We adopted Asbury (formerly Buffy) from you in April of 1999.
Unfortunately, we had to put her to rest on Friday, June 16, 2000. She had the
worst case of epilepsy our vet and many specialists from Angell Memorial and
Tufts had ever seen. They said she "was gonna be the kind of dog you read about in medical journals". Not exactly the long-lasting legacy we'd hoped for her,
but one nonetheless.
We will miss her dearly. Though the last month was painful for all of us
(including her), there were many, many wonderful moments shared with her. She
was a very smart and loyal dog. She was also very resilient which, in the end,
was the both the best and worst thing about her. It was because of this
resilience that she never responded to any of the many medications we had her
on. Phenobarbital, potassium bromide, gabapentin and oral valium three times a
day. And while that amount of drugs would be enough to knock out a dog twice
her size, she always had just enough spunk in her to go outside and chase her
soccer ball and frisbee, lick our faces forever and play fight (we called it
fighty-bitey) with me.
On what was the longest day of my life, and the shortest of hers, Asbury
had no fewer than 165 mgs of valium and still almost two dozen seizures.
Nothing worked. She was so brave though, never wanting to let me out of her
sight, even though she could barely walk to follow me. When the time came to
give her the relief she so badly needed, I knew she was going to a more
peaceful place. As the doctor injected her with the euthanasia mixture I
whispered to in her ear "go git it.". It was the way I used to tell her the go
fetch her frisbee. My hope was that wherever she was headed, there was a kind
and loving soul there to comfort her and, of course, play frisbee all day.
My heart is very heavy today without Asbury at my side. Kary and I will
miss her dearly and never, ever forget her. She may have only been shortly over
a year old but she is a friend I will have with me for a lifetime.
- Scott and Kary Noble
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