Elkhound from a national Elkhound Rescue Organization.
Our first Elkhound "rescue" was an older dog by the name of Tiki. It was just before Christmas, and I was taking professional Santa photos at a mall. A woman came into the mall with Tiki, and asked if I would take a photo of the dog with Santa. This woman was providing a foster home for the elderly dog until a permanent home could be found. I couldn't believe my eyes because I thought we were the only people in the valley who owned a Norwegian Elkhound. I took Tiki's photo with Santa, and discovered what a sweet dog she was in spite of a rather traumatic history. I asked for the woman's phone number, and told her I'd be talking to my husband about the possibility of adopting this animal who had suffered abuse and neglect.
We both felt God wanted us to take Tiki into our family. Tiki lived with us just a few years, but she had a tremendous impact on our family. Tiki was a victim of abuse and neglect so she had many quirks, but that's what we loved about her. She was afraid of men, so she became MY dog, and wouldn't leave my side. Tiki LOVED, LOVED, LOVED car rides! We never went anywhere in the car without her. Because she'd gone hungry many times in previous years she'd often sneak food out of the lower cupboards, even flour or a can of Crisco. We got quite a laugh out of some of the things she put in backyard holes which she'd dug for a "rainy day". We were able to make her last couple of years happy ones so it was highly rewarding for us to make this remaining time happy. I'm expecting wonderful things to happen when God brings another Norwegian Elkhound into our lives to rescue!
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