Greetings to all my Fans, Friends, and Family,
I apologize for my silence but I have been busy
getting settled. On May 9th,
2015, I left this life as I knew it.
I am so thankful for the wonderful life I lived
after I was rescued over 3 ½ years ago. It
was so amazing. I had so many friends… humans,
doctors, dogs, and other animals. No one
ever gave up on me. Every one cared for
me and treated me as if I was normal.
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| Before Rescue |
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| St. Al's Kids |
I remember when I took my first steps with a harness
and the help of 2 people when I first arrived at “Foster” Farms and how far I
progressed. I so loved my life. I pushed on every day, even with my limits,
especially if food … chicken or stuffed animals that look like a cat was
involved! I was living the dream.
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| First Steps ...
But as time passed, my body started giving up on me
more. We knew things would change
someday, but we never know when that day would be. When it was time, I knew.
Don’t be sad for me…I
lived like a princess and strong as the “little engine who could.” I climbed great mountains and watched the
world go by with my friends and family.
I got to go for car rides, I got hamburgers … I was “loved”. It was perfect, better than I could have ever
imagined or dreamed of.
  
Remember my journey,
it was so incredible, because of every one of you!
And I'll always be smiling at you with my “chicken face!”
Until we meet again … I will be eagerly waiting for
you at the Rainbow Bridge!
Love,
~ Summer
SUMMER’S AMAZING JOURNEY ENDS
- Jewel
The journey of one of the sweetest souls to walk the earth began on August 8, 2011. An adult lab was tossed in a ditch, morbidly obese and unable to walk. After two days in the heat she was picked up by the county shelter and named after the road where she was dumped: Summer Road. The shelter reached out for rescue for her, and Brooke and I drove to get her. We took her to a wonderful veterinarian where she spent a week getting needed medical care and then we brought her to my home.
We immediately put her on a diet and exercise program . Mercy and I walked her in a special harness to get her up and moving. In addition, she received hydrotherapy and acupuncture. In 10 months she went from 127 pounds to 81.5 pounds…….a loss of 56 pounds!! During that time her sweet nature and determination to do whatever we asked of her shown through.
Summer LOVED everybody she met: kids, adults, Valentine the turkey, dogs, cats, and foster puppies…..and every single one loved her back!
 
We celebrated so many Summer victories, including walking on her own (in her own unique way….she was never to walk normally), the end of the bladder infections, her ability to get up on the couch on her own, and to go up and down the ramp on her own. She got to walk in the field with all my dogs twice a day until almost the end.
 
Summer was a happy girl and she gave us so much joy. We were so thrilled to be able give her a life of love and mobility. Although her life was not easy, she never gave up….she was always doing her best.
Then, in the winter of 2014, Summer started to have more difficulties. Of course the slick footing did not help, but there was more than that going on. I had to walk her on a sling to go any distance or to go up and down the stairs to the dog yard. Gradually the distance she was able to go on the sling before needing to lie down and rest got shorter and shorter. Her left hind leg was much weaker. We started acupuncture again with Harmony and with two months of weekly treatments she improved….she could even get on the couch again and walk farther on her own and with the sling! But at the end of two months the improvement stopped and she slid backwards again. I realized she was not going to turn around. My hope for her was that we would have a good summer together, but that was not to be.
On May 8, 2015 something happened. I will never know what it was. I left Summer out in the yard with the other dogs so she could go potty if she needed to since she could no longer go up and down the ramp on her own. It was a beautiful day and she was lying in the shade in the green grass. When I returned home she was not the happy Summer that I had left. I could see in her expression that something had drastically changed. She was lethargic and unable to move on her own. I managed to somehow get her up the ramp and into the house with the sling. She would not eat dinner that night and cried out in pain when I tried to move her. She had never ever done either of those things before. It was serious.
On May 9, 2015 sadly her journey ended. I knew it was time to let her go. She had tried so hard for so long but there was no way to fix her. Thankfully her passing was kind and painless, and she is now in a better place….running like a normal dog on the Rainbow Bridge…free at last from all that held her back.
Life is not the same without Summer. She was such a huge presence in my home and in the lives of all of us who loved her. Summer will be forever in our thoughts and in our hearts.
 
Summer, if loved could have saved you,
You would have lived forever!
I love you my girl…..with tears, Jewel
© Summer’s Journey – All Rights Reserved
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