Smokey has lymphoma

[doxielady5569128]

 :meme:  That is such great news!  I hope he truly is in Remission and he has beaten this horrible disease.    :apls:

[sjv]

Dear friends,

Sorry I've been away for so long but today is the day that Gail and I had hoped would never come.  We write this post with the most heavy, grieved and sobbing hearts.  :sad2:  After a courageous one year battle, including continuous periodic chemotherapy treatments that gave him great quality of life, our precious and dearly beloved Smokey, the "grandchild we will never have", has succumbed to his dreaded lymphoma cancer and gone on to the Rainbow Bridge to be with my Janie, Rocky and Prissy; Gail's Freckles, Scrapper and Missy.  Our precious Smokey is now together with our Count, Snoopy and Duke who have shared most of our 47 years of married life and brightened each day of that time.  They are all now there at the Rainbow Bridge waiting for the day when we arrive so we can all be together again and cross that bridge and be in Heaven together. 

While we never know what life holds for any of us, about 2 1/2 years or so after our black & tan Duke went to the Rainbow Bridge 12/18/2001, we began to look for a new best friend.  Our plan was that our new "best friend" was probably going to take me to my eternal rest and then be there to help comfort Gail into her elder years........but that was not in God's plan.  Smokey had the absolutely best disposition and loving mannerisms of any dog we've ever owned.  We have frequently said "everybody loves Smokey" and that is very true.  Because of that, we reason that God gives us the best companions for a shorter period of time because He wants the best one's to come back to Him sooner.  And so, He took our beloved Smokey back to Him a lot sooner than we had hoped or expected.

We found Smokey, our beloved "blue & tan" Dachshund as we were looking for a puppy a couple of years after Duke left us to go to the Rainbow Bridge.  Smokey was residing in a kennel environment in Mandeville, LA and was 17 months old when we first saw him.  It took me 2 months to talk the kennel owner into selling him to us and not keeping him as a "stud" dog at her kennel.  He was then 19 months old and from the very moment we drove away from the kennel with him on 5/18/2004, his life changed immediately for the best for the rest of his all too brief life, and so did ours.  That very first night, he slept in our bed between us where he has remained every night since, except for a very few times when he was at the boarding facility for a few days (we even selected a place that was air-conditioned and had 7 covered outdoor "runs") or twice overnight at the hospital during his cancer ordeal.  He was 19 months old when he blessed us by coming into our lives (he would have been 6 on Oct.15th), he evacuated with us to Selma, Alabama for Hurricane Katrina for a week in 2005 and lived with us every monent during our re-building and slept between us in our "can-dominium" FEMA trailer bedroom.  We called the trailer his "big kennel house" that "he allowed us to share with him".  He was a tremendous source of comfort during that very trying period.

To say that we are severely heartbroken and devastated by the loss of our best friend would be the understatement of our lifetime.  You cannot imagine the very deep emotional pain we are experiencing...but maybe you can.  It will take quite a while, if ever in this life, to fully "come back" after this loss but we will try with the hope and belief that we will someday be with him and all our precious little ones at the "Rainbow Bridge" where we can all cross over that bridge into Heaven and be together again......forever.

With the heaviest grieving hearts,

S&G

[Kari]

I am so sorry! I know that nothing I can say will make it better but just know that I am thinking of you. 

[jillkilleen]

How very sorry for your loss. When on grieves well all grieve with you. I know there are no words that can express or even soothe now, but know your baby is with you always and is now feeling much better.

[Merion]

We are so sorry to hear that Smokey has lost his battle.  It is never easy to lose them. Sending HHHHHH's  :comfort:  & PPPPPPP's  :pray:  to you and Gail.
You will be in our thoughts!!! And Smokey is having a ball with the others at the Bridge waiting for the time when you join them.
Merion & the ZZ's

[cheryl186]

Words can not express the sorrow I feel for your loss of Smokey.  Please know you and Gail are in our thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.  Smokey will be waiting for you at the Bridge.  God Bless you all....God Speed Sweet Smokey.

