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I adopted Ethel Marie from KPR in April 2004. She was 9 ˝ years old.
Her age nearly kept me from adopting her, but I decided to “go for
it”. I soon came to realize that Ethel Marie was an alpha. She ruled
our house with an “iron paw”. When a new foster dog would come into
the house, he or she, soon learned that Ethel Marie was the Queen.
Of course, we had a few run ins when another alpha foster came into
the house, but Ethel Marie generally “won”.
Ethel Marie loved to help me weed the flower beds. She would wait
very impatiently for me to throw the grass that I had pulled up. She
would grab it in her mouth and shake it. If I was not fast enough to
suit her, she would nudge my hand with her head. Even though Ethel
Marie’s vision was not good and she eventually went blind, she got
around in her familiar surroundings as well as any sighted dog.
Ethel Marie was very smart, she knew how to shake hands, sit, lay
down and roll over. She was so cute rolling over. She was so short
and fat and could roll over so fast! If you blinked, you missed it.
Ethel Marie also loved to “Chase the Thunder”. Any time she heard it
thunder, she would want to go outside. She would get in the middle
of the yard and start barking and running, trying to catch the
thunder. Apparently, whatever she did worked, the thunder never got
anyone at my house, Ethel Marie kept us safe! Ethel Marie was very
loving to everyone and enjoyed coming to KPR events. She did not
like all the other dogs, but enjoyed seeing all the people there and
getting all the attention which she felt was her due. She enjoyed
wearing her dresses and necklaces. In fact, she would wear a dress
or in cold weather, a coat, anytime she went to the vet. The girls
there enjoyed seeing what Ethel Marie was wearing each time she came
to the office.
One of my fondest memories of her is when her Dad took her to get
her nails cut at the groomers because I had to get back to work. I
dressed her up in her little pink dress and attached her pink
“diamond” studded leash. The groomer got a big kick out of that one,
but Ethel Marie was not amused, she was deserving of being dressed
up and took places.
Ethel Marie had to have a dental in December 2006. Her teeth got in
such bad shape that she could not eat. I had reservations about such
a senior dog being put to sleep, but she would not have survived
without the dental. She came through her dental minus two teeth and
none the worse for the wear. Sometime after the first of the year,
Ethel Marie started failing. She no longer went up and down the
steps, she had to be carried. Around the first of February she
started falling. I took her to the vet and he put her on Zubion. It
is a very strong medicine and we were very hopeful that this would
fix her right up. Unfortunately, it made no difference at all. After
two weeks of her not getting any better, but getting worse, and
falling more and more, I made the very painful decision to let Ethel
Marie go.
On March 10, 2007, at age 12 years and 5 months, Ethel Marie crossed
the Rainbow Bridge, wrapped in her favorite pink blankie (a gift
from her best friend Penny Lou Steinmacher) held tightly in my arms.
I have never hurt so badly or missed someone as much as I do Ethel
Marie. No other dog will ever take my Ethel Marie’s place. She and I
had a connection that I have never had with any other dog. You will
forever be in my heart. Good bye Ethel Marie, I will see you one
day, at the Bridge.
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