December 18, 2009
Marlee has been on a steady decline for a couple weeks, with the worst being the past 9 days since she stopped being willing to eat and would barely drink. In those nine days she transitioned from peaceful and sleeping a lot, to last night seeming scared and in pain. It was a rough night. My daughter and I sat up with her for most of the night. It was heartbreaking to see how hard she was struggling. We had hoped to support her through to a natural death, but once things got so bad for her I realized that this is not like hospice care for people where you have pain relief and anxiety relief to offer to someone. She seemed desperate for our company, and we gave that to her, but it wasn't enough. This morning we made the decision to take her to the vet to have her put to sleep. It seemed the most compassionate option for her. She deserved such a much better life than she got before she came to us, and she deserved peace and rest at the end. Now she is out of her pain and resting, snuggled up in one of my children's cozy red blankets. We buried her under one of our apple trees, right near the play fort. Marlee was always happy when the kids would come out to play, even though she was limited in how much playing she was able to do with them. She now has a beautiful, shady resting spot where we will think of her often.
Having Marlee in my life has been a challenge, but it was one that I was clear on when I accepted it. She needed us. We said yes. And we loved and cared for her as best we could, all the way to the end of her life.
Marlee gave us many opportunities to choose to give when we might rather have not. Her needs reminded us to stretch and continue to love and care, simply because it helped us do what we wanted to do for her, and be more of the people we want to be. Her patient acceptance of her limitations, and her joy at the parts of life she could experience were admirable. Her kitty cat friends will miss her, I know. They would always come right over to snuggle with her when she was outside.
Thanks to all of you that helped us out when finances were so tight that we did not know how we were going to be able to care for her properly. Thank you for getting involved. Thank you for investing in this sweet doggie. She was worth all of it.
We Need Your Help
I started this site back in the fall of 2008 after adopting Marlee, a rescue dog that came stumbling down our road that August. Since then we have been so pleased to share our home and life with Marlee. She is a sweet soul who has had a hard life, and it has been an honor to see her enjoying a safe, comfortable life here. She still has a lot of struggles, but is living her life in her own way, with acceptance and love just as she is.
It was a real stretch for me to put up this blog, because I am normally very independent and do not expect others to financially support my family or the decisions I have made. When I took the risk to reach out to others, it was an amazing process, because I was blessed to meet some of the most wonderful people in the world who continue to have a positive impact on me and my family every day. I now see that by being willing to share our story and our need, we have opened up a pathway for love and blessing between people that would otherwise be strangers. What a cool thing!
Tonite (Oct. 2009) I have updated the costs and issues related to Marlee's needs. Thankfully, expensive monthly lab work stopped late last year, so the monthly costs are reduced.
I am a work-at-home mom of six children, ages 6-17. I run several internet-based businesses, plus homeschool my children. My amazing and hard-working husband is a professional firefighter, and also works on about half of his "days off" as an EMT.
Despite living modestly, working hard, being pretty good at thrift, and fairly resourceful, times are tough for us just like they are for everybody else. Adding a dog to the family was not in our plan or our budget. We do not have extra money to spend on dog food and vet bills. We're doing well just to keep all of the needs met here for the 8 humans in our family. But then one day Marlee walked down our road and we felt like we had to help her.
The extent of Marlee's health problems include:
hypothyroidism (requires monthly medication)
kidney and liver disease (requires monthly medication)
muscle wasting disease (probably because of how long she was malnourished)
pancreas disease
cataracts
and she is deaf.
She is also an older dog, or is at least prematurely aged because of the way she has suffered in her life. She has been neglected severely and has a lot of additional needs for her health.
When we found out how many problems she has, some people suggested that we have her put to sleep. I know that a lot of people would do that. To me, even though I am not a super duper die-hard animal rescue person, it seems wrong to me to end her life just because she is not in perfect health. The medications that she has been taking have clearly made her feel better. She is a much happier dog now, which is so nice to see.
It is clear that this dog has suffered a lot in her life. The humans in her life failed her. I think she deserves to live out the rest of her life safe, cared for, and loved. We have an opportunity to show compassion and love to this creature even though she does not have much to "give back" to us. She is not a fun, cute, playful puppy. She does not go fetch or thrill my kids with funny tricks. What she is, though, is an animal that deserves love and care, and an opportunity for us to live out unconditional love, and kindhearted service. This is a great lesson for our entire family, and I want to see it through.
