Kiamesha, My Right Hand Dog

[YodelMa]

As some of you have read in another post, Ki passed away quietly on Saturday with help from our vet. She had very advanced hemangiosarcoma.

While she wasn't a Basenji herself, she was my 'secret weapon' in fostering terrified puppy mill basenjis and siberian huskies. She demonstrated ramps, stairs, doggy doors, and crating tirelessly. She nurtured and fussed over the ones I couldn't yet approach, curling her warmth around emaciated bodies, bathing crusty eyes and cleaning tattered ears. Ki was magic, an angel in a dog suit, Mary Poppins with fur and the softest, most humungous ears ever. She made everyone around her braver and more confident just by standing next to them.

In the end, there was nothing we could do to save this sweet creature who–so un-basenji-like!--hung on our every word and did her level best to please us. We decided to help her across the bridge while she was still well enough to enjoy a ride in Daddy's pick-up to DQ, and while Daddy--leaving soon for Afghanistan--could be with her at the end.

Ki was always the one left behind--when we vacationed, went on trips to pick up or drop off dogs, when my husband went overseas. This time, we're the ones stuck on the wrong side of a closed door while she travels someplace we don't know or understand. We can only have faith, as she did so many times, that someday we'll all be together again.

[stash]

You have tears welling up in my eyes, what a wonderful dog she was guessing she will leave a big hole in your life but leaving you with plenty of wonderful memories. She now has a job over the rainbow bridge looking after any and all that need loving. You had to make a hard choice but sounds like it was the right choice for all. She sounds like she was a hero for the helpless what a amazing girl. Rest in peace Kiamesha.

Jolanda and Kaiser

[agilebasenji]

how very sad, but it sounds like Ki had a wonderful life.

[ownedbyspencer]

What a wonderful girl and what big pawprints she left. I'm so sorry to hear she's gone on, but I'm glad you all got to have special time together.

[Buddys Pal]

Hello YodelMa, what a lovely and heartfelt eulogy. Though I am reading this a few months later, I can only guess that hole Ki left still is tender. I was doing some research about the later in life stages of older dogs, and since my lab mix Hershey is 12, he is very slow and 90% deaf. I had in mind what I want to do, when he tells me the time is near…...:( But I ran across some good information that I'd like to share from the AAHA senior care guide. the excerpt of links is here:

End of Life and Euthanasia
Making the Decision

During the euthanasia decision-making process and after the decision is made, provide the client with resources about the process and impact of euthanasia on the family and other pets. Such resources include web sites, hotlines, books, brochures, and professional counselors for both adults and children.71-74 Web site examples include www.argusinstitute@ colostate.edu, www.rainbowsbridge.com, www.aplb.org, and www.deltasociety.org. Examples of pet loss support hotlines include those at Washington State University (509- 335-5704), the University of California-Davis (530-752- 3602 or 800-565-1526), Tufts University (508-839-5302), the Chicago Veterinary Medical Association (630-325- 1600), Cornell University (607-253-3932), and the Delta Society (619-320-3298).

Consider and discuss with the client the “five freedoms” to aid in assessing the animal’s welfare and in making an ethical decision.75 The five freedoms include freedom from hunger and thirst; freedom from physical and thermal discomfort; freedom from pain, injury, and disease; freedom from fear and distress; and the freedom to express normal behavior.75 Assess the severity and duration of the animal’s condition with these freedoms in mind and use them to help clients identify their own criteria for treatment or euthanasia. Such criteria might include financial, moral, religious, cultural, physical, and mental/emotional factors.