[papbouv]

May Smokey rest in peace it is awful when one of our Fur Kids have to go to the Bridge not much one can say to ease the pain but he gave it his all in his fight against a terrible disease sending hugs to you and Gail very sorry for your great loss.
Patches mom

[AnnieofNJ]

Sending you my deepest sympathy.  May you find some comfort in the memories of happy times spent with Smokey.

God Speed Smokey-Angel.

Annie & the New Jersey Doxie Gang

[Roberta]

So sorry for your loss, no words really help, but we are here. Smokey had a great life by the sounds of it. My mother always says to grieve you must have loved.
Smokey is probably at rainbow bridge looking out for his replacement to make sure you are looked after.
Roberta

[Barb]

My heart is breaking for you.....Smokey, and you, his loved ones fought the fight...... He will always be in your heart and will be watching over you, but that doesn't make his passing any easier.  Many here know what you are feeling.....  Hugs to you - and know that we are here when you need us.  Godspeed sweet Smokey...

[Rich]

So very sorry to hear about Smokey. We have had our hearts broken many times ourselves but they do heal, although with a scar of remembrance forever.

[Madderoos Mom]

So sorry to hear about your Smokey.  My thoughts are with you.  He fought the brave fight.  What a handsome guy!  Sending our love and sympathy.

[JetEd73]

I know just how you feel, I sent my Simon-Angel to Rainbow Bridge November 29th, 2007. The emotional pain is hard to bear.

senting prayers and blessings your way.

[sjv]

Our thanks to all for your kind wishes and sentiments.  We are reading two books now that we hope will help us with our grief at the loss of our beloved Smokey.  They are: Coping With Sorrow on the Loss of Your Pet by Moira Anderson Allen and The Rainbow Bridge: Pet Loss Is Heaven's Gain by Niki B. Shanahan.

We feel that we might be ready to think about getting another Dachshund (never a replacement but a new personality to care for) in about 15 months.  It has taken us about one to two years to get to that point in the process in the past.

My question is:  I have done some very preliminary searching on the web for a blue & tan standard sized Dachsy.  I've found a zillion miniature breeders but very few standard breeders.  Can anyone point us in the direction of a HIGH QUALITY breeder of standard sized Dachsy's that may be able to provide a blue & tan?

Thanks again for all the support.  Ya'll are really compassionate folks.   

PS: I forgot to add a pic of Smokey's son born in August 2004.  I keep beating myself up for not taking him home when I had the chance back then, but Smokey's oncologist said that his lymphoma may have been genetic and we may have had to go through the same emotional pain and expense of the cancer all over again.......who knows??

[JetEd73]

I hate to say this but...

For me, the only way to really honor my Simon-Angels 11 years of dedication and service was to adopt a Dachshund in need. There are many rescue groups on the web with literally thousands of beautiful dogs in need of a loving home. It was really a heart breaking process for me, thousands of Dashshunds and I could really only take one.

I was really apprehensive on adopting a rescue but in the end, Mr. Wilson, my adoptee, has been and will continue to be a wonderful dog. There's no way i could have gotten a better animal and I'd adopt again in a heart beat.

You should consider that adopting would be a fitting memorial to dear Smokey-Angel.

[Norman]

I hate to say this but...

For me, the only way to really honor my Simon-Angels 11 years of dedication and service was to adopt a Dachshund in need. There are many rescue groups on the web with literally thousands of beautiful dogs in need of a loving home. It was really a heart breaking process for me, thousands of Dashshunds and I could really only take one.

I was really apprehensive on adopting a rescue but in the end, Mr. Wilson, my adoptee, has been and will continue to be a wonderful dog. There's no way i could have gotten a better animal and I'd adopt again in a heart beat.

You should consider that adopting would be a fitting memorial to dear Smokey-Angel.

First my deepest sympathies for your loss of Smokey.

I agree with JetEd.Adoption is a great way to honor Smokey.It may take some time to get to that point,my dad waited almost 10yrs after his Sigmund died before he adopted little Simon.

