On Valentine's Day 2008, Josie and Wyatt Earp brought into this world - 5 beautiful Red Heeler Puppies. Everything seemed to be going as planned until the day I decided it was time to start them on puppy gruel. The smallest puppy, a female, jumped into the puppy gruel head first...then all of a sudden, she pulled back and started choking. I grabbed her, emptied her mouth, and headed for the house to clean out her nose.
Over the next few days, she continued to do this. I searched for answers. I checked for a cleft palate, but everything seemed fine.
A couple of weeks later when it was apparent that this puppy was not ready for solid foods, we brought her in and nursed her with a syringe and puppy formula. Although she remained small and thin, she had the heart of a giant. I named her Calamity. A good name for a dog that would throw up every time she ate!
Over the next 3 weeks Calamity stole our hearts! She slept in the bed with us and chased the jack russells around the house. She even went outside and beat up on her sisters. Everyday that I would come home, she would great me at the door with everyone else. She learned very quickly that a syringe meant food and she would eagerly attack it.
I tried EVERYTHING....puppy formula, pudding, canned puppy food, Nutri-Cal, whole milk (straight and diluted), pedialyte, pepto bismol...you name it. I even fed her standing up on a box so the food would go down easier. Some times she would eat better than others, but everytime she ate, she would throw it back up again.
I turned to the internet and researched everything that I could find. Everything lead to Megaesophagus - a condition where the esophagus is enlarged like a balloon and the muscles do not carry the food to the stomach, but let's it pool up and then it is regurgitated. The worse was coming true, Calamity was developing aspiration pneumonia...a fatal side-effect of Megaesophagus.
I turned to our friend Teresa Henderson who is a vet tech. She asked me to let her take her to her office and run a set of x-rays.
On Monday, April 21st I awoke an hour early due to a car alarm going off. With 14 dogs, a car alarm means every dog in the neighborhood is going crazy. I chose to take this time and spend quality time with Calamity. Since I had not fed her the night before or that morning, she was not gagging and not throwing up. She was very playful and sat in my lap and yipped and snapped at the other dogs if they came near me. Yes, she was very spoiled!!!
For the first time ever, Cowboy ran and chased her, playing with her. Until this point, he was always scared of her. Maybe it was because she was always gagging and throwing up, who knows. But they played and they chased each other through the bedroom. I guess because she was so full of energy, I let my hopes get too high.
Teresa called me later that afternoon and confirmed what I already knew in my head, but could not bare to accept in my heart! MEGAESOPHAGUS. Her little lungs were full with pneumonia and we had to make the decision to go ahead and put her down. I am so grateful to Teresa for handling all this for me. I know it was not easy for her since she had had the chance to spend the day with Calamity and she was such a character. You would have to have known her to understand what I'm saying.
She only had 9 weeks on this earth, but she knew she was truly loved and was a happy puppy none the less.
Randy built her a little wooden casket and buried her in the pasture, facing the barn. She was buried beside Jag, my beloved Blue Heeler.
If anyone knew Cheyenne, our little Jack that died last year, you will all laugh at the thought of Cheyenne and Calamity Jane tearing up Heaven right now!
You are loved and missed Calamity Jane!!! Until we meet at the Rainbow Bridge...I love you! Your mama...
