Gertie
Oct. 8, 2014 I sit here with tears streaming down my face, as I write to tell you all that our dear Gertie has gone to the Bridge. As you know, she has been steadily going downhill for months, and we have been struggling with knowing when the time was right to send her on her final journey to the Bridge. She was still eagerly eating, and would still interact with the world somewhat by barking at the wind when outside, so I knew it wasn’t her time yet. Last night, however, she had a first ever grand mal seizure, which lasted a good 6 minutes or so, and then had difficulty breathing after the seizure stopped. We knew her time had come, so Jim and I took her over to the Emergency Vet and sent her to the Bridge. She went peacefully in my arms. Our Gertrude Maude was a puppy mill rescue from an Amish puppy mill in Ohio. She was rescued by Lucky Star Cavalier Rescue in 2009, and was in foster care for a while with an absolutely wonderful foster mommy who rehabilitated her and got her used to life outside of the mill. We adopted Gert in May of 2009, 3 months after we lost our dearest Chester. I had not been looking for another dog, but for some reason (fate, obviously), went looking at the Lucky Star site, and when her little face popped up, I literally gasped out loud. It was a thunderbolt and I knew we had to have her. We were told that she was about 7 years old then. She melded into our pack very well. She was our littlest one to that point, so after we named her “Gert”, the nickname “Gert the Squirt” came naturally, since she was “just a little squirt”. She participated in our annual Holiday photos, and my favorite pic of her from those is her as the angel in the Nativity Scene. She always had spunk, did our Gert. She was full of life and a little bit bossy. She would bark at our neighbor when he mowed his lawn. We think she had ben debarked at the puppymill, since her bark was very breathy and soft. It was funny to see her bark at Jeff while he mowed the lawn, then stop when he disappeared behind the garage, then start barking at him again when he came back into view. You could see that she believed she had made him disappear and was affronted that he dare show up again! She is now at peace in my father’s arms at the Rainbow Bridge. She can hear well, can see well, can walk a straight line, can run and jump and play. She has all her teeth again and eat whatever she wants without tummy upset. She can bark with her full voice to her heart’s content. She is with Scout and Lainie and Chester and all of her buddies from the puppymill who went before her. God bless you, Gertrude Maude. We love you and will miss you. You were a very very special little girl, and you touched our lives deeply. You taught us how to love unconditionally. Sweet dreams, Puddin’ Pop.

Ginger

Ginger was adopted in 2012. Her original name was Astrid. She joined her brother, Jackson, Lucky Star class of 2011 and settled into her loving home in Kentucky. Her Mom let me know that Jackson is still doing well but Ginger passed away due to MVD in 2015. Sweet little girl who loved her brother cavalier and her mommy.