Goodbye to DeJa

I am often asked how I find the time for dogs in our very busy life.  I can't imagine our life without dogs.  I honestly don't know what we would do without them.  They have taught us, laughed with us, cried with us.  I truly feel that the best gift we have given to our children is to know the love of a dog.  It's unconditional love at it's finest and I'm so happy to see them revel in it.  This blog is dedicated to and in the memory of DeJa.  She filled our lives with love, laughter and happiness.

 

DEJA

Jan6/01 – May3/13

DeJa came to us at 6 weeks old.  The tiniest little thing you can imagine.  We had no idea how huge she would become to us.  She was our first pet as a couple.  We lived in the city, wanted something small and cute.  We believed the person who told us that pugs didn’t shed.  So not true!!  I would put her in my purse to go grocery shopping.  She was so small that Jake used to put her in his front jean jacket pocket when he was outside.  She even used to go with us for rides on Jake’s Harley.  You can imagine the looks from kids and adults alike when they would notice her in her little pouch between us.  We never worried about the house, she stood guard all day on the back of the couch looking out the window, screaming at anyone who came by.  She had attitude and was so smart.  She even stole an entire box of chocolate turtles off the coffee table one day.  Hid the box and every last turtle while we were at work.  We had no clue.  She’d come out chewing chocolate every once in a while.  We found all the evidence when we moved.

DeJa was only one when we moved to our acreage; it was not too much yard for her.  She would chase off anything that came around, including deer.  Man could she run.



DeJa with Storm



She adopted four white boxers and two skin kids in her lifetime.  Storm, our first boxer, had a special place in her heart.  She was so small when we got her that DeJa, at only a year, took over immediately, cleaning her everyday from head to toe and loving her like she was her pup.  That also included scolding her when needed.  Decker, our first rescue, equally found safety in the paws of mama DeJa. 

DeJa on Storm

Around this time we had our skin kids.  She loved them and they loved her.  She gave them everything.  Danced for them, rolled over for them, ate treats from them, made them laugh, cleaned the floor up after them and loved them.  We took some photos the other night of DeJa and our family and a ladybug landed on her, Adam scooped it up so happily and reminded us that he could get a wish.  He made it quietly.  Then the other day he told me in tears that he wished for DeJa to get better and she didn’t and he didn’t understand.  I told him she was better at the bridge.  And then I cried with him.





DeJa and Decker

When Storm left, the two of them became very close, snuggling each other every night.  As she aged she quickly found solace in his strength and always looked to him for backup.  Velvet joined us a little later and although they didn’t see eye to eye at first, two alpha females, they quickly found their mutual respect and I often found them sharing a space.  Saying goodbye to Decker shook her a bit.  You could see her age more and more after each of them left.  We added Gunner to our pack and she didn’t skip a beat.  She was curious and cautious with this one.  Not sure about all his energy as she was a senior by then.  She kept out of his way but still kept him in place.  He knew she was the Queen and respected it.  So funny to watch him try to reach for a toy that was close to her.  He would never just go and get it, he would stretch his leg out as far as he could and turn his head away trying to reach it without disturbing her.  She wouldn’t even look directly at him, but if he would get too close, she just needed to growl a bit and he would take off running.  She was an excellent boxer mama.  Velvet has been down since she left and looking for some extra reassurance from us.

DeJa on Decker

We are missing our DeJa (AKA  DeJaVu, Dingo, Delinquent, DeJaLee, DeJa Bean, Pugface).  Missing her snort and her attitude.  She was priceless.  So much personality, compassion and love in such a little girl.  She never let a doorbell go unnoticed.  Never let you slow down in the car without screaming (literally).  Never left a tomato plant in the garden without her face being rubbed on it.  She'd find them everytime.  Never left a treat uneaten.  Never left a heart untouched.  And oh man, if you tried to get near her while she was chewing on a steak bone, her eyes would pop out, her fur would go up and she would growl like a monster.

Rubbing her face on the tomatoes.

Turns out DeJa was born with one less vertebrae than a pug should have, which we never even knew until the end, but the space that was there was filled up with calcification and was putting pressure on her spine causing her numbness in her legs and making her fishtail a lot when she would walk.  We tried all we could to help her, but in the midst of our last round of therapy, she collapsed a windpipe and it really started to set her back.  A couple days before we said goodbye, her sight seriously diminished and we knew that the numbness was starting to affect her organs.  It was time.  For all she had done for our home and our hearts, it was time to let her go with some dignity.

PugFace

I know it’s always a topic of conversation in households with pets and kids what to do when saying goodbye to a pet, especially in a case where the pet is euthanized.  Well, our boys always need answers and always need options, so we discussed it with them.  Letting them know that when you love someone sometimes you are called on to do something difficult for you but beneficial for your friend.  DeJa was in those shoes and we needed to do what was right for her.  We explained the process and asked if they wanted to stay home or come with.  They chose to come with.  And at the vet office they could sit in the waiting room or come in the room.  They wanted to come in.  And they did.





DeJa and Gunner

DeJa left this world with her entire skin family at her side.  Each one of us petting her and telling her she was loved and she was a good girl.  Her breathing had been really hard all day and all those she was calmer from the sedative, she was still panting loudly.  Only two or three seconds after the doctor was pushing the first of two vials of medicine into the catheter, she stopped panting.  She was already gone.  She was that ready.  She was so peaceful.  We pet her some more, wrapped her in her blanket and kissed her goodbye.  She was Jake’s heart dog, I’m sure of it.  He’s having a really hard time as we all are.  But we know it was her time and it’s never easy to lose a true and loyal friend.  She saw us through so many things in our life together.  Our house, our wedding, our kids, it’s hard to know what to do without her.



May 2 - Her last day with us.



Just as we never expected her impact on us, we know that the Rainbow Bridge did not expect a new queen, but boy did they get one.  I have no doubt that she is ruling the roost with all she’s got; Storm and Decker at her side.

RIP sweet DeJa.  You were loved and loved in return.  Thank you.

Family picture 2008 with DeJa, Decker and Storm (RIP to all three of them)