Rescue Journal

Ozzie has passed

Nicole · Nov. 23, 2006

With a completely broken heart I'm so sorry to let everyone know this way, but I just had to put Ozzie to sleep at the Vancouver Animal ER.
Her surgery was cancelled tuesday as she was showing symptoms of having had a stroke. She perked up a little when we got home from the vets with new meds, but by Wednesday morning she has stopped eating and was back to having a really tough time walking, even with help.
Tonight we lay on the floor like we had been for the last few days but she was much more restless and kept wanting to change sides she was lying on. Just after 130am I was checking her gums and had the flashback to nearly 11 months ago when I had the same problem with Georgie. Her gums were very pale and the edge of her tongue was purple-ing. We rushed to VAER and the vet confirmed what I had thought. There was fluid in her lungs, she was in distress and then they noticed her eyes moving abnormally (possible signs of another stroke). Not wanting to put her to sleep to early, but knowing that any diagnostic tests, etc. would be more for me than to help her. Seeing her still having so much trouble breathing and hearing the fluid in her throat, I had to decide to part with my precious girl, whether or not I was ready to let her go.
I'm going to miss you so much Oz, in the two short months I had the pleasure of having you as my foster, you made me so happy and helped fill the huge void Georgie left. You are the biggest most beautiful dog, who put up with me always in your space giving you bear hugs. I will miss sharing my dinner with you and your demanding bark and bat-like paw. I will miss everything about you.

Carol, I'll never stop saying it. Thank you so much for letting me share in her life. She was the most amazing dog, so relaxed and yet a huge dork. She fit perfectly with me and even though my heart is incredibly broken right now, I wouldn't change a single thing about the last 2 months.

Here are some of my favourite photos of her:
ozzie

ozzie

This photo was taken on the night she past. I had taken my cats' favourite blanket and put it over Oz and "loud cat" came and slept on her.
Ozzie

Comments

Chris

Nicole and Carol I am so sorry for your loss. She was a sweetheart. One of my favourite memories of Saints was carrying Ozzie out of the pond. And I think the first thing she did when she met me was grab a stuffie.
Thankyou for the picture of Oz and I in the pond. I look at it and think of her often.
Chris.

Carol

ozzie, face like an angel, the mind of a dork and a body that wobbled right into our hearts. i will miss you almost killing yourself in the pond while being a dog. the dog who couldn't but damn well did anyway. yay oz!

Cathe

Nicole, Carol, Jean, and all the people saints...what a beautiful fulfilling life you have given sweet Ozzie. She will remain in all our hearts while she gathers all the new stuffies, amassing them for us to see when again we meet.

The memories you captured in the pictures are wonderful Nicole.

Hugs to everyone at SAINTS, special thoughts to you Nicole and Honey.

With love to you all, Cathe

Janice

No words will take the pain of loss away. But perhaps the words of a great dog who i loved shared with me from the other side will bring you some comfort.

When i told Justice I had wished we had more time together he said.. "when , now?" I said "no when you were here". He said something like this " I don't count the days but there were many good ones"

So know in your heart and find comfort in the fact they do not count the days they had with us but count the quality they had in them.

Thank you for loving him so much and for lvoing him forever.

Jezebel

I am so sorry for your loss Nicole and Carol,

Ozzie was such a beautiful girl and I enjoyed hearing about how happy she was at your house Nicole. You gave her the best she could have had for the end of her life.

Thank you for having the courage to let her go and run free without pain.

Take care of yourself.

Deb

Oh Ozzie, you and Francis grabbed my heart and ran, and I never caught up.

Nicole, loving a dog with a finite lifespan takes courage and selflessness. I am so glad Oz made her way to you to finish her journey. I wish you, Honey and Ozzie had more time as a team, but what you lacked in minutes and days, you made up for in pure love.

No more pain, no more fear, Ozzie, my love.

Nicole, Carol, I am so very sorry for the loss of this very special SAINT.

Chris Thomas

Nicole and Carol - I am so sorry to hear about Ozzie passing. Nicole you did an awesome thing having her as your foster dog. Take extra special care of you and Honey today. Mythoughts are with you.

Julie

Nicole, you were and are a very special friend to Ozzie. She will always be with you. A love like you two shared will forever be in your heart. She is with your Georgie now, they will both continue to take care of you and Honey.

Maureen

I'm so sorry for this loss Nicole, I will be thinking of you all day today. Ozzie was sure lucky to have had you & I doubt that in her past, she was ever so loved & cared for as she was for the last 2 months. She left this place knowing & feeling your love & that is truly the greatest gift .

Sweet Sweet Ozzie, she is now young & free of pain & like Carol said , she's out there spreading the word on how wonderful the last few months were & how much she was loved & cared for by a very special person.

Rae

Nicole I am so sorry for your loss. I admire you for being brave and saying goodbye when Ozzie needed you too. Ozzie was a very special friend and you made sure the last part of her journey was full of love . Loving a senior dog opens oneself up to major heartbreak in the end but they have so many gifts to give. Goodbye Ozzie, you will not be forgotten because you are loved.

Jean

Nicole my tears are flowing for you, for your loss, and the words to express what I want to say just won't come. You gave Ozzie the very best last few weeks that any dog could ever want. We could not have asked for a more loving person for her to spend her final days with.

Ozzie was a treasure. She was one of the first dogs I got to know at SAINTS and I loved seeing her happy face and the quiet slow wag of her tail as I walked through the gate. I shall never forget the day, early in my volunteering at Saints, when I walked through the door and saw her holding a very limp white cat....oh no, not our Ozzie! ....horrified, I ran over only to discover it was a very realisitic looking stuffie! And I laughed so hard the day she helped herself to stuffies from our garage sale by sticking her nose through the cracks between the fence boards and pulling them, one by one, into the yard.

Ozzie, you have left us all with many wonderful memories. You will never be forgotten.

Nicole, my thoughts are with you. Thank you for being Ozzie's very best friend. (((((hugs)))))

Carol

i have been awake most of the night, unable to settle, i wonder if this is why.
i can't tell you all the things flooding around in me right now nicole except that i feel such a gratefulness to you for having the strength to love her.
i am ashamed to tell you that despite your pain and loss (which i do feel so very keenly), i am so very happy that ozzie's entire life was made right and whole because of your courage.
you gave her purpose and you gave her value and you gave her a life and a love that she was sad to leave behind.
i know there is something or somewhere beyond here. and wherever that is, ozzie is telling the whole place about her life with you and how much she was loved. i can just imagine their confusion when she tells them how very much she liked space troopers and popcorn, because that would be the very first moment that she knew that she was home.
hugs to you nicole. oz, it was such a pleasure to have known you and your light.