Ginger was a white "Shepherd mix" dog. We got her from the Garden City dog pound in October 2002. She was a sweet friend with a gentle nature. Her favorite pasttimes were barking and chasing birds. She would also bark at the snow flakes as they fell. She was a good companion to our other dog, Fred and they spent a lot of time playing together. One of their favorite games was for one dog to stand on top of their doghouse while the other tried to get into it. Once that dog got into the doghouse, the other would try to keep them in it. We said they were playing "King of the Mountain".
We noticed that Ginger was having a hard time keeping her balance on a Friday evening. We took her to the vet that night and she was given antibiotics but the vet couldn't give us a definite diagnosis. She didn't get any better during the next week but she also did not seem any worse -- until the following Sunday when we found that she could not even stand up any longer. We made the decision to let her go and not prolong her suffering any longer. Her whole family was with her when she was given the injection that would free her from her pain. The vet believed that it was a brain tumor because of the way it progressed.
She brought us so much happiness in just a year and a half and we bless the day we found her waiting for us to save her. At least her death came because of illness and not just because she was a dog that no one loved enough to keep.
I imagine that she is running around the fields of Heaven - chasing birds and barking at snowflakes.
Update: After Ginger died, Fred never went back into the doghouse again. He chose instead to go under the back porch. We realized he was so sad without another dog as a constant companion but we had moved to a house with a small yard so we couldn't have two dogs again. We tried to keep him happy for a couple of years but we made the heartbreaking decision to give him to another family who had just lost one of their two dogs and was going though what we were with a dog in mourning. He adjusted well to the move and even though we miss him, we know we did what was best.
***Special thanks go out to Melanie for sponsoring Ginger's memorial page. We are so touched by the gesture.***
We noticed that Ginger was having a hard time keeping her balance on a Friday evening. We took her to the vet that night and she was given antibiotics but the vet couldn't give us a definite diagnosis. She didn't get any better during the next week but she also did not seem any worse -- until the following Sunday when we found that she could not even stand up any longer. We made the decision to let her go and not prolong her suffering any longer. Her whole family was with her when she was given the injection that would free her from her pain. The vet believed that it was a brain tumor because of the way it progressed.
She brought us so much happiness in just a year and a half and we bless the day we found her waiting for us to save her. At least her death came because of illness and not just because she was a dog that no one loved enough to keep.
I imagine that she is running around the fields of Heaven - chasing birds and barking at snowflakes.
Update: After Ginger died, Fred never went back into the doghouse again. He chose instead to go under the back porch. We realized he was so sad without another dog as a constant companion but we had moved to a house with a small yard so we couldn't have two dogs again. We tried to keep him happy for a couple of years but we made the heartbreaking decision to give him to another family who had just lost one of their two dogs and was going though what we were with a dog in mourning. He adjusted well to the move and even though we miss him, we know we did what was best.
***Special thanks go out to Melanie for sponsoring Ginger's memorial page. We are so touched by the gesture.***
Ginger was a white "Shepherd mix" dog. We got her from the Garden City dog pound in October 2002. She was a sweet friend with a gentle nature. Her favorite pasttimes were barking and chasing birds. She would also bark at the snow flakes as they fell. She was a good companion to our other dog, Fred and they spent a lot of time playing together. One of their favorite games was for one dog to stand on top of their doghouse while the other tried to get into it. Once that dog got into the doghouse, the other would try to keep them in it. We said they were playing "King of the Mountain".
We noticed that Ginger was having a hard time keeping her balance on a Friday evening. We took her to the vet that night and she was given antibiotics but the vet couldn't give us a definite diagnosis. She didn't get any better during the next week but she also did not seem any worse -- until the following Sunday when we found that she could not even stand up any longer. We made the decision to let her go and not prolong her suffering any longer. Her whole family was with her when she was given the injection that would free her from her pain. The vet believed that it was a brain tumor because of the way it progressed.
She brought us so much happiness in just a year and a half and we bless the day we found her waiting for us to save her. At least her death came because of illness and not just because she was a dog that no one loved enough to keep.
I imagine that she is running around the fields of Heaven - chasing birds and barking at snowflakes.
Update: After Ginger died, Fred never went back into the doghouse again. He chose instead to go under the back porch. We realized he was so sad without another dog as a constant companion but we had moved to a house with a small yard so we couldn't have two dogs again. We tried to keep him happy for a couple of years but we made the heartbreaking decision to give him to another family who had just lost one of their two dogs and was going though what we were with a dog in mourning. He adjusted well to the move and even though we miss him, we know we did what was best.
***Special thanks go out to Melanie for sponsoring Ginger's memorial page. We are so touched by the gesture.***
We noticed that Ginger was having a hard time keeping her balance on a Friday evening. We took her to the vet that night and she was given antibiotics but the vet couldn't give us a definite diagnosis. She didn't get any better during the next week but she also did not seem any worse -- until the following Sunday when we found that she could not even stand up any longer. We made the decision to let her go and not prolong her suffering any longer. Her whole family was with her when she was given the injection that would free her from her pain. The vet believed that it was a brain tumor because of the way it progressed.
She brought us so much happiness in just a year and a half and we bless the day we found her waiting for us to save her. At least her death came because of illness and not just because she was a dog that no one loved enough to keep.
I imagine that she is running around the fields of Heaven - chasing birds and barking at snowflakes.
Update: After Ginger died, Fred never went back into the doghouse again. He chose instead to go under the back porch. We realized he was so sad without another dog as a constant companion but we had moved to a house with a small yard so we couldn't have two dogs again. We tried to keep him happy for a couple of years but we made the heartbreaking decision to give him to another family who had just lost one of their two dogs and was going though what we were with a dog in mourning. He adjusted well to the move and even though we miss him, we know we did what was best.
***Special thanks go out to Melanie for sponsoring Ginger's memorial page. We are so touched by the gesture.***
