Sunny’s Story
Sunny came to us in late July of 2018 at the age of 11 months. A year after losing our second Pomeranian, Scooter, I started looking for another. I found Sunny on Craig’s List. No – this is not the place I generally send people to look for dogs, but this was a rehome, not a Craig’s List breeder. I contacted the person who had posted the ad and sent her my website link. She had already placed him in another home – but she said she had looked at my website and if the first home didn’t work out for some reason, she would love for us to have him.
A week later I contacted her again, just to check in, and she said the adopter was returning him – they were afraid he was going to kill their cat. She was picking him up that morning – could she bring him over to meet us? OF COURSE SHE COULD!!!
She arrived in a big red pickup truck and stepped out, dressed in Mennonite garb and holding a 25-pound Pomeranian in her arms. Larger than I expected! (Although we always thought he was a mix of some kind, a later DNA test confirmed he was 99.9% Pomeranian!) We invited her into the training center and she set Sunny down. (His name wasn’t Sunny then, but I don’t remember what it was.)
Sunny was fearful. Paul sat on a chair, and I sat on the floor. Sunny made his way over and warmed up to me but wanted nothing to do with Paul. We suspected that the men on the Mennonite farm didn’t have much to do with him, and if they did it likely wasn’t positive. The woman said her teen-age daughter had a female Pomeranian and thought she wanted to breed her, so they bought Sunny from an Amish farm (read “puppy mill). Then her daughter changed her mind, so they were looking to rehome him.
After about 20 minutes, Sunny still wasn’t any happier about Paul. The woman looked at the clock on the wall and said, “I have an appointment I need to go to… what do you think?”
I glanced at Paul – assuming he would say no. Instead, he looked at me and nodded his head. Sunny was home!
And in case you were wondering, the woman didn’t ask for any payment – she just wanted a good home for him.
We named him Sunny – short for Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows. He sure lived up to that name during his too-short life! (And he never tried to kill our cats…) He bonded to me immediately – and showed some early mild separation related behaviors (SRBs), although never severe ones. He of course was not crate-trained. We put an exercise pen next to my side of the bed so he could be near me at night, but even that wasn’t enough. For two weeks I slept with my hand dangling in the ex-pen touching him, then gradually began to withdraw it until he could sleep in the pen without my hand in it.
Meanwhile I was working on crate training, and soon he was able to be crated at night – yes, near me on my side of the bed. That’s where he slept for the rest of his life.
Over the next couple of years Sunny gradually became comfortable with Paul. He also attended some of our Behavior Modification Academies where we worked on counterconditioning and desensitization with our male students.
He became more confident with our boarders in the barn when they came to visit their horses and eventually lived up to his name; he was Sunny with pretty much everyone. Of course I was always his main squeeze until the very last moment.
So, What Happened?
Sunny had always been our healthiest dog. No issues whatsoever. He would run full speed doing zoomies with KC and Kai in the barn aisle, the arena and our back yard, and chasing rabbits in the woods. He could leap from the ground into my arms and I would catch him. He followed me everywhere, and if we left him in the house he always greeted my return with happy excitement.
Then, in mid-February of this year he threw up a few times. Not super alarming, but when our mobile vet (Dr. Snyder, Stone Marsh) came at the end of the month for everyone’s annual well-pet check-up we asked her to do a senior blood panel for him. Just in case. He was seven, so it was time to start those anyway.
The blood panel came back normal, but starting in early March the vomiting was happening more frequently; 3-4 times a week. We started him on chicken and rice and some anti-nausea meds, per our vet’s instructions. When that didn’t seem to help – and in fact he was getting worse – Dr. Snyder, who only does basic vet care, told us to go to a full-service vet, so we took him to North Paws Animal Hospital – a new vet clinic for us, but was had heard very good things about them.