Here's the problem: This is more expensive than we can handle all by ourselves.
In the first couple months we spent well over $500 on vet bills, her kennel crate, and dog food. I cringe just to type that. (this is the first time I added up how much this is costing us) No wonder we're having trouble paying our own regular bills!
In a month Marlee needs approximately $65 of medication, plus food (around $40 a month, I think). She also still needs some other things from the vet, such as dental care, medical tests, etc.
I have heard of people doing fund raisers for adopting children where they try to get people to donate just $1 each. So today I thought, "why not see if there are people that would be willing to donate a dollar to help us take care of Marlee?" Surely there are enough people that would share a dollar with us to help us keep on giving Marlee a life worth living. Right?
We are regular people, just like you. I don't plan to make money off of this. I won't be buying canopy beds or monogrammed cashmere doggie sweaters with this money. What I will be using the money for is for:
Marlee's medication ($65 per month)
dog food (approx. $40 per month)
ongoing vet bills for regular checkups, lab work, etc.
things Marlee may need (like right now she needs some no-slip doggie shoes, because her muscles are so weak that it is really hard for her to walk on our hard floors)
(**donation information has been removed now that Marlee has died)
It was a real stretch for me to put up this blog, because I am normally very independent and do not expect others to financially support my family or the decisions I have made. When I took the risk to reach out to others, it was an amazing process, because I was blessed to meet some of the most wonderful people in the world who continue to have a positive impact on me and my family every day. I now see that by being willing to share our story and our need, we have opened up a pathway for love and blessing between people that would otherwise be strangers. What a cool thing!
Tonite (Oct. 2009) I have updated the costs and issues related to Marlee's needs. Thankfully, expensive monthly lab work stopped late last year, so the monthly costs are reduced.
I am a work-at-home mom of six children, ages 6-17. I run several internet-based businesses, plus homeschool my children. My amazing and hard-working husband is a professional firefighter, and also works on about half of his "days off" as an EMT.
Despite living modestly, working hard, being pretty good at thrift, and fairly resourceful, times are tough for us just like they are for everybody else. Adding a dog to the family was not in our plan or our budget. We do not have extra money to spend on dog food and vet bills. We're doing well just to keep all of the needs met here for the 8 humans in our family. But then one day Marlee walked down our road and we felt like we had to help her.
The extent of Marlee's health problems include:
hypothyroidism (requires monthly medication)
kidney and liver disease (requires monthly medication)
muscle wasting disease (probably because of how long she was malnourished)
pancreas disease
cataracts
and she is deaf.
She is also an older dog, or is at least prematurely aged because of the way she has suffered in her life. She has been neglected severely and has a lot of additional needs for her health.
When we found out how many problems she has, some people suggested that we have her put to sleep. I know that a lot of people would do that. To me, even though I am not a super duper die-hard animal rescue person, it seems wrong to me to end her life just because she is not in perfect health. The medications that she has been taking have clearly made her feel better. She is a much happier dog now, which is so nice to see.
It is clear that this dog has suffered a lot in her life. The humans in her life failed her. I think she deserves to live out the rest of her life safe, cared for, and loved. We have an opportunity to show compassion and love to this creature even though she does not have much to "give back" to us. She is not a fun, cute, playful puppy. She does not go fetch or thrill my kids with funny tricks. What she is, though, is an animal that deserves love and care, and an opportunity for us to live out unconditional love, and kindhearted service. This is a great lesson for our entire family, and I want to see it through.
Here's the problem: This is more expensive than we can handle all by ourselves.
In the first couple months we spent well over $500 on vet bills, her kennel crate, and dog food. I cringe just to type that. (this is the first time I added up how much this is costing us) No wonder we're having trouble paying our own regular bills!
In a month Marlee needs approximately $65 of medication, plus food (around $40 a month, I think). She also still needs some other things from the vet, such as dental care, medical tests, etc.
I have heard of people doing fund raisers for adopting children where they try to get people to donate just $1 each. So today I thought, "why not see if there are people that would be willing to donate a dollar to help us take care of Marlee?" Surely there are enough people that would share a dollar with us to help us keep on giving Marlee a life worth living. Right?
