Maggie is Gone

I had to take some time to get used thought before I could write about it.  On March 30 it appeared that our beloved Maggie had a stroke.   That evening she was unable to use her right side.   It was when she needed to go out that we realized something bad had happened.   She just could not stand.   Roy took a towel and ran it under her like a sling so he could hold her hind legs up for her to potty.   He made eye contact with me and said "it's time".   She next morning we called my vet, Dr. Gooding, to see when he could put her down.   He couldn't see us until 3:00.   Needless to say it was a very long day.   Roy and I took turns sitting with her and telling her how much we love her all day.  Roy's son Michael called to see if he could go with us.   We are so grateful for him driving us and getting us home.    She didn't go without a fight though.   We warned the staff that she would bite and she did. They did have muzzle her briefly to get her ready.  Then with the 3 of us beside her Dr Gooding administered the drugs that took away her pain and broke our hearts.  We don't think the hole in our hearts will ever heal.   We are like empty nesters, the house is quiet and we have no reason to hurry home from our trips out.  
Rest in Peace Sweet Maggie!

Happy Birthday Maggie!

Friday, 2/4/11, was Maggie's birthday.   She turned 14.   We sang to her and gave a dollop of whip cream, her favorite treat.  Each milestone that passes makes us wonder if we will see another with her.   We gave her a bath prior to her birthday.  What trauma.   Maggie has always gone to the groomer once a month but since the groomer asked us not to bring her back again it has been up to Roy and I to bath her.  We have some borrowed clippers and are able to make maybe two passes with it before her trimbling gets to us and we stop.   So now Maggie has a flat top and an ear trim on one side.  Oh well, another day.

Maggie Knows Tom

When Maggie was younger she loved to take walks.   We always walked past our neighbor Tom's house.   Tom is one of Maggie's favorite people.   I would always turn her leash loose and let her run to Tom.   She had a special excited bark that she reserved just for him.    Even if Tom wasn't outside Maggie always looked for him.   Now of course Maggie can't walk very far so she doesn't see Tom anymore.    This morning the doorbell rang and someone knocked on the door at the same time.   Maggie never heard the knock or the doorbell.   When we opened the door it was Tom's wife Mary.    She told us Tom had had a serious heart attack the night before and was in the hospital.   After a brief conversation she left.   After she left Maggie started to bark her "Tom" bark.   It was really quite eerie almost a woeful bark.   It took us a few minutes to calme her but left us both wondering about how she knew?

We're All Forgetful!!!

We have found that Maggie is a little forgetful.   She seems to wander through the house, go in a room and then turn around and leave it.   Sometimes she just does a circle in the kitchen.   Since her legs are so weak we carry her outside and down the steps and then go get her to when she is ready to come in.   Trouble is Maggie's not the only one forgetful.   Yesterday I took her out and then decided to run an errand.  Of course Roy was here but he didn't remember her either.   To our joy and surprise, Maggie climbed the steps and then barked at Roy to let her in.   So we have a new rule now, whoever takes Maggie out has to set the kitchen timer for 10 minutes as a reminder.

Schnuazers Follow Their Noses

Our Maggie has always walked with her nose to the ground never looking where she is going.    We have a fenced backyard so that wasn't a problem she could roam our yard to her nose's content. We have always just let her out to the yard and in when she came to the back door and barked.   Now that she has the physical challenges we take her down the steps and she wobbles around the yard for 5-10 minutes as she rarely barks anymore and then we go get her and carry her up the steps into the house.   A few times someone has left the gate open and Maggie just wandered out and followed her nose whereever it took her.  One time she made it two blocks away, thank heaven she didn't go into the street.  Yesterday, I let Maggie out.   I gave her about 10 minutes then went to bring her in.   The first thing I noticed was the open gate, Roy had been out there.  I ran into to the yard and no Maggie.   I ran to the front of the house and didn't see her anywhere in our little cul-de-sac.   So at that point I called for Roy to help.  He went out the back door and I went out the front.   There she was two doors down in our neighbors driveway nose to the ground wobbling toward the street.   How she made it that far is amazing as her little legs give out on her frequently.   I made it to her first and picked her up and hugged her close.  I am sure she didn't realize the trauma she had caused us.  We brought her into the house and both spent some time loving on her.  Today, Maggie was out this morning when I heard barking at the back door.   It was Maggie, what a pleasure to hear her bark again.

Roy's Birthday

The family got together on Wednesday to celebrate Roy's birthday.  Maggie loves to have company.   I don't know how she knows but somehow she always senses when company is coming.   As I was scurring around to get ready Maggie started to bark for no apparent reason.   I think somewhere in that fuzzy head she recognized the signs of company.   She did stir a little when the family arrived but soon found a place to sleep out of the path of little feet.   Even when we sang Happy Birthday she didn't rouse to join us.   I feel she is slipping away more each day.   It is breaking out hearts.  Roy got his new Schnauzer calendar for his birthday like he always does.   We looked through it today and both got weepy as we saw images so like Maggie.   He said if I had my way I'd have 2 just like her.   Something to remember when the time comes.

Maggie Needs a Bath

Since she was a puppy, Maggie has gone to the groomer once a month.   It was traumatic for her but she held herself together and came home a cutie pie with a new bandana around her neck each time.   A few months ago the groomer told us it was too traumatizing for Maggie to be groomed there.   Now that Maggie is blind and deaf she just couldn't handle it.  The groomer said she would do Maggie, if we insisted, but she hoped that we would not.   So Maggie no longer goes to the groomer.   Now she is a shaggy little thing.   We have given her a few baths but it was so stressful for all of us that we wait until we can't stand the odor to do it.   Her hair has been getting longer and her toenails click on the floor so we knew it was time for us to act.   We went to Youtube to watch videos on how to trim a dogs nails.  We went to Petco to get nail trimmers.   Cuting her hair... that is the challenge.   We borrowed some clippers several months ago.   Roy was to research how to use them and how to quickly cut her hair.   Up to today all we have done it trim Roy's hair.   I'll admit I'm better at it than I thought and there have been no slips that sent him scurrying to the barber.   So today we decided to trim Maggie's nails and give her a haircut.   I was sure if we gave her to dose of Rescue Remedy she would be calm and this would be a snap.   Wrong!  We managed to bathe her without incident although she trembled uncontrolably.   When we got her out of the tub she bit Roy, drama, drama.  We dried her with towels and let her roam around the house for awhile.   Then we sat her between us on the kitchen floor and tried to clip her hair.   I was biten this time.   We managed to clip her back using the clippers and trim her front paws using the scissors and then we had to let her go.   We had lunch.  After lunch I gave her some more Rescue Remedy and we tried to clip her nails.   We were able to get the back feet done.   Had to let her go again.   So now we have spent several hours and have a dog who has short hair on her back and the nails on her hind feet clipped.  Oh, and she has slept all eveing.  I don't know if we totally stressed her out or its the  Rescue Remedy.   Either way we're all beat.