Tara Had Her 18th Birthday!

My sweet old Sheltie, Tara turned 18 on Saturday, Feb.16th.

I made her a doggy birthday cake and shared some with her Sheltie brothers, Scotty and Riley. She loved it, especially the strawberries and blueberries. Yum... My husband and son thought it was real cake for people. We could eat it but when they found out it was for Tara they didn't want any.

Tara had a good day doing her normal things, eat, sleep, walk around, go outside to potty and sleep some more.

Then, she woke me up at 6am Sunday whimpering. To make the story short, she suffered a stroke. She has been having mini strokes for a few months and always got back to normal. This was a bad one. She couldn't stand at all. I lifted her onto her bed and sat crying for a long time.

I couldn't stop thinking about our 18 years together and then her likely crossing over to the rainbow bridge one day after her birthday. It was torture sitting with her and wondering if she could bounce back one more time.

I started giving her Rescue Remedy every 30 minutes and drops of water every few minutes. She was still totally limp, not able to move and not improving. At one point I decided to see if she would eat a few bites of food so I got her birthday cake out and cut a tiny bite. I held her head up, put the cake under her nose and she ate it! That lifted my spirts but she still couldn't move on her own so I proped her head on a pillow and covered her with a light blanket.

Tara has been amazing me for years with her exceptional health, mobility and will to live. The only problem she's had was not eating well so I cooked her pancakes, chicken and bought jar baby food for her. She was very thin but still very healthy!

Tara moved with me from Texas to Minnesota 12 years ago. She's been a constant in my life for 18 years. In all honesty, she's been the perfect dog and my very best friend.

Ok, back to Sunday. For 5 hours Tara was on her bed totally motionless and I was just watching her to make sure she was still breathing. I still gave her water and the Rescue Remedy every half hour.

I was on my computer getting ready to write the end to Tara's life story when I heard her toenails on the hardwood floor. She was up! I yelled to my family - Tara's Up! I'm still giddy happy remembering how I felt when she got up. She is the most amazing dog. I carried her outside to go potty. It was really windy outside and I was afraid she would be blown over, but she wasn't. She went potty, came back inside, drank some water and walked around a bit. I watched her like a hawk all day and she kept improving.

It's Tuesday and she's still doing great. She is starting to eat a little better, walks better and is back to her pre-birthday condition.

I know Tara will not be with us too much longer, a dog can't live forever. I don't want to have to euthanize her if at all possible to avoid. I won't let her suffer though. I hope she goes to sleep one day and crosses over in her sleep.

I asked her to spend last Thanksgiving with us, then Christmas, then New Years, and lastly her Birthday. I'm not selfish, she gave me my 4 wishes so now when she's ready, I'll let her go. I'll always love her, miss her, think of her daily but I'll always know she was my lifeforce and I was hers for many years.

Happy 18th Birthday Tara. We love you dearly,

Mom, Dad, Matthew, Scotty, Riley and Bob Cat.