A tribute to Ranger: Ranger’s Short, but Sweet, Life Let me start by reminding us how temporary all life is here on earth. We never know when the next day … or next moment … we will no longer have someone we love. And that applies to our beloved pets… and especially, for me, to Ranger. My point is that we should make the most of every day with everyone that is important to us and that we love! You have all been so wonderful to support Ranger in many different ways, and your words of encouragement have so blessed me. So now I would like to fill you in and tell you some about Ranger’s short, but very sweet, life. Ranger came to live with me in June. At that moment he walked into my heart, and I knew that I could not live without him! I also knew that from what I had heard about his background, I wanted to protect and care for him, give him the best life I could, and let him know that he was loved! This was my goal and what I set out to do. The fact that Ranger was blind only endeared him to me even more. I knew that was an obstacle we could overcome and that with time, he could function nearly as well as a seeing-dog. I had hopes and plans. I have two other dogs and a cat, and I knew he could learn from them and eventually be “one of the gang.” And to a degree, he did and was. He was very smart. He quickly learned the paths in my home, knew how to find his way to the food and water bowls, and how to find me in my office. It was gratifying to watch him as he learned to find his way and walk out the door with the others. He had a very sweet but determined spirit. After he had his eye removed, he had a very negative experience at the vet to have stitches out. I determined then that he would only go to the vet when absolutely necessary and never to that vet again. Because pain had been his world from the beginning, I wanted vets and pain to be a thing of the past for him. Unfortunately, he did have a couple more vet visits – one extremely traumatic when he went to the emergency room in terrible pain – and another traumatic one when he had to have blood taken prior to a scheduled MRI. After that, I was able to greatly limit his vet visits, particularly because the canine neurologist that he saw worked well with me through email, and for that I am so grateful. Previously, we had believed that his continuing chronic pain was because of his eye, but then learned that he had severe hydrocephalus, which was causing him, for lack of a better description, something like continuous migraines that at times absolutely overwhelmed him with pain. No one told us that in the beginning; we just thought he had a cute, big head that he would grow into. I just loved that little dome-shaped head! I thought he was beautiful! After we saw the neurologist, Ranger took several pills daily which immediately gave him a pain-free existence. I was so excited that we had found an “answer” for his pain, and the change for him was profound and wonderful! I found the best way to get them down him easily was to spread a thin layer of peanut butter on a cracker, stick the pills in the peanut butter, and he readily ate them with no problem. It made taking pills a treat. It was so funny to hear him chew because he was so animated and chomped loudly, so I got a good laugh twice a day. I, however, never equated “severe hydrocephalus” with such a short life. From the beginning, Ranger had a very sweet disposition, was affectionate and smart, adapted well socially with other animals and people, and began to learn to play. That never changed. Even though he was blind, he was very alert, even frisky and playful at times, with keen hearing perception and strived to obey. He had a very healthy appetite and always ate well – no food was off limits for him. All I had to say was, “Where’s my Range,” and those ears would stand straight up! I thoroughly enjoyed him; he provided me with much pleasure, even though he could not always react as a “normal” dog would. He was “normal” for Ranger, and that was enough! From the day he came to live with me, he rarely left my side at home, which is where I am most of the time, and was only left at home when he couldn’t be where I had to go. He slept with me every night and became a real snuggler. I will really miss that! Also, at first he would walk with me several houses up to visit my neighbor. He always followed right behind me, so closely that often he would step on my heels. He seemed to like the walk up the street. At home he had a very large yard to investigate and wander around and romp in, and he did those things. Yes, sometimes he bumped into things, but he learned to take it slowly, and he learned several voice commands to help him navigate, such as “go ‘round,” “watch out,” and “stop.” He listened for my voice or my footsteps and followed right behind. If for some reason he couldn’t find me in the yard, he would sit down and wait until he heard or sensed me. And then, when he heard my voice, his ears would perk up and he would come running. Once in a while I would put him in the