So many people have asked us what happened when they learned of Libby’s passing this past weekend. I wrote this tribute for our Colorado Greyhound Adoption yahoo E-group so I thought I’d share it here. Libby is fondly known in our CGA family as Libby “the flood dog” because of the story of how we came to adopt her. Our Swingin’ Sunday event on November 30, 2014 is dedicated to her memory.
We’ve been part of the CGA family for almost 6 years. Having originally adopted younger dogs, we’ve only read your tribute emails. Today, we write one.
Our sweet Libby has gone to the Rainbow Bridge. You all know her as Libby the Flood Dog and while you probably already know the story of how she came to us, it’s proudly displayed on the home page of CGA’s website right now. (update: this is no longer on the home page, but the link is above)
About a month ago, Libby was diagnosed with a pretty extensive case of IVDD (disk disease). They told us that she could have spinal tumors or a brain tumor, but we declined an MRI due to her age. She still had a ton of spunk, so we started her on meds and acupuncture and she had already been getting regular massages. She seemed to be doing really well. Then a little over a week ago, we suspect that Libby had a seizure. We only saw the aftermath so there was really nothing that could be done unless it happened again. In the meantime, she was acting completely normal and enjoying life. Her usual picky appetite was better than ever. This morning, Scott witnessed it happen again while I was on my way home from class. It wasn’t classic seizure behaviors, but they were pretty sure. We took her over to the ER and they suggested x-rays of her chest. The image would show them some of her spine and they’d be able to compare them to the x-rays from a month ago. We were shocked to learn that she had a very enlarged heart, due to fluid filling the heart sac. She was in critical condition and at risk of cardiac arrest. The vet said she if she could drain the fluid then it would ease Libby’s pain and stabilize her enough to take her home for a more peaceful goodbye. When the radiologist looked at her ultrasound, he confirmed that she had a very large mass on her heart. Her heart looked normal on the x-ray from just a month ago.
She was very old and we knew that our time would be shorter than longer, yet this was all so sudden. She was running zoomies just a couple of days ago and she seemed completely normal this morning. We’re really glad that we were able to bring her home, even if it was just for a few hours, so that we could love on her and feed her lots of rotisserie chicken. She was able to have a peaceful passing at home on her favorite sofa.
While you know her story, I wanted to share a little more about Libby. She was such a sweet girl. She loved all dogs and people, but people the most. She had to be in the same room as us, or at the very least on the sofa that was nearest to us. She was the first of our dogs to be a sofa dog and while we tried to teach her not to, it only took a few days before we gave in. She was a sofa hog too, often relegating one of us to sit in the chair. She was much more outwardly affectionate than Houston or Ziti, sometimes whining until you pet her. She’d then let out a groan and plunk her head down on the sofa or your lap, whichever was closer. When we had a bunch of friends over, she kept making her rounds to make sure everyone there gave her some attention.
There was just something really special about her that I can’t quite explain, but her racing name suited her perfectly. She very much had a “look at me” kind of way about her. She commanded your attention but did so with such a sweet subtlety. We knew our hearts would be broken and yet it’s so much harder than I thought it would be. I spent many days sitting next to her while working on my laptop, with her head against my leg or in my lap. I can’t figure out how I’m going to do this on Monday without her. She gave us so much joy and so much love in the last 13 months and we will miss her so very much.
Run free, our sweet, sweet Libby.