Rachie

Rachie Born 4/24/1997 passed 10/27/2006

Rachel aka Rachie, aka Rachie Roo, aka Princess Rachie

Rachie is my love. Rachie was another champion show dog who entered my life in December 2002. Rachel was given to me because she had not placed in her last 2 shows, and the breeder wanted to get rid of her since she also was not capable of carrying a healthy litter. Rachel was a sweetie from day one. She loved attention and the fact she was allowed to stay indoors. The breeder/rescue lady I had gotten her and the other dogs I have from, kept the babies and the dogs getting ready to show in the house. She had a total of 47 collies and shelties on her property, all housed in kennels outdoors. Rachie and I immediately formed a bond. She followed me everywhere, and avoided my son like the plague. I have never seen a dog give the evil eye, but Rachie did when my son was around. Within a few months Rachie started to alert whenever my blood sugars dropped to a certain point. At first I did not understand why she would block my way, or stand directly in front of me and just stare. The one day it dawned on me was when she tried to herd me into the kitchen. I was in my bedroom coming out of the bathroom and she kept nudging me backwards into the bathroom. She nudged me until I was standing at the bathroom sink where my glucometer was. She then started to bark (she is also debarked), until I tried to see where she was looking. I picked up items on the counter and showed them to her, thinking maybe something in here was scaring or bothering her, until I picked up my meter. She immediately sat down and stopped barking. When I tested, my glucose levels were so low, I was surprised they had registered. After completing the test Rachie then “herded” me into the kitchen to get some sugar. This has happened every time my blood sugars are low. Amazing little girl she is. In July 2003, I noticed Rachie was throwing up a lot and very lethargic. I called the vets and they made an appointment for the following day. Later that afternoon Rachie came out of my room and literally collapsed. I rushed her to the vet and found out she had pyometra. This is an infection of the uterus. Her white blood count was through the roof, postponing what would be a lifesaving surgery. I have never been so distraught as when I heard this news. The following day although her white blood count was too high, the vet decided to do the surgery, since the infection seemed to be getting worse despite the IV antibiotics. After her surgery the vet called and explained it was a good thing they had done the surgery when they had, because her uterus was huge (approximately 3 lbs) and would have ruptured soon. Rachie was in the ICU for 5 days. I would go in twice a day to visit with her. Each time I came in and called her name, she would lift her little head up and attempt to wag her tail. It tore my heart out to see her like this. On the day Rachie was released the vet told me I might see some changes in Rachie's personality, that may not be for the good. I really didn't care since my Rachie seemed to be doing so much better, and I was going to be able to bring her back home. Well the vet was right, she is now the moody one. She loves to play with the other dogs, however it must be one on one. She does not like to share. If she is near the other dogs when they are playing and they should happen to get to near her, she snaps at them. She loves her milk bones, but will tolerate only the dark colored ones. She is the slow dainty eater, while the others scarf their food down. She loves to run outside and roll in the dirt, then shake all that dirt off, once she is in the house. Rachie loves when I take a bath. She has to come in and sit on the step to the tub, or she just jumps on in. I have seen her try to crawl into a bucket of water at the park. Rachel is my baby, and she knows it. Although she is not alpha in the puppy pack, she knows she is “mom’s baby" Rachie has now found her own "kid" to mother. Rachie seems to like Fancee a lot.. Because Fancee has some difficulty walking Rachie makes sure when the others make a mad dash for the backdoor when it is time to go outside, that she is as close to Fancee as possible, so she can keep the other dogs from running her over. Marcus has also joined in on doing this. Rachie is not especially fond of the other dogs, and at times will snap at them for one reason or another, but she has never done this with Fancee. I think Rachie knows that Fancee is not here to take over her position as mom's favorite, but that she may need a little extra attention, and Rachie makes sure she gets it.

Rachie was diagnosed shortly before she escaped with holes in her kidneys. They believe this was a consequence of the pyometra had suffered shortly after I got her, and before we were able to get her in to be spayed. Rachie is doing great now, and never leaves my side. Been a very busy year for Rachie.

UPDATE: 10/23/06 Rachie was admitted to the hospital because she is very lethargic, and has diarrhea and is vomiting. They X-Rayed her and ran blood work. Her spleen is huge and her kidneys are very small. Her blood work is awful. They put Rachie in the ICU and have her on IV's.. I checked around to see what I could do for my little girl and found out she could possibly have dialysis. I contacted a Dr Cowgill at the UC Davis clinic in San Diego. We are planning on taking her there

10/27/06 We packed up Rachie with her IV's and meds and started to head out to San Diego at 9 pm. We stopped at 11:30 to give Rachie her meds her breathing was still labored, buyt she was hanging in there. I sat in the front with my hand on Rachie's little heart, I talked with her and hugged her a lot. At about 12:45 Rachie's little heart stopped. My dear sweet baby was gone. She will be so very missed, I love you my sweet little girl.

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