I am so thankful Daddy was able to take you on a few “walks” in the cart! You were SO happy!
I miss you, little monkey!
Momma
A Lifetime in 27 Years
By Sherri
By Sherri
By Sherri
My precious little one, you were such a joy! Who gets excited over celery, but you? I miss your tail wagging every morning and your “dance” before you get to eat your favorite foods, go outside, play with your toys or when we come home from being out a bit!
Most of all, I just miss having you by my side to love and talk to. It is so quiet and lonely here without you!
I love you little monkey!
Mommy
By Sherri
I miss you my sweet, smarty pants! I am so lost without you by my side every day!
I love you, little monkey!
<3 Mommy
By Sherri
I have extremely heartbreaking news! Our baby Snickers went to Heaven in the middle of the night. She had a catastrophic stroke, most likely from the probable tumor in her brain that has been causing seizures and some neurological issues.
As many of you know, she wasn’t supposed to live more than a few days in November 2014. She wasn’t eating, her heart rate was 200 and she had a fatal heart condition, with Epilepsy. But I didn’t want to give up yet. I put supplements in a syringe and force fed her with them and she started walking and eating again. Then I made her fresh meats and vegetables. She has needed a ton of hands on care around the clock, including constant feeding since then. Nonetheless, she was happy, eating, wagging her tail and running around like a puppy. In fact, we had to slow her down most of the time!
Anyhow, several people have commented that they noticed we have been through a lot lately. I don’t want to be negative, but it has been unbelievable! The past few years alone, we have had constant crisis after death after crisis after death. 7 deaths, Mom and sister with cancer, 3 more family members really struggling and major crisis situations, in addition to my broken ankle (which a year later is still not totally healed), as well as recent flu, bronchial pneumonia and current torn ribs.
And now, my baby Snickers is gone. I am thankful for the time we had! But Mommy misses you SOOO much! Goodbye for now, my sweet little monkey! Thank you for bringing love and laughter into my life!
Mommy
By Sherri
UNBELIEVABLE!! Two years ago, Snickers had stopped eating, was having tremors, couldn’t walk and her heart rate was 200! We took her to the ER and they brought in a cardiac specialist. They said she would not live without a pacemaker, due to a very severe heart condition.
Yet, even doing an MRI or giving her sedation would most likely be fatal. They also said even if she got the pacemaker, it wouldn’t resolve her seizures. They suspected she had either a brain tumor or brain injury (when she fell off the couch), as well as cancer.
She already hadn’t eaten for a couple of days, so they suggested we let her go. I told them I wanted to bring her home for a couple of days and let her say goodbye to Grammy. I also wanted to see if I could make her better, even though they said there was no way she would get better.
I also consulted 2 of my other vets and got the same prognosis. I wasn’t going to allow her to start starving to death, because that is inhumane and torturous. So, we had drawn a line to give me time to see if I could make a difference.
I gave her supplements, enzymes and probiotics through a syringe, carried her around and held her up while she went potty. Within a day and a half, she wanted to eat something! I took her to my amazing vet and he agreed whatever I was doing was helping, but this fatal heart condition is not treatable and he cautioned me that she still probably didn’t more than a few weeks. So, put her on a super healthy diet and because she wouldn’t eat her beloved vitamins she used to beg for, I had to keep giving her a few in a syringe and in her water. Most of all, So, we decided to love on her every day like it was her last!
Two years later, she is still here with us and running around like a puppy! We have to keep her calmed down or her heart rate goes to 200 and it stops and she stops breathing. I have to do heart massages several times a day and often CPR. Between her seizures, heart failure, passing out, dementia, low eyesight, blood sugar drops and needing to be fed eight times a day, she is a TON OF WORK!! But she wags her tail every morning and is happy to be alive! As long as she is happy, I will do my best to care for her!
Needless to say, my vet is astonished she is still here! All the facts pointed to her not having a chance. But doesn’t he know? She is Snickers the Mighty Super-Dog!
Comic strip from 2015. Click on the above image to enlarge.
By Sherri
Today, we celebrate another year with our baby doggie, Snickers!
One year ago today, she wouldn’t eat, was shaking and her heart rate was 200. We took her to the ER and they ran lots of tests. She saw a cardiologist and a general practice vet.
