A sweet old lady, known to many as an elderly poster girl for adopting old dogs with disabilities.
Last night we had her last stroller walk and a man in the neighborhood stopped and told me she must have been "the spoiltest dog in the world". She may have had cancer - tumors were erupting all over; she probably had congestive heart failure. But the coughing was unstoppable and was so bad, it would weaken that one front leg and she would sink to the ground and cough some more.
So it was time.
She was sent to the Rainbow Bridge on a sweetly scented spring morning with wisteria and swamp honeysuckle wafting through the trees in the yard, rolled down to my van.
Granny took her injuries, which looked like propeller scars on a manatee's back, and her amputation in complete stride and grace. I cannot imagine how much someone must have loved her to nurse her through her trauma. But a year and seven months ago, she had been confiscated by Bay County Animal Control in terrible condition, and when I saw her I couldn't let her go. Granny Annie had a wonderful life here, and special cushions she loved, scattered on the floor.
So now she is waiting with the others at the Rainbow Bridge.
Good girl, Annie. There's a big void in the house today, but you're home where you belong, with friends you didn't know. You were much adored and will be terribly missed for a long, long time.
I want to thank Wayne Pacelle and Julie Falconer at HSUS for their interest in Granny who appeared with her story in the magazine last year.
I hope that when the time comes to open your heart to another pet, you will consider the older animal, who may not stun you with its beauty, who carry with them a tale of suffering, whether it is physical or emotional, but who will bless your life with love and life lessons like nothing else can. Just like Granny Annie. I couldn't wish you more.
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