Thursday, April 15, 2004

Hi Everybody,

I can't tell you how sad I am to say that shortly after 11:00a.m. today, my sweet Frannie crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

Frannie, started having trouble with her left eye on April 3rd. It was very droopy and looked like it was sinking inward. I had her to the emergency vet and my vet twice that week and ended up taking her to the emergency room at the U this past Tuesday evening when I noticed she couldn't see. She went through an enormous amount of testing and also saw an ophthalmologist. She had euvitis (inflammation in her eye) which prevented her from seeing, but that' s usually a symptom of something else. On her chest x-ray they determined that Frannie had one of two things;

Blastomycosis which is a fungal disease. The test for blasto won't be back until next week, but even if that's what it turned out to be, we wouldn't have put her through the treatment. Dogs often need to be treated for 3 to 6 months and often get worse and end up in an oxygen tent with severe respiratory distress the first few days. And the medication per month is roughly $800. I wouldn't care about that so much if the treatment wasn't so harsh and I knew Frannie would be fine afterwards, but that wasn't the case.

The other possibility is that Frannie could have had a metastatic cancer. On her chest x-ray they were able to see a portion of Frannie's spleen and the radiologist said it looked irregular. She said it could just be that Frannie had an irregular appearing spleen, but she strongly felt that it was cancerous and that this was the primary source of the cancer that had spread into her lungs.

My Mom and I were absolutely shocked when we got this news! We lost Gilda just a year and a half ago after a 2 year battle with cancer, but what happened with Frannie came on so suddenly that it's hard for us to comprehend. Well, considering Frannie's prognosis, the risks and treatment options, we opted to keep her as comfortable as possible for the time she had left, which we were told would not be long. She was sent home with me last night with special food, 2 prescriptions for her eyes and 3 for her stomach, all of which had to be juggled throughout the day. I'd be fine with that, but although Frannie's eyesight had improved, her attitude and demeanor diminished severely after we got her home. It was kind of strange because Frannie seemed pretty perky last night when I went to pick her up, but now I'm convinced it was nervousness. This morning she showed absolutely no interest in life at all. She wouldn't eat, she wouldn't lift her head when I talked to her and she laid in our landing like she was on death's door, just waiting. She obviously didn't feel well and I just couldn't force the pills and drops on her anymore knowing how sick she was and how poorly she felt. Had I seen these signs when I picked her up last night, I would've put her down at the U. However, I mustered up the strength to make the call this morning and although I was originally scheduled to bring her in at 2:30, I called back shortly before 11 and they told me to bring her in right away, which I did.

We only had Frannie for a year and a half but it was soo worth it to have her even for the short time we did. She bonded with me like no other dog we 've ever had and I loved her as if I had her since she was a puppy! And she was the sweetest girl you'd ever want to meet! It's not fair and I'm mad as hell that this happened to her! It's hard on me and my Mom, but what bothers me most is that Frannie will miss out on so much life. What little consolation I get from this very short experience is that we spoiled Frannie rotten and she deserved it! She went in the car with us everywhere, she had her very own toy box stuffed to the top, as well as two baskets FULL of toys and another basket of them in the Jimmy, she had several dog beds, she got leftover breakfast on the weekends and Grandma always slipped her a 'morsel' after dinner. Not to mention Uncle Harry next door who always threw her a treat when she was outside. Gotta love those beggin' strips! Frannie had some wonderful friends as well; Henry and Bradley, her feline 'brothers', and Lulu, Joxer, Buddy & Raven, all next door neighbors and Astro and George and all the RAGOM dogs she met at the meetings. Frannie left some heavy footprints on our hearts and it's really going to take some time to get over the feeling that she just slipped through our hands...

Becky Lindstrom & Frannie, rest her soul!

Frannie #02-297

Frannie is such a wonderful dog and we just love her! She is so sweet and dainty and is very much a little lady. She and I bonded quickly so when I went to work for the first time she was pretty mopey (boy, can she pull a pout when she wants to). Frannie is rarely alone because my Mom (Grandma to her) is home with her all day so they have also bonded. Each day she and my Mom walk to meet me when I get off the bus after work and Frannie gets to run (on the leash) about 4 house lengths to meet me. She just loves it! Frannie is definitely learning the routine and is settling in and after being in 4 homes in such a short period of time, I think she is finally beginning to know that she is home.

Frannie has the run of the house and sleeps in my room on a big fluffy dog bed until I get up in the morning. On the weekends when we get up, Frannie gets pretty excited and will walk around with one of our slippers in her mouth (makes for cold feet for one of us!). She always picks something up when company comes too. For some reason she likes to carry something around the house because if not one of our slippers, then she's usually got a ball or her green froggie in her mouth. It is so cute to see!

Frannie is doing just GReat and we are so glad to have her! We were so spoiled with Gilda because she really was such a GReat dog and losing her after nearly 12 years left such an emptiness. My Mom was especially concerned that we'd never have such a good dog again and although Frannie isn't replacing Gilda, I can tell you that many, many times we have talked about how lucky we feel to have gotten her and how very happy we are that Frannie is part of our family. She is absolutely the best dog and is just perfect for us! We knew when we saw her that she was the one for us and apparently there was something subconscious going on because most people think she looks a lot like our Gilda.

Thanks to my fellow volunteers at RAGOM for your continued hard work and to Judi H. for the wonderful care that she and her family had shown Frannie and for helping us to 'complete' our family. It feels so good to have and love a dog again!!! You'll be seeing Frannie at the meetings (I can't wait to show her off!) and she knows she's got a friend in Reilly just down the parkway!

Sincerely,

Becky L., Frannie and her Grandma Lois