Schatzi

09/08/2024

Schatzi - year one

08/08/2024

⚠️CAUTION WARNING:⚠️

I’m going to be describing Schatzi’s euthanasia process here. There are two pictures in here that show her body after she has died. These are not here for morbid or macabre reasons. I’m posting about this as a teaching moment.

We all fear what we don’t know. With this post I’m hoping to create less fear around the euthanasia process. If you are not comfortable reading about this, or seeing this, please do not look at the pictures. I’ve buried them a bit so (hopefully) no one will click on them accidentally.

⚠️ ⚠️ ⚠️ ⚠️ ⚠️

July 3, 2024

The veterinarian from Compassionate Care arrived on time and we went over our requests and the plan. We had a minor hiccup when I asked if, knowing it was impossible, there was some way I could get Schatzi’s bones back, especially her skull. Nope - Compassionate Care does not do that - but someone in Dallas, OR does. 😱 We very quickly decided that we wanted to talk to this amazing person to see what our options were.

This did not change the euthanasia process. The only change was Compassionate Care would keep Schatzi’s body in their cold room and not begin the aquamation until we talked with them about our post-mortem plans.

Schatzi had met Dr Roisum once before and loved when people came into the house so she wasn’t scared or concerned. She was having more challenges with walking so she stayed on her bed until the end.

We talked through the process step-by-step with Dr Roisum coaching me on how to listen to Schatzi’s heart, as I wanted to do. Then we started the procedure.

To the best of my memory, this is what happened:
Dr Roisum placed an IV in Schatzi’s back leg to administer the meds. Schatzi was eating minnows the whole time - one of her favorite treats. Sometimes people will feed their dogs chocolate at this time. Chocolate is toxic to dogs but in this situation it is assumed the euthanasia will take place before the chocolate toxins cause any harm at all. Check with your vet before doing something similar and they can coach you on when you can feed something toxic before the euthanasia procedure. You do not want to make this day any worse than it is by giving them something too soon.

Once Lauren and I had said all our good-byes, Dr administered a sedative. For Schatzi I believe this was a narcotic, but every DVM will use what they think is best. (I didn’t ask, but it’s always ok to ask about all the medications being administered!) The goal of this first med is to put them literally to sleep. This way they experience no distress when the medicine that is used to bring about death is administered. I looked into Schatzi’s eyes until she was very, very high and sleepy, then I gently helped her lower her head to her bed.

Dr placed a pad under her bum in case she p*ed or p**ped. (She did.) Then I placed my stethoscope in my ears and under Schatzi’s chest. I could hear her wonderful heartbeat. 🫀

When I was ready I nodded for Dr to push the last medication, which I believe was pentobarbital, (This is standard though there may be some variations of the med that different DVMs use.) into Schatzi’s IV. I closed my eyes, with my cheek on her muzzle, and listened to her heart. It sped up just a bit, then slowed down, and then got quieter and quieter until I heard nothing at all. 😢😭 Dr checked with her stethoscope and declared time of death to be 4:24pm. This is important for her medical chart. This was a “text book” euthanasia.

Sharing space with a body is very weird: Human or pet. Schatzi’s tongue was out, due to the first med, but other than that she was very peaceful. It’s a weird time when our hearts thinks they are perfect but our brains know better. One “good” thing about this time is that I could get some foot prints without Schatzi futzing about not wanting her feet touched. 😉 There is a picture of her body in this pose amongst the pictures here.

With medium and large dogs the DVM will need help getting the dog onto a stretcher and getting the stretcher into their vehicle. I have shown a picture of Dr and I getting Schatzi’s body into her car. Cats and small dogs often go into a basket and can be carried out by the Dr.

Dr Roisum was so wonderful and incredibly patient. We spent a bit more time with Schatzi before we gave our approval for Dr to drive her away.

We then made contact with Carla from Rest Well Pet Memorials. (I’ll put her website in the comments.) Yes, she could get us Schatzi’s skull. WOW! Yes, this is something that I wanted. The catch is that we would need to drive Schatzi’s body to her on the morning of July 5th.

So on July 5th, at 9am we picked Schatzi’s body up from Compassionate Care (we had already made this arrangement by phone) and drove her to Dallas, OR. I have shown the picture of Schatzi’s body here, but she is wrapped in plastic and covered with a blanket, you cannot see Schatzi at all. It was going to be a hot day so we kept the AC going and made a few jokes at Schatzi’s expense like, “Finally, she’s staying down for the entire car ride.” 😜

It was peaceful and beautiful but incredibly weird. This is definitely a service I can add to Assembly’s options though.

