We found a lump on the inside of Morgan's back leg by accident because it was hidden with all of her long, flowing hair. She ran to greet me me after work, as always, on March 31, 2000. She stopped running and lifted her back leg up but didn't cry or whimper. The vet confirmed the grim diagnosis the next day. On April 11, 2000 an oncologist encouraged us to amputate and do chemo because the blood work and x-rays were good.
We amputated on April 17th and she had two chemo treatments. The amputation and the treatments were a huge success. However, as fate would have it, Morgan had a stroke on June 12th and never had her third chemo treatment. The stroke affected her right side and both right legs were severely weakened and she could hardly stand or walk. Since Morgan only had one back leg, it meant little or no mobility. We made the heart wrenching decision to help her to the bridge on June 24, 2000.
The important part of all this is to say that Morgan never complained, never cried(except once when we moved her leg) and continued to enjoy the things in life that meant so much to her. She loved her food, her frosty paws, her snausages, her rides in the car, her bone and mostly Pat and me. She had lots of friends visit. Her closest and favorite visitors were her Aunt Lois, Aunt P J and Aunt Susan. They truly loved her and showered her with kisses everytime they visited her.
Morgan didn't let the pain or the amputation or the chemo stop her. She dealt with it and kept her positive outlook. The stroke, however, was a different story. Her dignity was in question because she couldn't be independent and couldn't even walk on her own any longer. The decision was extremely hard for us but we owed our girl this much. The least we could do was to help her maintain her dignity and leave this world for a better place. A place where she could be whole again and run happy and free as dogs are meant to do - she could do that while waiting for us at the Rainbow Bridge. She will always stay in our hearts and memories and we will miss her until we meet again...
Marie & Pat (Dotsy621@aol.com)
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