Goodbye, Princess Suki

We will say good-bye to Champion Starquest Princess Suki tomorrow.  She is 14 years and 6 months old.  She has outlived her parents, all of her litter mates, half of her own puppies, and several grandpups and great-grand pups.  Jim reached the difficult decision to have her put down this morning; her vet appointment is at 3 tomorrow afternoon.  It's come to the point that her quality of life is not good.  She began to decline a little over a year ago.  Now she suffers from arthritis; her heart isn't pumping well, and all of her legs and feet are swollen; she lost her sight three weeks ago.  She can no longer step up or down, or go through the doggie door.  Her feet and legs have a tendency to spread-eagle on her without warning.  She cannot find her way out of a corner that she has walked into.  Anytime any of these things happen, she cries pitifully.  It's time to let her "cross the rainbow bridge" in peace and comfort.  She will be missed by her extended human family, and I have no idea what Boo will do without her Mom.  Boo had Suki have only been separated for short lengths of time - at the most, a week for a major dog show.  Luckily, Boo has Mona at the house to play and rough-house with.

My kits are outside in the sun.  I've already walked Rosie and Remy, and just as I was coming back into the apartment complex, the wind began to blow (again).  I'm glad I got the red kids out before the wind started up.  With his visits to the acupuncturist and the chiropractor, Remy seems to be doing very well.  I'm very happy about that.  Both dogs nearly knocked me down this morning when I appeared for their walk - they jump and dance and wiggle so much that I'm always afraid they'll slip on the hardwood floor and hurt themselves during the frenzy of our greetings.  The snow that fell yesterday morning was just enough to coat the ground and parked vehicles with what looked like a sprinkle of confectionery sugar; it melted within 2 hours.  The weather guys say that it will be sunny again tomorrow, but we'll get more snow Friday afternoon.  We'll see.  At least the mountain resorts are getting much-needed snow; some had sent half of their employees home by January 1.