They found she has serious heart failure and said she would not live without a pacemaker. However, she probably would not live through the surgery and it would not resolve the grandmal seizures she had been having, because they believed she had a head injury from a fall off the couch and/or a brain tumor. The blood tests showed, 95% chance she had cancer. We could have done an MRI, but with her heart and the necessary sedatives, they said she probably would not survive it.
They said she would not recover and suggested we say goodbye. I was not ready to let her go until I had tried everything possible. I was not going to let her continue to starve, but I was going to take her home and do everything possible to see if I could get her to eat. I even took a syringe and put liquefied vitamins and enzymes in it. Even if I were to get her to eat, if her quality of life did not improve (I had to carry her, help her stand and potty), then we would do the right thing.
But much to our amazement, she started eating and walking again! We took it one day at a time and here we are one year later!
Read the Full Story! See More Photos and Videos!
JULY 30, 2016 UPDATE:
Snickers made it to her 15th birthday! Nobody can believe it. AMAZING!!!
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♡ Sherri
Click on the above image to enlarge.
By Sherri
My Story on November 20, 2014:
On November 20th I was in the ER. The internist and cardiologist said I wouldn’t live without a pacemaker, but I couldn’t get one, because I wouldn’t survive the surgery. They said my heart condition is not treatable with medications or supplements. They also said I either had a brain tumor or injury (from falling off the couch a couple of years ago) and they were 95% sure I had cancer. My personal vet and Pumpkin and Cookie’s vet agreed with the findings and prognosis.
I hadn’t eaten for days, couldn’t stand or walk and was having seizures and passing out from my heart rate being 200!! They said I wasn’t going to make it. Mommy decided to take me home and let me say goodbye to Grammy and she wanted to be totally sure she couldn’t make me better enough to at least have a few more days or weeks (she knows a lot about supplements and diets).
When I made it a few more days, my vet was amazed! When I made it 2 weeks, he said he was totally shocked! Well, here I am exactly 3 months later!
It hasn’t been easy. Most of the time, I want to eat, but nothing sounds good. So, Mommy has to give me all kinds of different foods about five times a day to try to get me to eat. If I don’t want it, she has to put it all back and try again later. I am also very restless with my heart rate all over the place. I want up, then down then eat, no don’t eat. I’m fragile. I can easily become stressed, start shaking, my blood sugar goes down then I either pass out or start having a string of seizures for several days or a week.
Just trying to cut my hair throws me into a tizzy, so Mommy has had to do just a bit at a time. In the picture on the bottom right of the above collage, you can see Mommy finally got the bulk of my coat cut then a week later, did my face (first picture)! Sadly, she says, my tail is full of knots she can’t get out, so she’s going to have to cut the hair off my beautiful flowing tail.
However, as bad as it sounds, for the most part, I am still eating something every day, gained some weight back and wag my tail a lot. So, we are still living day to day and thanking God for every day we still have each other!
Thank you all for your prayers!
♡ Snickers
MORE UPDATES On Snickers:
2014 UPDATES:
JULY 30 UPDATE:
I MADE IT TO MY BIRTHDAY!!
Last November, I was only supposed to live a few days, but I am here and I made it to my 14th birthday! I am still having lots of problems, so we are being thankful for every day I have! Wahoo! ♡ Snickers
JULY 8 UPDATE: I’ve had 3 seizures in 4 days! Mommy’s worried to leave my side. But I am still eating. I know it is a big pain to feed me, cuz I have to eat every two hours or my blood sugar drops. Yet, Mommy usually has to try 8 different foods to get me to eat. And I am still wagging my tail and happy! So, I keep fighting until my day comes. ♡ Snickers
JUNE 7 UPDATE: Rough day! We have had company, which is awesome! But I get so upset with another dog here (several years ago a friend’s dog bit me in the face). I had another heart episode (hacking and wheezing to get it to beat). Then I had a seizure. Later, I had a panic attack and another seizure. Mommy had hard time getting me to stop shaking, but I was able to eat a few bites and am going to nap. ♡ Snickers
APRIL 22 UPDATE: I GAVE MOMMY A BAD SCARE this morning! I had a seizure then died! This happened a year ago. I have been blacking out and having seizures for 2 years, but this the second time my heart stopped and I quit breathing.
