Rufus crossed the bridge...

For help and support with the passing of a pet. Sometimes we feel very alone. We're not alone.
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troopersmommy
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Rufus crossed the bridge...

Post by troopersmommy »

Our little old doggie Rufus crossed the bridge... :angel:

He was the stray I brought home from work about 3 years ago. The vet put his age at around 18 years. We just lost our kitty Coe in August, when suddenly one night Rufus started coughing. I thought he'd swallowed something, but around 4 a.m. he was gasping for breath. I rushed him to the 24 hour vet where they kept him for tests for 48 hours. He was diagnosed with heart and kidney failure. I guess he'd kind of had a heart attack. I wasn't ready to let go of him so I took him home along with a bag full of meds. Unfortunately they made him have seizures, so we decided to stop them and let him go naturally.

We made him as comfortable as possible. He wasn't in any pain, just tired all the time. But then he began to swell from the fluids that accumulate with heart and kidney disease. We carried him outside and in, picked him up to sleep with us and watch tv, like he always had. Neither of us got much sleep, getting up several times each night to take him out to pee. But we kept his routine as normal as possible. He slept between us and the other 3 indoor doggies. I eventually had to give him some diuretics because he became so swollen around the middle.

God let us keep him until the day before yesterday. I had started coming home every day at lunch to check on him. But Thursday morning I could tell something was wrong. In the middle of eating his breakfast, he suddenly turned away and went to lay on his pillow on our bed. I called work and said I'd be a little late and laid back down with him for a little while. John had already gone to work, but for some reason, knew he needed to come home, so he took the day off. I came home for lunch and we talked about whether to take Rufus to the vet, but decided it would scare him too much. I laid him in my lap while I ate lunch, shared a few bites with him, which made him wag his tale. He gave me a slurpy kiss goodbye when I went back to work at 2:00.

At 4:45 p.m., I received a text from John. He had carried Rufie outside to pee, and then went in to lay down for a nap. Ruf snuggled up against his back and they fell asleep. An hour later John woke up and realized that Rufus had died in his sleep...no struggle, no pain, he never even woke up. God is so good to his little ones. What a beautiful way to end our time on earth. We are still struggling with the loss of our dear Rufus. I could fill buckets with the tears, but I know he's in a much better place, waiting till we are together again one day.
Rufus (2nd from right) waiting for daddy to come home with his buddies...Cheecho, Lil Bit to his left and Cookie to his right.
Rufus (2nd from right) waiting for daddy to come home with his buddies...Cheecho, Lil Bit to his left and Cookie to his right.
Rufus napping in his favorite sweater.
Rufus napping in his favorite sweater.
"When a child loves you for a long, long time...REALLY loves you, then you become Real." " Does it hurt?"
"Sometimes..When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

Words I live by from "Velveteen Rabbit"
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CarolC
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Re: Rufus crossed the bridge...

Post by CarolC »

Ohhh, you can't ask for better than that...losing him peacefully in extreme old age. He looks so sweet, I'm glad his last 3 years were with you.
sdrakkan
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Re: Rufus crossed the bridge...

Post by sdrakkan »

What a peaceful way to leave this earth. And what a lucky dog he was to have you guys as his pet parents.
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4 Ball Pythons, 1 Cornsnake, 3 Boas, 3 Tarantulas, 1 Quaker Parrot, 2 Tuxedo Cats, and 21 darling rescue Rats.
jazzybaby
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Re: Rufus crossed the bridge...

Post by jazzybaby »

I am so sorry for your loss. He went pacefully and we can't ask for anything more in life. You gave him 3 great years of love and a warm home.
janew
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Re: Rufus crossed the bridge...

Post by janew »

I am so sorry you lost Rufus...but what joy & love you gifted him with during his last years.
I wish all folks were like you & no soul would leave to the 'bridge' without love & someone to wait for.
jane
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troopersmommy
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Re: Rufus crossed the bridge...

Post by troopersmommy »

Thank you for your warm sentiments. I really appreciate all of y'alls thoughts. You'd think with as many 4-legged kiddos as I have, and have had, that losing one wouldn't be so heartwrenching, but then, I guess all of you understand perfectly. These are my children, my babies, my confidantes, my little soul mates. They are with me through thick and thin, happiness and heartache, good times and bad. They are my "counselors", "therapists", entertainers, and best friends. Always loyal, always dependable, always there when I need them...and even when I don't know I need them. Each one with his or her own adorable personality, likes and dislikes. When my friends and family pull out photos of their children and grandchildren, I pull out my photo gallery. And, as quite often happens, they think I'm one crazy lady. Well...if unconditional love makes me crazy, then call me crazy.

This past weekend I ran across his little green sweater...the one in the photograph. I sat down and bawled my eyes out. Then I folded it up and put it inside my brown satin pillow case on the pillow that "we" slept on every night. (He loved that pillow. Every night he'd snuggle up next to me with his head on the pillow just below my chin and I'd hug him until we fell asleep.) About an hour after I'd tucked his sweater away, a little neighbor girl brought me a hand-written note about losing Rufus. More tears. It was the sweetest thing I've ever read. (Her family just moved in over the summer and I can tell she's "one of us". We've had lots of talks about pets. Her dog ran away just before moving here, so now she's taken in 2 kitties she found.) Anyway, I placed her note in a plastic bag along with a tooth Rufus had lost that "Daddy" had set aside - with a promise to put under the pillow for the tooth fairy. (I'm sure "Miss Fairy" won't mind if I keep this one). I stuffed the bag inside his sweater and zipped up the pillowcase.

I don't use that pillow to lay my head on anymore though...now I hug it - until I fall alseep. :snooze:
"When a child loves you for a long, long time...REALLY loves you, then you become Real." " Does it hurt?"
"Sometimes..When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

Words I live by from "Velveteen Rabbit"
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