We are regular people, just like you. I don't plan to make money off of this. I won't be buying canopy beds or monogrammed cashmere doggie sweaters with this money. What I will be using the money for is for:
Marlee's medication ($65 per month)
dog food (approx. $40 per month)
ongoing vet bills for regular checkups, lab work, etc.
things Marlee may need (like right now she needs some no-slip doggie shoes, because her muscles are so weak that it is really hard for her to walk on our hard floors)
(**donation information has been removed now that Marlee has died)
Rough Day
Poor Marlee has had a rough day. She was clearly in a lot of pain this morning and could not stand up even when we helped her get on her feet. (she crumbled like a rag doll if we let go)
She has definitely been on a decline in recent weeks. She has less and less ability to get up from the ground or floor, and she sleeps probably 85% of every day. We bought her some doggie boots to help give her better traction on the floor, and that helped some, but her muscles have seemed very weak.
So, by today we were really wondering if we were going to find out that putting her to sleep was the best remaining solution. Which was very hard to face.
My husband and two of our children took Marlee to the vet. He gave a lot of validity to the idea of it being very reasonable to put her to sleep, but also offered a couple medication options as possibilities that it might help her feel better. From his standpoint, her arthritis is getting worse so she just has a lot of pain. Also, she had a mouth infection (we had no idea!) and now she had an antibiotic for that, but the vet wants her to come in for extensive cleaning, radiographs, etc. which I was shocked to find out would cost quite possibly over $500. I almost fell over when they told me that.
So. She has her new meds. It is a nice day so she is enjoying the sunshine and breeze outside, where she prefers to be. We will likely face some challenges related to her new meds (increased incontinence being one of them, her needing to stay in the house more--which she resists--is another one).
Other than waiting to see what happens, I don't know how to make these decisions. If the meds help her pain, that's great, but she still has a lot of problems that make her life less of how she seems to like it. We could do the dental work if we had the money, but that will require her to be under anesthesia for awhile which I am concerned about just because of her overall health. I have some very sad kids right now, because they are concerned about Marlee dying. I don't think it is fair to have her continue on with pain in order to lessen ours, but I also don't want to make a hasty decision that is not right.
From the start we said that we felt Marlee deserved a life with love and care, for whatever amount of time she had left. I guess I was hoping that the decision might be made by Marlee and fate, rather than by us.
She has definitely been on a decline in recent weeks. She has less and less ability to get up from the ground or floor, and she sleeps probably 85% of every day. We bought her some doggie boots to help give her better traction on the floor, and that helped some, but her muscles have seemed very weak.
So, by today we were really wondering if we were going to find out that putting her to sleep was the best remaining solution. Which was very hard to face.
My husband and two of our children took Marlee to the vet. He gave a lot of validity to the idea of it being very reasonable to put her to sleep, but also offered a couple medication options as possibilities that it might help her feel better. From his standpoint, her arthritis is getting worse so she just has a lot of pain. Also, she had a mouth infection (we had no idea!) and now she had an antibiotic for that, but the vet wants her to come in for extensive cleaning, radiographs, etc. which I was shocked to find out would cost quite possibly over $500. I almost fell over when they told me that.
So. She has her new meds. It is a nice day so she is enjoying the sunshine and breeze outside, where she prefers to be. We will likely face some challenges related to her new meds (increased incontinence being one of them, her needing to stay in the house more--which she resists--is another one).
Other than waiting to see what happens, I don't know how to make these decisions. If the meds help her pain, that's great, but she still has a lot of problems that make her life less of how she seems to like it. We could do the dental work if we had the money, but that will require her to be under anesthesia for awhile which I am concerned about just because of her overall health. I have some very sad kids right now, because they are concerned about Marlee dying. I don't think it is fair to have her continue on with pain in order to lessen ours, but I also don't want to make a hasty decision that is not right.
From the start we said that we felt Marlee deserved a life with love and care, for whatever amount of time she had left. I guess I was hoping that the decision might be made by Marlee and fate, rather than by us.
Thanks, Sue!