Dr. Bellerive at NPAH examined Sunny and did a GI Panel, and radiographs and an ultrasound. She was concerned that the pictures showed abnormalities, including a thickened stomach and intestinal walls, and gave us a low-fat diet, anti-nausea meds and more instructions. The GI panel showed a couple of abnormalities, and we started medication for those. He quickly got worse. He stopped eating his low-fat diet and we had to tempt him with anything he might eat. Vomiting increased to every day, then multiple times a day. Dr. Bellerive referred us to Partners Veterinary Emergency/Specialty Center in nearby Fredrick. We had an appointment for the following Wednesday with the Internal Medicine Specialist. But when our boy – who had always had a voracious appetite – stopped eating altogether we took him into the ER at Partners on Saturday, where Dr. Wilson examined him, gave him fluids, and said he needed to stay there.
On Monday he was seen by Dr. Kakar, the specialist. She did another more detailed endoscopy and found a mass of necrotic tissue in his stomach – possible cancer. She did biopsies – results of which can take 1-2 weeks to come back. They had a tube in his nose and were withdrawing fluids from his stomach every few hours, and placed an IV tube in his leg to give him fluids. By Monday evening he was eating a little and definitely brighter. They said we could come visit on Tuesday, and if he was still brighter and eating, he might be able to come home with us.
SWe went. He still wasn’t his normal, happy bouncy Sunny, but his tail was wagging and he was definitely happier than when he had left him there. I walked him outside and he brightened up even more. Yay! We brought him home, and he was pretty cheerful. He ate some various foods – not his normal diet, but Dr. Kakar said give him anything he will eat. So he got some hardboiled egg, chicken, roast beef and cheese. He even ate his pills in cheese, which would be necessary for us to keep treating him at home.
But it didn’t last. By Thursday he was quite depressed, would not eat anything, and his stools were black and moist, meaning blood – the mass in his stomach had probably ruptured. We agreed we had to let him go. Dr. Snyder came out and helped us say good-bye so Sunny could leave us in the comfort of his own home.
I’m still crying. Because he followed me everywhere, everything I do reminds me that he’s not here. He was only 7 years old. He should have been here at least twice that long.
Here's some happy Sunny photos from his years with us:
All of the dog trainers, clients and other contacts in my network have been incredibly supportive through our ordeal. Many of them knew Sunny personally and shared their stories about what a wonderful boy he was. I am so grateful for their support and kind Sunny words.
Here are some of their comments:
“I am so sorry for your loss. My wife and I first met Sunny when we brought our dog to you for consultation. He was so happy and proud to be with you and to collaborate with you and your work.”
“Oh no! I am so very sorry to hear this! I remember his awesome little presence at PPaws and that fabulous bounce/jump. Run free, little man! Always loved – never forgotten!”
“RIP Sunny, thank you for all the help you gave us during our training classes.”
“Oh no, Pat. I'm so sorry. He was such a special guy. I'm so grateful I got to partner with him at one of the academies. I bet he's already spotted at least a hundred bunnies.”
“I'm so sorry to hear about Sunny. He was such a sweet, loving dog, and I feel really lucky to have gotten to spend time with him and see the special bond that you two shared. He was truly one of a kind.”
Pet Loss and Grief
He truly was one of a kind. Being able to write about him has been cathartic for me… Thank you for listening. We will be burying him this afternoon on his favorite bunny-chasing hill along with several of his favorite toys – including his best stuffed bunny. Good-bye, sweet Sunny…
I know that many of you have endured the impossible pain of losing a beloved animal companion. There are some wonderful resources available to help us during these dark times:
https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/grief-and-bereavement---loss-of-a-pet
https://www.lapoflove.com/Quality-of-Life/How-Will-I-Know-It-Is-Time
And I wish for you that when the time comes you can help your beloved companion leave this earth gently, that you have as much support as I have gotten, and that your own grief passes with time.
This Week at Peaceable Paws
As you might imagine, not much going on here this week – just sending you peacocks and flowers.
Warm Woofs,
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
www.peaceablepaws.com ; info@peaceablepaws.com ; 301-582-9420
Thank you. You re right...never enough...