Maxwell, 8 year old Boston Terrier (Sweet Maxwell has passed)

[Boriss McCall]

Nikki.. How are you & Max doing? I hope you get lots of BT cuddles & kisses this weekend.

[Nikki]

Max hasn't been doing so well :(. We upped the prednisone back to the original amount. I came home Thursday from one of my jobs and I really thought he was dying. It freaked me out so bad, and I ended up being late to my other job!! He is doing slightly better, but he is still worse than when he was on the original dose of prednisone. He is still pacing and circling. This morning I noticed his stubby tail doing this weird thing that had happened at the specialist and she said it had to do with his brain stem being compromised. And he also did this thing where his back leg kicks out, and she had also said that was due to the brain stem being compromised. So now I'm really worried and I have to go to work for 8 hours :(. At least my boyfriend will be home part of the day to keep an eye on him.

[addy]

Nikki, I am so sorry to hear Max is not doing well. It is so hard to leave them when we know that but sometimes we dont have a choice.

Sending love and prayers for you both.

[frijole]

I too send love and positive vibes. Kim

[goldengirl88]

Nikki:
I wondered what Maxwell was doing with his tail?? My Tipper does that when she goes in circles- her tail wags a hundred miles an hour, is that what he is doing? Sorry Maxwell is not doing well, Tipper and I will pray for him.

[molly muffin]

So sorry to hear that Max isn't doing so well. :( I know this is a very hard time for you and your boyfriend, you love him so much.

HUGS,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Tina]

Nikki,

Thinking about you and Max and sending prayers. I hope he is having a better night.

Hugs to you both,
Tina and Jasper

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi Nikki,

Sending many hugs, prayers and healing white light to all.

Leslie and the gang

[Nikki]

Tippers Mom-
I will try to explain, but I don't know if it will make sense. Max hasn't wagged his tail in years. It's more of a slow movement, and it is like his tail is kind of going up and down, not side to side. I originally was joking that he might be about to poop on her floor, and she laughed and said unfortunately that is a sign of his brain stem being compromised.
I feel so bad because he is only peaceful when I'm home. When I come home he is frantically pacing the kitchen and looks so distressed. As soon as I hug him and lay him on the couch with me, he calms down and falls asleep. I was hoping after a few days of the prednisone being back up, he would seem better. But he doesn't :(

[Steph n' Ella]

Poor little Maxie! He just loves his momma...and I know you love him just as much!

[Boriss McCall]

oh poor baby.. I am glad he can at least relax when he gets in your arms. He loves you so much. He finds comfort in your love.

[molly muffin]

Hope you and Maxwell are doing okay.

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly muffin

[Squirt's Mom]

I think of you and Max daily, hoping you are able to enjoy each day to the fullest.

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[FrecklesMom]

Just stopping by to say hi. I don't know anything about most of the medicines but I have used the prednisone and was told by the pharmacy not to take it too late because it can get you a bit wired and keep you awake. Freckles also seems to be at her calmest when I am home and gets upset when I need to leave even with other family members here. I started putting music on for her when I go out and its unbelievable how much happier and calmer she is when I get back...the music is on my itouch and its only playing a celtic women albums mix but any relaxing instrumental music would work. Hope maxwell and you are doing good!

Hugs, freckles and diane

[Maya]

Hiya Nikki! I was wondering how little Max is doing? Did you up his prednisone dose. I've just upped Maya's. She's on 15mgs a day now and still quite wobbly on her feet. I think she is starting to build up a resistance towards it...
Hugs from Leah and Maya

[Nikki]

I can't say to much right now, but I just got home from having Max put down :(. He was really suffering the last few days, circling and pacing non stop. He could barely eat or drink. Today I can home and he had gotten wrapped around the computer cords and was pretty much hanging himself. He couldn't stand after that, and I could just see the suffering in his eyes :(. It hurts so bad, but I just keep telling myself he isn't suffering anymore.
Thank you so much for all the support the last few months

[mypuppy]

OMG Nikki,

I am so very saddened to hear this. I am sorry for your great great loss. It does hurt so very much. Ugh...As terrible it is to say, you did the right thing by your sweet little boy--no more pain or suffering, an everlasting peaceful eternal life. Of course, you are left behind to pick up the pieces, but I hope the day will come when you will remember your precious boy with so many happy memories made together, and then you will feel his peace.
God Bless you Max, Nikki and family...:(

Tight hugs, Jeanette

[addy]

Nikii, my heart breaks for you and I know it doesnt help to say he is not suffering any more.

I am so very sorry. Just so dang sorry.

[lulusmom]

Nikki, I am so terribly sorry for your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Godspeed Sweet Maxwell.

[Squirt's Mom]

The Fourth Day

by Martin Scot Kosins


If you ever love an animal, there are three days in your life you will always remember.

The first is a day, blessed with happiness, when you bring home your young new friend.

