Getting a second dog was the best thing we could've ever done for our old dog Bear. Mara is the most loving sister one could imagine. She keeps a watchful eye on her big brother. Here they are soaking up the sun while Bill works in the yard. Whenever she comes in from outside she looks for him, rubs noses and checks to see if he is still alive.
Several days ago we chose to take Bear off his heart medication. The pills were killing him. Yes, that's my opinion and no vet will agree I did the right thing but in my mind and more importantly, in my heart it was the only choice.
Bear will never recover but his quality of life has already improved since we stopped the Cardial pills. He's not started putting weight back on yet but at least he's not tossing his cookies like he was. Bear is coherent again. I was so happy to see him showing his stubborn 10 yr old human boy personality again. We all were!
We're going natural for his health care. We're putting parsley and garlic in all his meals. Yesterday we bought Ginko Biloba in capsule and liquid form. Couldn't get him to eat food with the powder from the capsule mixed in. Today I'll try a few drops in his water.
So far, no luck finding Hawthorn of any type in Costa Rica. The search continues...
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I wrote the previous info a month ago and never posted it. It's been a hard month in our lives. A special thank-you goes out to Susun Weed who answered my desperate plea for help and led me to a place I could order Hawthorn, Mountain Rose Herbs in Eugene, Oregon.
I made Hawthorn tea for Bear and put it in his water daily. It helped him quite a bit. He was able to eat again and even played a little. We had "our" Bear back, if only for a short time. Bill and Callista were even able to take him for one last walk in the neighborhood.
We sent our beloved dog to heaven yesterday. As I type the word "dog" it just doesn't seem to fit. Bear was our son. My human children will tell you, he was the favorite child. Not once did he ask us for money or the car keys. He was a part of our lives before our daughter, Callista. Bear touched many lives. If you knew our family, you knew Bear.
As I write this I'm thinking the loss of our dog is much greater than the loss of a human. There isn't a human I can think of who has been there for each of us as our dog Bear was over the years. Bear lay quietly beside me while I was on bed rest for months, pregnant with Callista. He said nothing but licked away Bill's tears when first his father passed, then his aunt and finally his mother. Bear was always there as both Bill and I battled bouts of debilitating depression. When his boy, Craig chose to move away to Florida he didn't shed a tear, he woke the next day and went on with life.
Bear was an old dog when we moved to Costa Rica nearly four years ago. We knew he couldn't live forever but we didn't want to face the day he'd no longer be with us. The last month was spent loving Bear and saying good-bye. He'd gotten to the point where he basically slept all day and kept us awake all night. Bill thinks he was afraid of the night, afraid of the darkness. On really bad nights I slept on the living room floor with him, loving and comforting him just as he had done for me so many times over the years.
As a family, we decided the day had come to let him go. It wasn't an easy decision but we needed to let him go while he still had his self respect. Waiting until he lost control of his bodily functions would have been humiliating to him. He prided himself on being "a good boy". He was so ashamed the few times we left him in the house too long and he'd had to relieve himself.
Knowing the day was near, Bill & I prepared his final resting place on Sunday. Monday, November 30th 2008, our beloved son was returned to the earth wrapped in a quilt made by my great grandmother and surrounded by tokens of our love. He was laid to rest in a place he absolutely loved.
For those who don't know, Bear came into our lives when he was just about 6 weeks old. He was one of four pups found abandoned in a shed shortly after birth. A wicked human took the mother and left the pups to die. An Angel rescued him, nursed him back to health and gifted him to us. He was an awesome gift!
Bear taught us so many things. The most important I think was to LIVE. Even the title of my blog is a reflection of this lesson, A New Life in Costa Rica. Each day is an opportunity for a new life. Our lives will go on ... richer for having had Bear Sheridan and the lessons he taught us play a part in them.
Lord, thank-you for welcoming our beloved son with open arms! We couldn't have asked for a better way for Callista (or Bill & I) to experience his passing.
To those who don't believe animals have souls and go to heaven, BITE ME!!!!!!!
Thank-you to all our friends and family on Facebook for your loving thoughts.
