Perky
b. 02/22/98 – 11/06/2008
Thank you, Perky.

See Perky's registration info and stats.

I lost Perky on Thursday, November 6, 2008. She was just 10 ½ years old. The evening before, she had seemed normal, but she was sick overnight, and looked terrible on Thursday morning. She had a high fever, and I took her to the vet, expecting to find that she had Lyme or some other tick-borne disease, due to some very mild symptoms I’d been seeing in the previous couple of months. She’d been getting tired more quickly than I expected based on her age and level of fitness, had started to actively avoid playing with the other dogs, and had started to fumble the ball in play, which was VERY unusual for her. Still, those things could easily be due to aging, and it seemed silly to bring her to the vet because of them.

©2007 Michael McAdoo

The TBD panel was negative, so they ran a complete blood chemistry and a thyroid panel, both of which were normal. The vet recommended an ultrasound by a specialist in internal medicine. The specialist’s office was an hour and a half away. On examination during the ultrasound, it was determined that Perky had a considerable amount of fluid leaking from her bowel into her abdomen, and she was a very sick dog, but the cause was still uncertain. The only option for treatment was a very expensive surgery, during which they would be able to assess the true nature of the problem and IF it was repairable. If so, there was no guarantee whether she would survive the surgery or whether it would be successful. I just couldn’t view this surgery as a realistic option, and felt the most compassionate choice would be to end her suffering. The necropsy results proved I had made the right decision, as she had a cancerous mass which had burst, and she could not have been saved.

By sheer coincidence or divine intervention, Andy and Sarah had an appointment with Perky’s daughter Nessy at the same specialist facility, at the same time that day, consulting a neurologist regarding Nessy’s epilepsy. Thank you so very much to Andy and Sarah for your help and support. It really meant a lot to have you there, and to be able to bury my shaky hands into Nessy’s soft coat before pulling myself together for the drive home.

Perky was such a wonderful dog. I suppose everyone feels that way after losing their dog, but she really was practically perfect. I considered her my most beautiful dog, and she looked beautiful to me in almost every photo. She was like the “cool kid” in school and seemed to be the one that other dogs always wanted to play with. She was extremely easy to live with and had an incredibly gentle temperament. She wanted to please so very badly, all the time. And right up to her last lesson, she helped me to (slowly!) become a better handler. When I felt frustrated or discouraged by slow progress, Gene would remind me how far I really had come with her (thank you, Gene!), and indeed we had come a long way. Our first trial adventures in July and August 2006 were on the AKC “A” course, with four “Qs” in four starts. Our last trial together was in the Novice/Novice class at Green Lane in September 2008, where she worked so well with me that I was actually misty-eyed afterwards (and it wasn’t the approaching hurricane!). She was fifth that day out of 17 dogs, and she did even better the next day; she WON what would be her final trial.

I am so glad to have had Perky in my life. I lost her too soon. I am very fortunate have a part of her in her daughter Dare, and I am comforted in knowing that sisters Perky and Kaylie are together again.

Goodbye, beautiful girl. Play hard with Kaylie, give kisses to Andy, and fetch the woolies in to Walt.

Perky
tri-color rough coat
ABCA 125827
(Imp. Celt ISDS 167036/AIBC 95005/ABC 17440 x Ch HCF Kelly CDX, MX, MXJ ABCA 67222/AKC DL69946101)
OFA Good: BCO-5085G71F-NOPI
DNA tested for CEA/CH: Normal OptiGen Accession #05-830
CERF clear: BCO-2228/2008—124

Perky ~ BorderCollie! ~ Perkadoo ~ Borderdog ~ Perk ~ My sweet, gentle girl ~ Girl-dog

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