My dad is now not physically able to take care of Simon so Jane and I "re-adopted" him.Simon has had to have a disc fused,he's also had to have surgery to remove an intestinal blockage.And yet a 9yrs old he has as much energy,playfulness and love to give as you could hope from any dog.

My best to you and yours.

PS.Your Smokey was truly a handsome one!

[PattyInAK]

I loved seeing the photos of Smokey, and I hope the treatment works.  These little guys sure know how to get into our hearts, don't they?  I will keep Smokey in my prayers.
Patty (in Alaska, with Willy and Alex)

[sjv]

I loved seeing the photos of Smokey, and I hope the treatment works.   These little guys sure know how to get into our hearts, don't they?  I will keep Smokey in my prayers.
Patty (in Alaska, with Willy and Alex)

Patty, thanks for that but you must have missed the sad news somewhere above......we lost our dearest Smokey to his lymphoma on Sept. 24th.......3 weeks to the day short of his 6th birthday.  We will go to the LSU Vet School in Baton Rouge on Monday for our first sit-down session with the director of the "Best Friend Gone" grief counciling project.  It took 4 weeks to get an appointment with her.  Hopefully she will be able to ease this emotional pain somewhat for us as she has been reported to do for others.  She enjoys a good reputation.

Attached below is a picture of one of our two urns (we have 2 identical....one will go with each of us when our time comes, that contain each of our three Dachshunds we've had since 1970).  The "Rainbow Bridge" and their names and dates are laser engraved into the wood.

[sjv]

Hi friends. It's been almost 3 months since our beloved Smokey left us and we fully intended to wait at least a year until we looked for a new baby (never a replacement). We have been in such an emotional low, crying everyday, etc.. Well, three weeks ago we were talking and came to the conclusion that at our age, "the clock is ticking"! We started our search in ernest via internet, etc., for a new beby....and Smokey sent us Izzy.  We found him locally and he is perfect!  He had us from the first kisses .....sleeps between us in our king-size bed from the 1st night! He is Fawn (Isabella) & Tan and has the most beautiful blue/green eyes we have ever seen. He was one of a litter of four, all males , three Isabella and one chocolate. He was born Sept. 3 and was 3 months old when we got him 2 weeks ago 12/7. Our vet of 33 years gave him a complete physical and exam and gave him 2 thumbs up!

It's amazing how the presence of this new baby has affected us emotionally. We really were devestated by the loss of Smokey and we've done a 180 degree since Izzy "took over". The last picture below is with "Santa". Our son is working at Petco as a trainer and played "Santa" for the pet photos. We sent out the "family" picture on a neat Christmas card done by Sam's Club for us.

Merry Christmas to all and we hope your New Year is at least as good as our will be! I want to thank all of you for your kind support.....it really helped us through this difficult time. Life is good!

[Rich]

Congratulations! Izzy's a handsome one and I'm sure will be a great companion. I'll bet Smokey is happy for you.

[papbouv]

Congratulations on the new Fur Kid know Smokey is still left a huge hole in your hearts but the little pupper will help keep you busy.Patches Mom

[doxielady5569128]

Izzy is a stunning looking fellow!     Congratulations on your new addition to your family.  He'll help heal your broken hearts in no-time.     I don't think we ever stop missing our beloved babies when they go to the bridge.   

[cheryl186]

Oh my....Izzy is stunning   Congratulations on your new baby   Smokey is looking down upon you and smiling...he did a wonderful job sending Izzy to you :apls: :apls: :apls:

[AnnieofNJ]

OMG, what a handsome pupper Izzy is and I'm sure Smokey would approve of the addition to your home.  He wouldn't want you to continue without the love of a doxie as there is nothing like it in the world.

Your Christmas picture is great.  Warmest wishes to all for a very Merry Christmas and Healthy, Happy New Year.

Annie & the New Jersey Doxie Gang

[Teresa]

He is a handsome boy and will give all the love in your heart somewhere to go. His eyes are stunning. Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year. There's nothing like a new puppy around the holidays.