You may have spent weeks deciding on a breed. You may have asked numerous opinions of many vets, or done long research in finding a breeder. Or, perhaps in a fleeting moment, you may have just chosen that silly looking mutt in a shelter ... simply because something in its eyes reached your heart.

But when you bring that chosen pet home, and watch it explore, and claim its special place in your hall or frontroom - and when you feel it brush against you for the first time - it instills a feeling of pure love you will carry with you through the many years to come.



The second day will occur eight or nine or ten years later.

It will be a day like any other. Routine and unexceptional. But, for a surprising instant, you will look at your longtime friend and see age where you once saw youth.

You will see slow deliberate steps where you once saw energy.

And you will see sleep where you once saw activity.

So you will begin to adjust your friend's diet - and you may add a pill or two to her food.

And you may feel a growing fear deep within yourself, which bodes of a coming emptiness.

And you will feel this uneasy feeling, on and off, until the third day finally arrives.



And on this day - if your friend and God have not decided for you, then you will be faced with making a decision of your own - on behalf of your lifelong friend, and with the guidance of your own deepest Spirit.

But whichever way your friend eventually leaves you - you will feel as alone as a single star in the dark night sky.



If you are wise, you will let the tears flow as freely and as often as they must. And if you are typical, you will find that not many in your circle of family or human friends will be able to understand your grief, or comfort you.

But if you are true to the love of the pet you cherished through the many joyfilled years, you may find that a soul - a bit smaller in size than your own - seems to walk with you, at times, during the lonely days to come.

And at moments when you least expect anything out of the ordinary to happen, you may feel something brush against your leg - very very lightly.

And looking down at the place where your dear, perhaps dearest, friend used to lay - you will remember those three significant days.

The memory will most likely be painful, and leave an ache in your heart -

As time passes the ache will come and go as if it has a life of its own.

You will both reject it and embrace it, and it may confuse you.

If you reject it, it will depress you.

If you embrace it, it will deepen you.

Either way, it will still be an ache.



But there will be, I assure you, a fourth day when - along with the memory of your pet - and piercing through the heaviness in your heart -there will come a realization that belongs only to you.

It will be as unique and strong as our relationship with each animal we have loved, and lost.

This realization takes the form of a Living Love -

Like the heavenly scent of a rose that remains after the petals have wilted, this Love will remain and grow - and be there for us to remember.

It is a Love we have earned.

It is the legacy our pets leave us when they go -

And it is a gift we may keep with us as long as we live.

It is a Love which is ours alone -

And until we ourselves leave, perhaps to join our Beloved Pets -



It is a Love that we will always possess.

[Jenny & Judi in MN]

Love and hugs from me. I'm sorry. Judi

[molly muffin]

Oh Niki :( I am so very, very sorry about Max. I know this is breaking your heart and your boyfriends heart. You worried so much and took such good care of him.
Do not forget now that you still have to take care of yourselves too. Max most of all would want that.
hugs,
Sharlene

[Nika'sMom]

I am so very sorry for your loss..my heart is breaking for you..your are in my thoughts and prayers, I am so sorry, hugs Lynda

[frijole]

Niki, I am so very sorry. My heart just broke when I read the news. Sending love. RIP dear Max. Run wild and free of pain sweet angel. Kim

[Steph n' Ella]

Poor lil Max...you did the right thing by ending his suffering but I cannot imagine how difficult it was for you. Sending lots of love and healing.

[Harley PoMMom]

Oh Niki,

I am so sorry for your loss, and you are in my thoughts and prayers.

Godspeed sweet Max

With Heartfelt Sympathy,
Lori

[scoora]

Nikki-So sorry to hear of your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you and Max.
Take care.
Vicki-Scoop and Raleigh's mom

[Tina]

Oh Nikki, my heart is breaking for you. I am so very very sorry for the loss of your beautiful boy. My thoughts and prayers are with you at this sad time.

Love and many hugs,

Tina

[Squirt's Mom]

Dear Nikki,

You were the best mom ever to Max doing all you could to give him the very best each day of his life. When you knew that life was coming to a close, you kept working to give Max the best you could. And when you saw that you could give his days no more joy or comfort, you gave him the greatest gift possible - freedom from his failing body.

Today, that tumor is no longer a factor to Max. He is bouncing and springing and spinning like mad, that big goofy Boston grin plastered on his sweet face, surrounded by many new and old friends. Max will watch over you just as you did him until the day you can hold him in your loving arms once again. He will be waiting on you, Nikki, when it is your time to cross, I fully believe this with all my heart.

I am so sorry for your loss and for the pain you now must bear. Please know we are here for you any time for any reason should you wish to talk. Our sweet Max has been added to the In Loving Memory thread for 2012 and he will always be remembered as an honored member of our family.

