My Precious Kaycee

[goldens]

We had lost one of our golden retrievers Scooter, to heartr attack 2 months after his 5th birhtday. we had his full brother, later litter, Buck, who was lost without Scooter. We decided to get another mail golden. And the hunt began.

We located a breederabout 50 mles from here and contacted him. Told him we wanted a male puppy. We went out and checked the paret dogs& apers out and selected this beautiful little boy. Then this little female came and got in hubbys lap and we were sunk. We could nt really afford 2 puppies, but something told us to take her. The breeder did give us a discount for taking 2--tho some breeders will not sell littermates together.

They were almost weeks old when we brought them home and having the pair was great. They slept in a play pen beside the bed. Buck actually trained them to go potty. They were never distructive, never chewed on things....except each other.

KayCee ad problems from the start with allergies. then at 16 months she developed a sudden limp on her right rear leg. I almost went into a pancv. I had lost my Irish Setter at 12 1/2 to bone cancer 2 1/2 years earlier. But it turned out she had a luxating patella and surgery fixed it. However 14 months latr, her left knee developed the sdame problem along with a damaged ACL and she had surgery on that knee. And just before that she had a severe reaction to her 2ed set of annual shots and we almost lost her.

Sadly we lost her brother, Hunter to ProHeart in Oct. '03 (his story is in the health section)./ We learned KayCee was allergic to pine tree pollen --we have 2 in our front yard--to live oak pollen--they are thick as fleas on a hounds back around here-- to mold spores--we live on the coast and mold is very common--to fleas--heck, where are there not fleas--and to Bermuda grass--which most of our back yard lawn is made of. when she was 6 and I had a geriatric physical done on her, including chest x-rays, we gound she had an enlarged heart cvhamber and was put on one very low dose blood pressure med each day and a baby asprin every other day. Not long after that I had a ultrasound done--and we found she had a mal formed kidney. It workd perfect, just twice as thick as it should be. My vet she she was really a fluke to have all these these things wrong when her parents wre fit and there was no history of any of these problems. Hunter had been healthy as a horse, never sick a day in his life til the ProHeart6 got him.

KayCee was the sweetet thing and she was a a chicken dog. If soething scared her, or was unusual, she would hid behind me ./ My vet use to laugh at her trying to hid behind me and peer around my legs at him----when her entire back half was totally exposed. She loved the grandkids and all dogs. She never met a stranger, either human or dog. Hubby is a cross c ountry truck driver and gone about 90% of the time, our sons long married, so there was just me and the dogs most of the time. I lost my od golden, brothe to Scooter, to heart attack May 15, 2007 at 12 yrs. 3 months, leaving KayCee and our adopted golden mix, Honey. Honey and KayCee were best bus and both slept with me. KayCee always slept on her back and I would rub her tummy. Back in the Spring I had found a pea size lump on the back of one leg--my vet has no idea how I found it as she had such long, thick "bloomers>" It was a fatty cyst nothing to worry about.

Then on the morning o May 23, she did not want breakfast and threw up yellow bile. About a year or so ago she had a virus--noi ating throwing up--and I thought it was the sam thing again, I took her to the vet and while examing her he felt a mass in he lower abdoman. Ultrasound showed it, but he could not be certain just what it was growing to. He did emergency surgery that afternoon.,

I knew when he came out it was grim. He said the tumor hd apparently started on her appendix, totally engulfed it, then completely encircled the area where her lage and small intistines join. In 20 years he had never seen a tumor in that area, the worst possible place because of a "etwork of blood vessels" Normal gasto tumor removal is 30 to 45 minutes. It took him 1 1/2 hours to emove KayCee's. He had not expected her to come around after surgery, but she did. This wqas Frida night. I sw the tumor. It was the size of a softball, a big ugly thing. I can not figure how I never felkt it rubbing her tummy every single night.

I went in to see her Saturday morning and was there a couple of hours Went back at feeding/meds time and got to take her outside to do her business. But she would not eat and they had to force feed her--she had to get her insdes to working or they would shut down poermantly. When I went back Sunday morning she had alreay been taken outside4 and she did not look well. I was there about an hour. When Iwent back about 5:30 Sunday afternoon, I took one look at her and I knew she was in such ba condition. She couldn't not even standy. The techs took her out and laid her on a blanket and I got down on the floor with her her. Her eyes told me she was suffering so badl. She was given a pain shot and that heled, but I knew I needed to let her go. I asked what time Rickey would be in for night rounds and te tech said he canme in around 7:30. I asked if they culd call and see if he would come in earlieri, I did not want her suffering any more.

both his home phone and cell phone were called, no answer. They said he always returned calls within 5 minutes. Time went on, we 3 sat on the floor with her, I told them all about her----one was new. I hugged and kissed her. I asked that fur be clipped that I could keep and for her foot print to be made before she died. That was done. We could not figure out why Rickey was not calling. Then at 7:00 she gasped and I knew it was the end. She gasped a couple more times and 7:02 she was gone. She gave me the gift of going on her own, I did not have to sign the dreaded papers toi send her to the Bridge. She died in mt arms, knowing how loved she was. During that time she had looked me in the eyes so many times. God had tha puppy get into hubby' lap because He knew we woud go the ends of the earth for her and we did

A few mites after I got home my vetcalled. e had been on the road and his cell phone would dial out. He was so upset he had no en there for me and KayCee, bt I told him I was glad. I had that extra time with her and she went on her own without me having to sign the papers.

I had her creamted and her ashes are buried next to her brother, Hunter, in our back yard. They had been so close andd she had gone into a depression when he was in the hospital and died. Now they are together. The histopath report came back--it was a gastrointestinal stromal tumor. Rickey had never removed one from a dog before. Research toild me that it is also very rare in humans, only 1 to 3% of all gastric tumors are of this kind. Leave it to my KayCee girl---she just had to be differnt, God love her.

This is my KayCee, take just weeks before she died.

KayCee Aug. 19, 1999 to May 25, 2008

Edited January 13, 2009 by goldens

[Golden Rules]

My favourite breed and I have lost a couple as well.

to you

[mita]

KayCee was truly beautiful in looks & nature. By the way, one of the nicest Goldies I know is a boy named Hunter, the same as KayCee's beloved brother.

My deepest sympathy to you on your loss.