We decided to get Schatzi’s skull returned to us as well as her spine. Her spine will go to Rubi of Heal Animal Massage. Her skull and her spine will be utilized to teach others about caring for dogs. It is a perfect tribute for an animal that has spent her entire life teaching humans. Our family vet, Dr Prull, was thrilled about this too and found it so fitting. ♥️

That said, I know that keeping pieces of our pets may seem very weird. That’s ok. If it’s not for you, it’s not for you. 🤷 Part of the Death Positive Movement is about accepting how others grieve and how others remember.

⚠️ Go gently if you choose to read more!

In order to prepare Schatzi’s bones she will be placed in a secure location (tank?) with dermestid beetles. These will eat her soft tissues around the bones. She will be prepared in such a way that much of her bones and tissue will still be aquamated at some point. The beetles bugged me (no pun intended) until I realized that some part of Schatzi will also live forever in these beetles, for generations to come.

When the bones are mostly clean Carla will prepare them for display. She’ll finish the cleaning process (Schatzi will have white teeth again!) and then articulate them so they look much as they did when they were working. This process will take 6 - 8 months. While most people will pick up cremains a week or so after we’re going to wait almost a year.

I will post her bones when we get them returned to us. I’m sure it will be bittersweet. I am really looking forward to having a real part of her body with me forever though.

It’s been a bit over a month now. As many of you know - it still hurts like hell. But every day hurts just a teeny tiny bit less.

~Robynn

30/07/2024

"As our beloved pets enter their golden years, their needs change, and protecting their comfort and safety at home becomes more important. By making a few thoughtful, and sometimes creative, modifications to your living space, you can significantly improve the quality of life for your senior dogs and cats. Here's a comprehensive guide to adapting your home for your aging furry companions."

Have you walked through your home with eyes on comfort and safety for your aging furry family member? After reading this comprehensive list, you will be ready to create your pet’s comfortable haven with their specific needs in mind.

25/07/2024

Because we pay the professionals who care for our animals it’s easy to think of them as nothing more than a company conducting business transactions. The truth is, people who love animals, and want to help them, are the folks who choose animal professional careers. (Nothing wrong with paying one’s mortgage and groceries by doing something we care about.)

All of Schatzi’s healthcare teams have reached out these last few weeks. It has been wonderful to hear/read their kind and supportive words.

All of our dogs are special in their own ways. Schatzi was a special German Shepherd. She was empathic, curious, and loving towards all humans. Many people, including animal professionals, don’t have a lot of experience with such a GSD. 💜

The last year or so of Schatzi’s life she was at Healing Arts Animal Care almost once a week. She loved them, and they loved her.

We received this beautiful picture, frame, and card from Healing Arts this week. It will be a constant reminder to me how special the relationship is between animal client and animal professional.

Thank you, Healing Arts, you clearly chose your careers with your hearts.

~Robynn

18/07/2024

Having a plan to euthanize a pet is a very surreal experience. We are trained to “fight” until the very end and knowing we have a date in mind can feel like “giving up.” There are many reasons for this but it really all comes from our discomfort with the fact that all things die.

Because of the work I do I am very familiar with pets, especially dogs, who spend their last days (weeks) uncomfortable, in pain, afraid, and in distress. I did not want Schatzi’s last days to be full of any such misery.

Choosing a date is never easy though. I used a few Quality of Life scales to help me map her current, and future, decline. While we could deal with many physical challenges, one thing changed recently that we had no solution for: Schatzi became very, very, anxious about being away from me. She’s always been a Velcro dog, but the last couple of weeks of her life she NEEDED to be physically close to me. Not too close! She was never a cuddle dog, but she did want our proximity to each other to be measured in inches. This meant my work schedule was causing her emotional pain. I also believe this was a symptom of changes occurring neurologically. It very much felt like we were at the end.

Looking at the family calendar we decided that July 5 would allow us time to prepare and allow us to schedule the euthanasia with a particular vet from compassionate care. Dr Trisha Roisum euthanized our cat Paisley a little over a year ago and she made the process as comfortable as could be. I had just become a Certified End-of-Life Animal Doula and we connected as professionals in the death positivity movement. Lauren and I wanted a similar euthanasia for Schatzi.

Planning ahead allowed us time to tell others so they too could visit with Schatzi if they wanted too. We had one youngling come say good-bye with a heavy heart. Though terribly sad, and a bit confusing, this has been an incredible learning opportunity. We fear less the more we know.

Mama Lynnette (Schatzi’s first parent) drove up to spend time her the week before. It’s always hard to say good-bye knowing it will be for the last time.

