It is with a very heavy heart that I let you all know that I had to help Tipper across the bridge on September 8, 2010. She and I have been battling her congestive heart failure all summer with more pills than I ever thought I would give a dog. When we got home from the cabin after the long weekend, she was starting to look like it was all too much. She was tired of fighting for her every breath and it hurt my soul to watch her struggle.
Curtis met us at the clinic and she went peacefully with one of us on either side of her. There was no struggle, just silence.
Tipper came to us through Misty Creek Dog Rescue about 6 months after we lost our 1st bulldog, Rocky. She was the complete opposite. She could run, she loved to "go find a stick" and Frisbees. Her favorite, in the house toy, was her Squeaky Devil Man that drove us all crazy and had to spend some serious time on top of the piano so the humans in the house could keep their sanity.
Last year was a very, very hard year for me. When Curtis and I split up, I would sit in our walk-in closet and cry until I gasped for breath and Tipper was always at my feet, making sure that I knew she was there for me. When Curtis moved out and I would come home from work, or when I had to spend those first weekends alone when Claire and Daniel were with him, Tipper and Chester were always there as my constant cheerleaders, never caring what shape I was in, just loving me. I never had to put on a brave face around them, they would just be there.
Part of me hopes that she went on across the bridge and didn't look back. I hope that she knows that I am OK now and can do it on my own and that she can watch me from there and see that I am going to be fine. I hope that she isn't bossing Sidney around too much and is letting him have the time to eat his food. I hope that she isn't punting Freedom every chance she gets, but that she does get in a good one once in awhile to make her smile. I hope she lets Grandpa Cryderman scratch her butt, her snorts and noises would make him laugh.
My house is very quiet. Greyhounds don't make enough noise, no snoring, no snuffling....
See you soon, my English Rose, my girlie.