Our deepest sympathies,
Leslie, Squirt, Trinket, Brick, Tasha, and our Angels, Ruby and Crystal

[Boriss McCall]

Nikki.. My heart is breaking for you & Max.:(
I know how bad it hurts & the grief is intense. You were such a good mom to little Max. I wish I could take your pain away.:(

big hugs..

[Maya]

Dear Nikki....I'm so sorry. I feel so sad.....I can almost feel your pain....
What you have been through is awful and I admire the strength and courage that you have shown in making one of the most difficult decisions there is to make. Know that you did the right thing and never doubt that for one minute!...You have released Max from his sick little body-he suffers no more..
I know how difficult it is saying goodbye to our little furry loved ones. They are with us for such a relatively short period of time, but I do believe they wait for us and when our time comes they are there wagging their tails and jumping up at us, or purring softly while they rub themselves against our legs. Many years ago, when my father was in hospital, very sick with cancer, I would see him bending down and 'stroking' something that I could not see. He would also talk to these invisible 'beings'. He did this day after day and when I finally asked him what he was doing, he said that he was trying to get Winston and Prim to settle down! Winston and Prim were our beloved family dogs who had died about 20 years earlier. My father died a few days later. They had come to accompany him onto the next part of his journey! I just wanted to share that with you.
So you see....you really haven't seen the last of little Max!
May God comfort you in this difficult time Nikki....... I'm thinking of you...
Love and hugs Leah and Maya

[jmac]

Nikki,

I am so sorry about Max. I haven't been on the forum lately, but I have been thinking of you guys. I can imagine how much you miss him and you were so very good to him. I am so glad he is no longer suffering and that you don't have to worry about him hurting himself.

You're in my thoughts...

Julie & Hannah

[Bo's Mom]

Nikki
I am so sorry to hear about Max. Max is now a star shining brightly in the sky as he watches upon you and waits for you to come join him as a dog free of pain and misery. Prayers are with you.

[bgdavis]

Nikki,

I'm so very sorry for your loss of Maxwell. He was way too young to have left you.

Bonnie and Angel Criss Ann

[goldengirl88]

Nikki:
I am so sorry wbout Max. I am crying as I am typing this to you- I know this pain, and it is immense. You did the last act of kindness you could for him, by helping him to suffer no more. I know it doesn't make it any easier, but I too shall be down this path at some time, and I am sure there will be many after us. Know in your heart he is having fun, and running and playing with all God's other creatures. God bless you for having the strength to help him.

[Nikki]

Thank you everyone.
With the help of some xanax, I've been making it through the days. It seems so lonely and empty at my house now :(. I feel like it still hasn't totally sunk in yet. Part of me is still in denial.
I know in my heart that I did the right thing though. He could barely stand and he moved his way into my lap and just looked at me and I could see the pain and suffering in his eyes. The hardest part for me was that he was totally still and barely moving the whole drive the the vet and the whole time in the vets while we talked. But then when they gave him the shot he started jerking around, it was so heartbreaking to see:(. But I just had to stay with him until the very end. We are having him cremated and getting a cast of his paw print. We had been talking about getting a new dog the last few months, but right now it feels like nothing could ever replace him.

[molly muffin]

Nikki big hugs

Nothing and no dog will ever replace Max.

It took me a year after Tipsy (my cat) and Tasha (golden retriever) passed to find Molly. To be ready to find Molly. She is a rescue baby. I thought I'd never have another, my cat and dog had grown up together, we traveled together across the US and Canada. Where I went, they went. It seemed impossible to ever want another anything. Yet one day I found myself on petfinder.com Just looking I told myself. Just looking I told my hubby.
Then well, I'll just fill out this form for the rescue group in case I do one day decide I want another.
Then came word, a high kill shelter in Quebec had released many young dogs to the rescue group, they needed homes desperately and the dogs were all being brought to the area, arriving Saturday morning. If you were approved already, bring your acceptance letter and come by, they needed homes and they needed them now. So, fine, I say to hubby, it won't hurt, maybe we can foster for awhile till permanent homes are found for all of them. So, we went. This little shivering dog was huddled into the back of the crate, shaved because of bad mats. Hubby picked her up and said, she needs us. That is how we came to finally have another dog. She doesn't replace Tasha, nothing could, she is her own little bundle of joy, she literally completes us. We didn't even know how much we needed her ourselves.
The day will come, if it is meant to, when you will be ready to consider the option, if it is meant to be, it certainly will be.
We cry for you Nikki and for Max who tried so hard for so long. One day, one hour at time that is all anyone can do.

Hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[3bostons]

Nikki, Im so sorry to hear of your loss, my heart is with you, I feel for you.
love and hugs, kona and deb

[goldengirl88]

Nikki:
God bless you and sweet Maxwell. May you have the strength to make it thru all of this. Your baby is with God running with all God's creatures. He has no more pain, and is happy again. I too shall be in your shoes one day, I hope I can manage like you.