Our Sweet Bonnie Blue

I have dreaded writing this post, but we lost our sweet Bonnie Blue this month. Russ and I adopted her from West TN Border Collie Rescue almost 10 years ago and she was almost 13 years old. It has been so sad for our family, but the hardest for Russ since he and Bonnie have always shared this special bond.

Bonnie Blue - taken a few weeks before we lost her.

A little background on our girl...I first saw her at Germantown Festival and initiated the adoption with Russ. We had been married almost a year and I never really had a dog before and it seemed like a good next step. I remembering seeing beautiful Bonnie from across the way with tons of people and kids petting her and loving on her and she was just sitting there, so good and behaved, taking it all in. Russ was at a Tiger tailgate and even though I was joining him later, I had to call and tell him about this dog. He kinda blew me off but said that, sure, we could set up a visit for him to meet her. And so he met her the next afternoon, and we both fell in love. She was sweet, obedient and was so easy to teach. A big plus for me was that she was already potty trained and past the chew stage...I knew I could not fully love a dog who destroyed our nice things! Judge me, if you want, but at least I was honest with myself. :)

We learned some about Bonnie's background...she was rescued from a high-abuse and neglect home with her companion Bennie. Their first owners didn't have time for them anymore and left them in a crate together (that was too small for even one of them) all day. Bonnie was around 2 and was the alpha dog of the pair...she was overweight because she would eat all of their food. We were told that she needed to be an only dog and in a house with no kids because of her background and that she would crave a lot of love and attention, but that she had all the traits to be a loving, loyal pet. Bennie was underweight and honestly not quite right in the head after that situation...he was never adopted out (he was never stable enough to even be adoptable) and his foster parents still have him today.

So we started the application process, they did the home visit (they required a fence and a crate for when we weren't home) and we adopted our girl. Those first few months were so fun. Bonnie was FULL of energy and loved playing ball. We would throw it to her for HOURS on end and when we stopped throwing her the ball, she would throw it to herself! Haha! We spoiled her with tons of toys, she went to doggie daycare and we loved her so very much. She was a great dog...she and I used to walk together in the mornings almost every day when she was younger. We taught her all kinds of tricks and commands. Russ' favorite story to tell is that he taught her how to line up and rebound free throws with him. Bonnie never barked or whined EVER until she heard the basketball bouncing and she would run to the back door BEGGING to go out and play!

Our Christmas card picture...2006 or 2007. We all looked young! :)

She was our baby for almost 6 years before we had Tyler. We were worried how she would be with him and how she'd cope without as much attention from us. Life did change for Bonnie...she was no longer the sole center of our world, but she rolled with it and did great! Tyler and Bonnie pretty much left each other alone, but when Caroline came along, that was another story. She would let Caroline climb on her and pull her fur...if she ever did get annoyed, she would just get up and walk away! She was so great with the kids, not to mention the best at cleaning up any stray food on the floor after their meals. Both my kids went through a throwing food phase. :)

I was pregnant with Tyler in these pics.

First time meeting Tyler.

Sweet Caroline climbing all over Bonnie at 1 1/2 years old.

Bonnie got a little more finicky with age...she paced a lot, she was always underfoot and looking for attention any way she could, she put on a few pounds because she was not as active as she used to be and she sometimes had trouble getting up and down. But otherwise, she seemed perfectly healthy. About 6 weeks ago, she had what the vet believes was either a stroke or the onset of "old dog degenerative disease" think was a stroke and never recovered. She lost control of her back legs and could not walk at all at first, and then only with help from Russ. She also got a severe head tilt that caused her to lose her balance and fall. It was just pitiful to watch.

We took her to the vet that first day and they kept her for observation, but eventually recommended she come home because if she was to get better, her chances would be better here. He gave her better than a 50/50 chance of improvement and was very hopeful. He did caution that she would need "nursing care"...she still could not walk well and Russ would have to carry her up and down our back steps to go potty.

Bonnie did improve some, but it was not consistent. She went from eating every 3rd time we offered food, to eating every other time and then she would regress again. She could walk without failing most days, but Russ still had to lead her by the collar because her severe head tilt and she couldn't do stairs ever. We took the top off her crate and moved it from the dining room to the den so that would interact with her more. In the 4 weeks she had this condition, she only got out of her crate 3 times and it was usually just a few steps. Her mind still stayed pretty sharp throughout it all, which made it extra hard. :(

After 4 weeks of trying different medicines and treatment to attempt to re-stimulate her legs, we made the unbelievably tough decision to put her down. Making that choice was so hard, but especially for Russ...he really struggled with it and with her decline. After all, he really became her primary caregiver after our kids were worn and he was the sole caregiver when she got sick. It was the worst day we've had in a long time. Our vet was so great throughout this whole process...he really cared for Bonnie and encouraged us by saying that we really did everything we could for her over those last few weeks.

A few weeks into her illness, I told Russ I wanted to get some pictures with Bonnie in case we lost her. So I set up the tripod in the yard and we took these pictures after church one Sunday. I am SO glad we did and I know we will cherish them forever. We miss and love you pretty girl!!

Funny story (now) - We took these after church on a Sunday. Caroline had gotten
into a blue marker and had colored all over herself! He hands, arms, face, eyelids!
So looked ridiculous and I was furious! We wiped her off the best we could and
 proceeded with pics. You can see the remnants of the blue on her hand, here.
And she seriously looked like she had on blue eye shadow for days! :)