Quite awhile ago a dear angel Sue sent us a bunch of goodies for Marlee, including a doggie treat mix. I meant to make it right away, hence the spot where I kept it, handy on the counter top. And that sweet bagged mix has been sitting there ever since. Oy! The other day I decided enough was enough--it was time to make the doggie treats. I got two of my kiddos involved, and now Marlee and her feline buddies have homemade treats. :) (Yes, the cats like 'em too!) Thanks Sue! They smelled great. If I were a cat or dog, I'm sure I would have enjoyed them very much. :)
I Guess We're Attracting Animals...
Though I would not consider myself to be fully convinced about the whole Law of Attraction thing, this past year has certainly caused me to wonder what we are doing to cause animals to come to us. Unlike any time in my life, animals are coming to us as if there is some sort of dog-and-cat-Star-of-Bethlehem hanging over our house.
First our next door neighbors got two kittens, who promptly decided that they would rather live on our deck rather than at their own house.
Next, Marlee came stumbling down the road and into our hearts.
Then Toby (now upgraded to King Toby :) ) the cat showed up in the winter. I will admit that his excellent personality and talent for catching mice caused us to decide to entice him to stay with food and snuggles and a warm spot in the house on the coldest nights.
Next the two kitten grew up and became parents. Momma cat Oreo gave birth to her litter of kits under the deck (of course), and we were only able to find a home for one out of the three. $300 in vet bills later for respiratory illness, ear mites, etc. we now have four healthy cats living on our deck.
And today my oldest son found a starving little kitten in front of a well-known drug house. And he brought it home.
Here's my thing about animals. I kind of dread getting them, because I take their care seriously. And with six kids and a growing group of pets, I feel stretched thin, mostly financially, in my ability to properly care for them.
We cannot have cats in our home. We have a son with asthma, and two nearby family members that are very allergic to cats. Having full-time indoor cats just isn't going to work for us. We have an outbuilding that is fixed up for kitty comfort in the cold months, but I still feel sorry for them. :( When we took the sick kittens to the vet I found out about their ear mites, which looks like a horrible situation for any creature to endure.... I went in there thinking I would get some inexpensive antibiotics, and walked out with a bill for $300 that took us nearly 2 months to pay off (and causing us to be unable to pay other stuff).
I hate to see anybody--human or animal--suffering and in need of love. But I recognize that it just isn't realistic for me to take it all on myself. We are putting the word out on facebook to try to find a home for this little kitty. If not there, we will probably take him to the local humane society tomorrow.
What do you think? How do other people with compassion for animals draw the line?
First our next door neighbors got two kittens, who promptly decided that they would rather live on our deck rather than at their own house.
Next, Marlee came stumbling down the road and into our hearts.
Then Toby (now upgraded to King Toby :) ) the cat showed up in the winter. I will admit that his excellent personality and talent for catching mice caused us to decide to entice him to stay with food and snuggles and a warm spot in the house on the coldest nights.
Next the two kitten grew up and became parents. Momma cat Oreo gave birth to her litter of kits under the deck (of course), and we were only able to find a home for one out of the three. $300 in vet bills later for respiratory illness, ear mites, etc. we now have four healthy cats living on our deck.
And today my oldest son found a starving little kitten in front of a well-known drug house. And he brought it home.
Here's my thing about animals. I kind of dread getting them, because I take their care seriously. And with six kids and a growing group of pets, I feel stretched thin, mostly financially, in my ability to properly care for them.
We cannot have cats in our home. We have a son with asthma, and two nearby family members that are very allergic to cats. Having full-time indoor cats just isn't going to work for us. We have an outbuilding that is fixed up for kitty comfort in the cold months, but I still feel sorry for them. :( When we took the sick kittens to the vet I found out about their ear mites, which looks like a horrible situation for any creature to endure.... I went in there thinking I would get some inexpensive antibiotics, and walked out with a bill for $300 that took us nearly 2 months to pay off (and causing us to be unable to pay other stuff).
I hate to see anybody--human or animal--suffering and in need of love. But I recognize that it just isn't realistic for me to take it all on myself. We are putting the word out on facebook to try to find a home for this little kitty. If not there, we will probably take him to the local humane society tomorrow.
What do you think? How do other people with compassion for animals draw the line?
