Augie

Augie's story

When Reed and I first adopted Augie, he was an unidentified breed that had been wandering the streets for months in La Habra. A friend of mine caught him and boarded him at a vet who kept him in a cage for 24 hours a day for at least six weeks, which produced a lifelong terror of vets. The dog had been shaved and covered with ointment because he had mange; he had a blind eye which may have resulted from a fight or birth defect; huge foxtails in his ears, and was pretty much neurotic beyond belief. When I saw him for the first time, I thought "yuck," immediately followed by Augie jumping up on me and peeing on my shoes. You could say he adopted me. When his beautiful English cocker spaniel coat filled in, we kept him busy, took him for walks, worked on his separation anxiety and gave as much love to him as he gave to us. I think he was so thankful that we adopted him that he ended up being one of the best dogs I've ever known. Naturally sweet, great with other dogs, great with kids (who often touched their first dog when they touched Augie) and a dog that everyone loved. I hit the jackpot with this rescue dog. The vets didn't really know how old he was...one said two years, another three years so when he died, he was anywhere between 17 and 18 years of happiness for the three of us.

He was active up until a week before we put him down. Although his back leg kneecaps were a mess, he still loved to take his nightly walk. The night before he got sick, he actually ran down our street to get to the house. The next day, when Reed came home from work, the dog was shivering, his back legs weren't working at all, he was panting heavily, not eating and scary to watch. I googled his symptoms and it indicated it was a stroke. For a week, we tried going to the vet where they prescribed antibiotics, pain medication and the subtle hint it was time to put him down. We probably should have done just that but Reed and I couldn't stand the thought of him dying at the place he hated the most in the world -- a vet's office. After many tears, discussions and having my mother-in-law dog sit him during the day, we made the call to Dr. Forslund and arranged for her to come the following day. I was amazed at how gentle and tender she was and took pains to hug the humans as well as the dog. Augie had fallen in the backyard which he loved because the grass was nice and cool. She let us cry as much as we needed to before she began the procedure. Once it began, you could tell it was totally painless for Augie, which was so important to us. I was holding my head on his stomach and Reed was petting his head. He passed pain free and made his voyage to the Rainbow Bridge.

This dog changed our lives forever and even though Reed and I still tear up when we talk about him, it inspired us to get another dog. Maybe two. All I know is he was the bestest dog ever. I think Dr. Forslund provided us peace of mind which we desperately needed. I thank God for people like her.

Andi Goettinger
Corona