yard with his “sister and brothers” and leave them alone outside for 10 minutes, although I could glance out the window and see them. Of course he would wander to somewhere behind a bush or behind logs or the shed where I couldn’t readily see him. But all I had to do was call his name and he would “bark” to let me know where he was so I could “find” him. At first he was afraid of water because he didn’t know what it was, and once he even ran through the sprinkler to get to me. Fear of water soon left him, and he learned to love his bath time, usually laying down in the tub. He even like me to squirt him with the hose when I watered my flowers. Because my cat is very dog-friendly, he was usually outside with us. Often he finds a spot and stretches out. Invariably, Ranger (who couldn’t see where he was going) would walk into or usually step on the cat, who would give him that “you have the entire yard and you step on me?” look. One of his favorite places was my patio swing. As I would swing and read or nap, Ranger was by my side also swinging and napping. He seemed to enjoy the movement and the outdoor environment. Since Ranger’s previous car experiences were to the vet and involved pain, I wanted him to have positive experiences in the car because my intent was to take him with me whenever I could. I made him a “riding box” that I strapped in with the seat belt so he could ride in the seat next to me. Several times I took him to McDonalds for a “happy meal,” again to provide him with a positive car experience. Because I spent a lot of time in my bedroom office, Ranger had his blanket next to my desk and that’s where he slept as I worked. His favorite treat – although I never found any food he didn’t like – was a Milkbone Dog Biscuit. At first he barked when I gave him one, then when he could no longer bark, he whined excitedly when I gave it to him and chomped it right up. He quickly learned on his own to bark when he needed to go outside, since he couldn’t always find the door. Then there came a time when he could no longer bark, so he whined to let me know. Then he no longer whined this last week, but he would vigorously wiggle when he had to go outside. Also, recently, sometimes when outside he began to walk in circles; then he would walk normally … back and forth. He so completely trusted me that when I put him in my lap, he would put his head on my chest and immediately close his eye and go to sleep – he seemed so contented, and he totally rested in my presence. And that is how we often sat. From experience I know that living with someone in declining health makes it hard to see the little changes along the way, so although I was aware that things were changing with Ranger’s health, I did find that the final drastic change took me by surprise. Now when I look back to three months ago when Ranger came to my house, I clearly see a much faster decline than I had realized while living with him. At first he was friskier and more playful, spent time wandering all over the house, and barked from time to time. As time progressed, he became less investigative in the yard and house, slept much more, and eventually ate less, although he did still love food! He had days when he was exceptionally frisky, but he also had days when he was unusually “in his own world,” and I came to accept that was Ranger’s normal and although I had been told that he wouldn’t live very long, I still thought and hoped I could have him for at least a year. I simply did not realize how rapidly he was declining. We lived all of these ways, and more, until this past weekend, and I think Ranger was able to experience a good life in that short period of time. Even on Thursday I watched him bounce around the back yard, and I was so encouraged. Then suddenly and without any warning, Ranger could not use his hind legs. They simply would not work. At about the same time, he could no longer think to bite and chew food – he could only drink, and even then he would drink a few laps and then put his mouth in the bowl as if he had to think about what to do. This first happened on Saturday evening, and on Sunday I emailed his neurologist who said that it was deterioration of the nerves to those areas. The gradual decline had turned into the inevitable that happened much sooner than I expected, and I was forced to make that hard decision that was for Ranger’s best… although not for mine. It has been an amazing pleasure and privilege to have Ranger as part of my life. He filled my life with joy, and I am so thankful for that opportunity to share my love with him. I hope he knew how very much I loved him! He has blessed me in so many ways and now has left a “Ranger-size” hole in my heart, yet I also have so much gratitude and so many wonderful memories of a very special pup. He is a precious soul, and I believe he is now running and jumping, and most of all seeing… and waiting for me to join him for eternity!
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 17:19:54 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015