Our Coral - Oct.30, '99 -Oct.10,'10

Our priority today was to get Coral to the vet. She was very lethargic, and wouldn't eat or drink. She didn't seem to be in any pain or terribly uncomfortable, but you could see it in her beautiful, brown eyes, that something wasn't quite right.

We took her to see Dr. Sheila, the local vet, first thing in the morning. She looked her over and gave her an IV to rehydrate her. The seizure had taken its toll on her, but we would have to wait and see, how she responds to treatments. We were given a prescription to have filled at the pharmacy in town, and we were to come back on Monday for a check up. So, we took her back home, and hoped for the best.

Only, the home we were returning to, was full of construction workers, scurrying about, trying to get the house in somewhat, working order. They were everywhere, except in the master bathroom. So we put Coral in the bathroom, which was also the coolest place in the house, and shut the doors to keep the noise down. We still had the two other dogs to look after, and this was all new to them. We hadn't yet established a routine, and with all the workers around, we tried to keep them occupied and out of the way.

After the all the workers left, the house became ours, once again. Coral was resting comfortably and we had now set up camp in our master bedroom. We inflated the bed, put out the dogs beds, and turned on the light and fan that our new neighbors, Tom and Terri, had lent to us to use. I don't know what we would have done without them. With only the things we brought with us in the truck, we didn't have much. And, with the house not ready, and our container still a week or more from arrival, we had no refrigerator or stove. We were living out of an ice chest (also borrowed from Tom and Terri), and food from our local restaurant. Even the coffee in the morning was provided by Tom and Terri.

We moved Coral into the bedroom with us and the other dogs. Timber, occasionally checking on her from time to time. The two of them have been together for over ten years, and have spent more time together, than with Mischelle and I. He could sense something was wrong. She was now breathing harder and her legs had become stiff, but she still seemed to be in no pain. We would wait until morning and see how she was then. There was not much we could do, but make her comfortable.

This might be our first night of good rest in more than three days. Coral was asleep next to me, on the floor. Then, around 2AM, Timber came in and got up on the bed. He had not done that in ages. Since we were on an air bed, the movement woke me up. The room was quiet. It was then, I realized that Coral had just passed away. I am heartbroken as I write this. This was our little girl. We had gone through so much, and we were looking forward to spending lots of time together as a family in our new home. Timber must have sensed she had passed and wanted to be close to us. She had passed in a position that made her appear to be very comfortable and one we had seen her in many times over the years.

In the morning, we contacted Dr. Sheila to get a death certificate so we could get Coral cremated at the local mortuary. It was tough taking her to the mortuary, knowing that would be the last time we would get to see our little girl. But everyone was so good about it and I felt as though Coral was left in good hands and would be taken care of properly.

We didn't know what to expect when we picked Coral's ashes up from the mortuary, but they had done such a nice job and put her ashes in a small, white, wooden box with a small black bow around it. It was beautiful.




We will save her ashes and plant a tree in our yard, where we can spread them. Now we need to focus on Timber and Jesse. Both of them are older, with issues of their own. Jesse is 13 and almost blind and Timber's 11 and his arthritis seems to be coming back. As Dr.Sheila said, " it's a bitch getting old". But I'm happy that we will be able to spend more time with them down here and that the quality of life will be more fulfilling.

We will always remember you, Coral. You were our first dog and you had the sweetest personality. You will be sorely missed. We love you Coral....just wait for us.