In this place. This building. Every time I turn into the parking lot I’m hit with a wave of memories. Some good, mostly bad. Because of Sophie’s time here, I feel like I should have earned some sort of GVS gold badge. Between her two stints here, I spent hours in each room visiting her. The first time she was here was for a five day stay. Within 24 hours of receiving her Rabies vaccination, my girl was paralyzed. Doctors couldn’t figure out what was going on with her. To me, it was obviously a reaction to her vaccination. I carried her out of this building, hopeful, on day five. After months and months of physical therapy and a lot of TLC, Sophie regained her ability to walk steadily. She never was 100% and stumbled often, but she could hold her own.
The second time Sophie was here (two years after the first), I saw “that look” in her eyes. On a Monday night, September 28th, 2010, she walked into my office and suddenly lost her balance. She fell over and I scooped her up and held her while Charles drove us to GVS. I left her there that night knowing in my heart that my girl wasn’t going to come back to me. She had lost her will to fight, she was tired. After a day of supportive therapy at GVS, and a diagnosis of vestibular disease (similar to vertigo in humans), they told me to come pick her up. I could tell by looking at the vet tech and doctor, they didn’t have much hope. She was carried to my car on a stretcher. That was a Tuesday. Friday of that week, she died in my arms at home. This was one of those moments in time I will never be able to forget. Clear as day, she stopped breathing. Charles was in the back yard. I opened the window and called down to him “She’s gone.” The rest of that day is kind of a blur. She was and will forever be my soul dog. There will never be a dog that can fill that hole in my heart that she took with her.
So here I am. Reliving all my memories. In this lobby waiting on Finnegan to get his bandages changed. At least this little guy is a trooper and heading back home with me in just a few minutes!