Mommy did CPR again and again and again. I wasn’t coming back, so she flipped me over and pounded on my heart then did CPR again and again. I was a rag doll with my mouth open and tongue hanging out. No life signs. She thought I wasn’t coming back, but she wasn’t giving up.
Finally, there was a short, small breath, so Mommy massaged my lungs and did some more compressions … AND I CAME BACK!
Thinking back, Mommy realizes I have been having more shaking and high heart rate episodes the past couple of weeks. And as usual, she has to work really heart to get me to eat 6 times a day or my blood sugar drops and I pass out and heart could stop or I could go into a coma.
But I have been happy in between, wagging my tail and loving life, so she wasn’t about to let go of me!
Thank you, Lord, for another day with Mommy and Daddy!! ♡ Snickers
APRIL 3 UPDATE: In case you all were wondering … I have a whole ‘nuther month under my belt! That makes 4 months of living, when they said I had only a few days! Mommy is really working hard 6 times a day to get me to eat. I am not picky, I just have a hard time finding something that sounds good these days. But because once I get my appetite or my blood sugar drops, I scarf up my food and because one of my foods has rice in it, I have gained all my weight back! Wahoo! ♡ Snickers
March 20 UPDATE: In case you all were wondering … I have a whole ‘nuther month under my belt! That makes 4 months of living, when they said I had only a few days! Mommy is really working hard 6 times a day to get me to eat. I am not picky, I just have a hard time finding something that sounds good these days. But because once I get my appetite or my blood sugar drops, I scarf up my food and because one of my foods has rice in it, I have gained all my weight back! Wahoo! ♡ Snickers
MORE VIDEOS AND PHOTOS Of Snickers!
Drive-In Dinner with the Doggie
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2015
A Very Thankful Thanksgiving 2014
By Sherri
We are so thankful to have spent the day with Wayne’s family! We had brunch with his dad, Russ and (step) mom, Eloise brother Wes and family and his (step) brother, Mark! Then we had dinner with his sister, Susan, 2 brothers, Wes and Rusty, spouses, nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews. The house was full of laughter and children running everywhere!
We missed Wayne’s brother Shawn and his family, because Shawn had to work. And we missed Wayne’s mom, Karen, who went to be with the Lord in September.
I am thankful to be in a house with lots of family again. There were many years, I could not be due to all the chemicals in fragrances. I believe people are no longer using strong fabric softeners and I have also been turning the clock back on these intolerances to chemicals.
I am not totally there yet, but making progress! And, of course, I still have Progressive Multiple Sclerosis, Late-Chronic Lyme Disease and Traumatic Brain Injury. Nevertheless, I am SO grateful to be able to be around family again! Praise God!
We are also so thankful to still have Snickers with us, though she wasn’t supposed to make it past November 22nd. Snickers needs a pacemaker, but she wouldn’t survive the surgery. She has a fatal heart condition that is not treatable by medications. She also has seizures from either a brain injury or a tumor and probable cancer. She wasn’t supposed to make it to Thanksgiving. So, we are thankful she did!
By Sherri
November 22, 2014 from Snickers: I’m still here!! For almost 4 days I couldn’t stand, hold up my head, potty or eat. My heart rate was 200, kept having seizures and blacking out! I have a history of heart problems and seizures.
Went to ER, Cardiologist and Internist. Mommy talked to 2 other vets. They agreed there is no long term treatment due heart failure, kidney failure, probable brain tumor or injury (I fell off the back of the couch twice and off our tall bed a month ago) and cancer. They all said I wouldn’t get better. So Mommy and Daddy brought me home for a few days to say goodbye.
Surprise! I thought I would shock everyone, start walking, eating and pottying! I don’t know how long I have (it may be a few days, weeks or months). I still have heart that cant be helped with medication, brain tumor or injury, an abcess and most likely cancer. But Mommy is really good with nutrition and supplements and made up some concoctions she’s been giving me.
Every day is a gift! So, Ill just keep fighting as long as I can. I’m tough like Mommy! Anyhow, i wanted to thank you all for your prayers!
♡ Snickers
PS) Don’t look at my bed head hair!
November 20, 2014: Had to take Snickers to ER today. She can’t stand or eat. She is in heart failure, cancer and probable brain tumor. Brought her home to say goodbye to my Mom. 3 animals and 2 people in the past few months! I am devastated! She’s my baby!