Snow

Snow’s first owner was given to him as a gift. That person was terminally ill and could not take care of a dog and could barely take care of himself. Snow was then given to a friend, who was not an animal person and had no patience. The friend was a friend of my brother and when it was decided to find a good home for him, my mother called me and told me. My brother made an appointment to get Snow’s vaccines and certificate of travel. He also got a one-way airline ticket for Snow. In a few short days, I was going to have this absolutely beautiful dog!

On New Year’s Eve 1997, my brother took Snow out of that home in Florida where he was unwanted and unloved and put him on a plane and sent him to me in Connecticut. I met Snow one month before on Thanksgiving while I was vacationing and visiting my family.

Snow was the best thing that happened to us and we all needed each other. I had Shelley, a two-year old Golden Retriever/Border Collie mix with separation anxiety, who needed a companion. I was single and loved the idea of having adopted Snow. He was easy to fall in love with.

Snow was nervous at first but was that way in Florida, too. He learned to relax and loved being loved. I noticed month by month how he evolved into a happy, loving, and relaxed boy. In November 1999, a couple of days shy of my birthday, I came home to find Snow facing the wall and he could barely use his back legs. He clearly was in pain and his feet were knuckling as he tried to stand. After a few days of this, on and off, he was diagnosed with intervertebral disk disease. His disk was compressed and bulging, hitting his nerves. After consulting with a local renowned animal neurologist, he wasn’t a candidate for back surgery. What he needed was rest at the veterinarian’s office. At first, because of his size and his situation, they gave him an examining room as his room instead of a kennel. They put a sign in the window of the door to the room “Careful. Snow is in here”. After a while, they penned an area just for him as a make-shift kennel in the back part of the office where it’s always buzzing with activity from the staff. We visited him in the evenings and got updates from two of the vets in the practice, the owner Dr. Olson and Dr. Albin. A male bonding occurred, the 3 of them.

Over the course of the 3 weeks, the bulging went down and he was able to walk but needed to have his urine suppressed. Dr. Olson told me that Snow got used to the routine around there. In the morning, he’d listen for the first vet to come in the morning. They’d turn on the light switch and there was Snow, happy to see them. He also reacted when the phone rang. They said that he’d sit there like a good boy, listening and observing every thing going on around him.

When I finally brought Snow home from his lengthy hospital stay, I didn’t allow him upstairs. In fact, my bedroom was upstairs but I slept on the floor with him and my other dog Shelley. I only went upstairs to use the shower or change clothes. It broke my heart to see him at the bottom of the steps whining and crying. Shelley, too, but I couldn’t let her up and not him. One day I was kind of slow in putting the tension gate back up and he started to follow me up the stairs. He went from room to room and was so excited that he could resume his familiar and comfortable routine.

That long stay at the vet made him somewhat of a celebrity. In later visits, while waiting in the waiting room or examining room, it wasn’t unusual for a technician or other staff member to poke their head in and say “Hi Snow. I heard you were here”. I’d ask, “Do you know Snow?” They’d respond “Oh, yes. I was one of many who took care of him here and we treated him like a king!” The vet and owner of the practice confirmed this when I told him that I felt so bad that Snow had to be there for so long. He said, “He did not have a bad time, here. Believe me. Everyone spoiled him!”

In January 2000, I discovered that Snow’s lower canine teeth were broken. The only things I could think of were the medication from the disk disease or Nylabones, which he loved to chew. He had enamel damage with pulp exposure. Since they were his lower canines, he had root canals and 2 new, shiny titanium crowns! The veterinarian dentist is just wonderful.

On November 21, 2001, just as I was getting ready to leave work for the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend, my husband Ron called me and said that Snow was running after Shelley in the yard and stopped and wouldn’t get up. When Ron called Snow, he reluctantly got up, limping and favoring his right rear leg. We called the vet’s but thinking it might be his disk. We were advised to have him rest and call the next day if not better. The next day, which was Thanksgiving and my birthday, we brought Snow to the vet’s, but a small staff was on as the others left for the holiday weekend. The vet took x-rays, which revealed a spiral break in the femur and he would need to have a plate and pin.

Because they were short staffed, we were referred a large animal hospital in the next state. They took one look at Snow, who at this point was in agony, and said that dogs just don’t break their legs. Their suspicion was correct - osteosarcoma. Snow had the leg amputated and healed and acclimated to 3 legs rather quickly and quite nicely. He’d resume his running and we would cringe as we watched him, telling him to slow down.

He had 4 chemotherapy treatments of Cisplaten and Adriamycin. After the first treatment, the oncologist told us that she was amazed and impressed at how well he did. Never any nausea or diarrhea. Snow resumed all his activities and we were blessed to have another Christmas, New Years, Valentine’s Day and Easter together with him. Both Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny brought gifts for he and Shelley, as they did every year. Snow got his favorite tennis balls and treats from Three Dog Bakery.

In April 2002, Snow had a chest x-ray done, since 4 weeks had passed since his final chemo treatment. Three small nodes were found on his lungs. Snow made friend's at the animal hospital, too, and on our April visit the oncologist got on the floor with him and hugged and kissed him and said, "Snow, you're one of my favorites". His oncologist, technicians and assistant were all females and he loved the ladies! A real ladies man! They confirmed this and they also said that they knew what he liked and didn't like and all got along well. In the meantime, his holistic vet gave him an injection of vitamins A&D and gave me Glutasyn powder to add to his meals to boost is immune system. We were not giving up! This boy was still enjoying his life.

On May 2, 2002, I requested one more x-ray. The oncologist’s assistant told me that she cried before calling me as they found that the nodes were much bigger.

As the weeks went by, he had some gagging and coughing but continued to do all the things he loved to do. The week of May 20th, it looked like the end was approaching. He had a bad night on the 23rd and I took the 24th off from work. My family was due to arrive that evening from Florida for a visit over the long Memorial Day weekend. The night of the 24th, he never laid down. He paced and wandered around the room all night., gagging and breathing heavily.

On a beautiful, sunny Saturday, May 25, 2002 at 3:45 p.m., we let Snow go and relieved him from his pain. Ironically, we were in "his" room at the vet's. He spent his last hours in his yard, taking in all the sounds and smells and many familiar sounds like the birds who visit the yard.

A few weeks later, I constantly had this feeling that I was missing something. If I was out, I'd always check and recheck that I had my purse, my keys, my jacket, as if I was missing something. You know that feeling. His 110 lb. body was always around and always wanting to be near me. Now, I am distracted and cannot stay focused. Although we have 2 other dogs at home, they keep to themselves most of the time but Snow was always with his humans and lit up any room he was in.

The happiest place on earth for him was to be home with his entire family. If members of the family were scattered about the house, he’d let it be known that he wanted everyone together. The same with bedtime. When the clock struck 8:19pm, Snow herded his family to the bedroom.

Once snuggled in his bed, if he heard “Brush your teeth?” he’d get up and run to the bathroom and sit by the sink and wait while I was getting his toothpaste on his toothbrush. If I was brushing Shelley’s teeth, he’d stick his big tongue onto her brush, while in her mouth, and lick off the toothpaste. To him, it was food!

He was extremely intelligent, loyal, brave, regal, loving and affectionate. He was the first male of any kind that I truly loved. I miss him so very much and I think of him all the time. He was Mr. Personality. I watched him blossom from shy and nervous to relaxed and his sense of humor came out, too. He was a very classy guy.

Thank you, Snow, for 4 ½ of the best years. Your love and companionship was like no other. You are in our hearts forever.

Laura & Ron
Shelley & TJ

Click here to write to Snow's family

Music: "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You" by Rod Stewart

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