Stats on Cassie
Welcomed home - Sept 2003
2003 age - ~5 years
Deaf
Bird Chaser
Bone Hoarder
Bully
| Cassie is my Sassie Lassie.
In 2007, she turned 9. We found her on a vacation to Boothbay Harbor, Maine at the Lincoln County Animal Shelter. Cassie had been at the shelter all summer. We think its because noone looked past the “deaf dog” sign on her door. She was sitting in the back of the kennel, saw us, came over, and rolled over on her belly. Nik was hooked. Since we didnt have room for her in the car when we left Boothbay, we had to back the following week to pick her up (5 hours/way).
Over the next few weeks we began to adapt to each other. From Cassie, we learned what its like when your dog doesnt jump on you at the door to welcome you home or who doesnt bark everytime a car goes by since she is sleeping through it all. We were starting to learn to communicate with her, but not succeeding very well. We enrolled in a deaf dog class, to go and do something with her as a family, and also to learn how to communicate with her. It helped a little, but we still had a long way to go.
It took months for us to form a family. She inherited 3 cats at the time, Scully, Rat, and Lepo (Addie was the first dog to manage to never meet the Leep). Nik and I made concessions, Cassie made concessions, and eventually, we were all on the same page.
Now, with no cats and multiple dogs, Cassie has assumed the leadership position. Even though she is deaf, and certainly cant keep up with 2 year-old siberians, somehow, she is the boss. Noone comes near her in the house, unless she says okay. If toys come by her bed, dogs get other toys to play with - no one goes near the occupied bed. She is sassy and stubborn.
Cassie is the main reason I went to massage school. She gets a full body massage each Thursday night, and little mini ones throughout the week. We are also going to set up a physical therapy session for her – she is losing muscle mass as she ages, so we are trying to build some of that muscle back up to help her around. Its painful for me to see her fall and then look at you, with that expression, “Oops, Sorry, I didnt mean to do that”.
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| Pretty girl in the sun... |
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January 2009
Goodbye Cassie...
People think that because you have a lot of dogs, that when one dies, its not as painful as if you only had one dog. But that couldnt be further from the truth. When one dies, you question if you can continue with the others, because the pain and loss you feel is soo great, you cant possibly set yourself up to go through it again. With several dogs, you can, however, put your feelings aside easier, because there is always drama, comedy and issues with the kennel that need to be dealt with - Case in point, Cassie's obit - She's been gone since January, and here I am, July, saying goodbye.
Cassie had been going downhill for about six months. Her appetite changed and she started losing weight. Bloodwork was normal (alway is with our guys), as most tests were. We put her on a raw diet and that at least, got her to eat, but she really didnt gain any weight. I learned a lot about geriatric medicine that summer and fall, but one thing I failed to notice until it was too late was her loss of muscle mass, which contributed to her lack of mobility. Further tests revealed some abnormality in her intestines, which was most likely causing the anorexic attitude. In the course of a week in January, she lost all mobility, and it was time to make a decision. We didnt want her to lose her sense of pride and dignity. When it was time, we brought Cleo and Payson in the house, (as they had grown up around Cassie), and Rusty and Finn were present. It was a peaceful ending to a very very short life she had with us.
We only had Cassie around for 4 1/2 years. Because she had been trained by her previous owner to stay off the furniture, it took almost three years to teach her it was okay at this house. She managed to let every dog know that she was the boss, by taking the higher ground immediately. Of course, we supported her and reinforced her position with everyone. I dont know what other signals she would send, but nobody challenged her, not even Ishta, until about 10 days before she died (and it was Ishta). That challenge also tuned me in to decision that needed to made, as, again, there was a pride and dignity issue. Not only that, but if Ishta was challenging the Alpha, something she hadnt done before, a changing of the guards was about to happen.
Some people doubted us when we told them that our elderly deaf dog commanded the yard full of athletic young siberians, but honestly, she did. The rest of the dogs would even back away from the gate as she entered, like she was the queen and they the subjects (essentially, that was it). She would walk around the yard and pick what toys she wanted to chew on, and noone would challenge her. She would sit in the best spots and they were cool with it.
We included Cassie in everything we could until the end. Nik and I would take the then house dogs (Cassie, Finn, and Rusty) for various types of walks and hikes. When Cassie had had enough, I turned back with her. We didnt make her go on. We got her some physical therapy as well, and wow! did she absolutely hate that! The exercises we had her doing were beginner and not that complicated or exerting, but you would have thought we were tattooing her or something. Being a believer in the benefits of PT, this was an interesting reaction.
I loved having Cassie around - I only wish it was for longer. I hope in the end, however dogs understand people, that Cassie understood the love and affection Nik and I had for her. I hope she understood how important she was to us, and why we made the decision we did. She is still a part of us. I hope we are still a part of her.
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