Current Photos of Marlee
I know that some of you have asked for new photos of Marlee. My camera software was giving me fits for awhile there, so we didn't have too many photos making it to the internet, but today I finally have some new ones to share. :)
Marlee is doing pretty well. We got through the winter without any problems, and she seems to be enjoying the spring weather now. Her friends the cats are still around, and they hang out together all the time.
Her health has been pretty good. Now that her thyroid medication is regulated we don't have the additional expense of monthly lab work, so that has been a relief. She still isn't able to get herself up off the hard floor, but we added an area rug by the back door where she goes in and out, and that helps a lot since often she will choose to lay there, and then she can get up on her own.
She is loving it that the kids are outside more. When they come out, her tail goes right up and she runs right along with them. She has a funny way of running, sort of a front legs-back legs thing, instead of one front and the opposite back going at the same time. I don't know if it is because of her joints/hips/muscles that she does this or what, but it is distinctively Marlee, and very cute. :)
We do have some 6-month testing that is coming up soon (around $150 or so) to see how her organs are going, etc., and she should have a dental cleaning soon too.
We're enjoying this sweet soul and are thankful to those of you that have so generously helped her out!
Marlee is doing pretty well. We got through the winter without any problems, and she seems to be enjoying the spring weather now. Her friends the cats are still around, and they hang out together all the time.
Her health has been pretty good. Now that her thyroid medication is regulated we don't have the additional expense of monthly lab work, so that has been a relief. She still isn't able to get herself up off the hard floor, but we added an area rug by the back door where she goes in and out, and that helps a lot since often she will choose to lay there, and then she can get up on her own.
She is loving it that the kids are outside more. When they come out, her tail goes right up and she runs right along with them. She has a funny way of running, sort of a front legs-back legs thing, instead of one front and the opposite back going at the same time. I don't know if it is because of her joints/hips/muscles that she does this or what, but it is distinctively Marlee, and very cute. :)
We do have some 6-month testing that is coming up soon (around $150 or so) to see how her organs are going, etc., and she should have a dental cleaning soon too.
We're enjoying this sweet soul and are thankful to those of you that have so generously helped her out!
Meet Toby
This is Toby, the stray cat that has adopted us. :) He has an unusually beautiful stripe pattern and a wonderful personality. Just wanted to share a photo of him with you all. :)
Everybody Needs Friends
Our next door neighbors got two kittens last year, and since then they seem to live in our back yard more than at their own house. Since Marlee arrived they are here pretty much full time.
This is Slash:
And this is Oreo:
And this is the little photographer that took my camera for a stroll and got these pictures. He loves cats:
These pictures were taken back in late fall. Since that time a young male cat started coming around. Unlike Slash and Oreo, he doesn't seem to have a home nearby. On cold nights the other two would run home, but the new guy was hunkering down in Marlee's cozy hut on the deck.
Last week when it was threatening to get bitterly cold I decided that I had to have mercy on the sweet kitty, and went out and got a litter box and brought him in. We set him up in Marlee's crate that she hates to use. He was a perfect gentleman, and now is a part time resident in our home, and Marlee's new buddy.
Some people say that pets pick their owners. I have to wonder now if that is true.
Earlier this morning I heard some of my little boys singing a little song they made up about their new cat and how much they love him.
My children (all of us, really) have really grown so much from having Marlee in our family, and it is interesting to see how this is expanding.
What do you think? Do our pets pick us? I'd love to hear your stories.
This is Slash:
And this is Oreo:
And this is the little photographer that took my camera for a stroll and got these pictures. He loves cats:
These pictures were taken back in late fall. Since that time a young male cat started coming around. Unlike Slash and Oreo, he doesn't seem to have a home nearby. On cold nights the other two would run home, but the new guy was hunkering down in Marlee's cozy hut on the deck.Last week when it was threatening to get bitterly cold I decided that I had to have mercy on the sweet kitty, and went out and got a litter box and brought him in. We set him up in Marlee's crate that she hates to use. He was a perfect gentleman, and now is a part time resident in our home, and Marlee's new buddy.
Some people say that pets pick their owners. I have to wonder now if that is true.
Earlier this morning I heard some of my little boys singing a little song they made up about their new cat and how much they love him.
My children (all of us, really) have really grown so much from having Marlee in our family, and it is interesting to see how this is expanding.
What do you think? Do our pets pick us? I'd love to hear your stories.
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