Though we had planned for July 5th, when the weather changed to expected highs of 100 degrees, we decided to move up the date to July 3rd. Heat is really hard on our pets, especially our senior pets. We didn’t want to confine Schatzi inside on her last days. Skipping out on a night of explosions sounded like a good thing too. (She has been less concerned with fireworks the last couple of years but there was no way to know how they would affect her this year with her anxiety being worse than usual.) Dr Roisum was available on the 3rd (Wednesday) as well.

Monday we drove Schatzi to the classroom for the last time to explore the creek area and receive one last massage with Rubi. Because she wasn’t a “touch me” dog, massages usually didn’t end with her napping but they did seem to help her sleep much better at night. We not only wanted to care for her body until the end we also wanted to give Rubi the opportunity to say good-bye. Often times animal professionals love our pets quite a lot and I felt it was important to offer this opportunity to Rubi.

It was also very important to offer Schatzi’s rehab team the same opportunity. So on Tuesday we drive Schatzi to Healing Arts for the last time. She received acupuncture, again to offer her some pain relief and to help with sleep. The doctor and techs who worked with her most all came in to spend time with her, feed her treats, and kiss her good-bye. It was a beautiful time that we would not have gotten if we had not planned ahead.

We talked about Schatzi’s last meal options and realized that she sure did not lack for a variety of food. We keep plastic utensils on our dining room table because we shared every meal with her. If it wasn’t toxic she was allowed to have at least a bite or two. She loved all kinds of food! Spicy, ethnic, home made, door dashed - she enjoyed most of it. She didn’t really like fruit but she sure did love brussel sprouts. And spice cake. And noodles. And sushi. And, and, and…
😜

We decided to go simple for her last meals. Tue dinner was a double cheese burger from Burgerville and Wed lunch was a peanut butter Sunday from DQ. She ate both of these outside in her favorite shaded area in the backyard.

We were so fortunate to have had the opportunity to provide these last moments to Schatzi, who enjoyed the attention, and to those who loved her. Planning for euthanasia is never going to feel good: for us though, it allowed us time to create some of the most beautiful memories that we will carry in our hearts forever.
~Robynn

12/07/2024

I went back to work at the hospital today. I’m the Lead AAI Volunteer at Legacy Mt Hood Medical Center. I do recruiting, training, and auditing of our therapy dog teams. I’ve been working without Schatzi for a couple of years now so it wasn’t completely weird.

It’s impossible to return to “normal” after a loved one dies - human or critter. This is especially so for those of us who have been caregivers. The last couple of years “normal” has been filled with health appointments for Schatzi. Nothing about my days feel normal now. I will have to create a new normal, and that will take time.

In fact, many people keep their pets alive for longer than they should because they fear the absence of their pet as well as the absence of all the social interactions that came with being a pet parent. (This is especially true of dog parents.) I do miss Schatzi’s healthcare team quite a bit.

The “assembly” part of Assembly of the Wandering Shepherd is all about community. Don’t have a dog anymore but want to spend time with dogs? Let me know! I welcome folks to come sit in class to watch or better yet - to volunteer. You cannot be dog-free in class and not get to pet a dog or two. (Or three or four.)

I’ll get a “memorial art” event on the calendar soon. You don’t have to attend these events only in remembrance of a deceased pet. The best time to make memorial art is when your pet is young and can (sometimes) participate.

As much as death is a part of life it will always feel very un-normal for all of us.

~Robynn

06/07/2024

Thank you Cassie for sharing this memory with me today!!! 💜

As a young dog, Schatzi used to love her time at daycare. As she aged it became a bit dangerous for her and we removed her after she got hurt a few times. A great reminder that our dogs and their needs change throughout the years.

06/07/2024

Thank you to everyone who has reached out to send your thoughts and caring words. Schatzi was so fortunate to have so many wonderful people in her life.

I am feeling such an unexpected peace in my soul and I can only imagine that Schatzi’s soul, wherever or however it is, shares that peace too.

All of us have been working for so long and so hard these last couple of years. Every step Schatzi took made a “swish, swish” sound as her back feet scraped the floors, and then the mats. The last few weeks Lauren and I were always on hyper alert for any noise that would indicate Schatzi had fallen and needed help. (She would never ask for help, just patiently wait for one of us to get to her. 🙄) Though the house does feel too quiet at times, it is also strangely peaceful.

We were so fortunate to have time to plan for the end that I don’t have any regrets. We were also fortunate to have the finances to extend her life in such a way that it wasn’t too taxing or painful for her. (We had an amazing care team from so many clinics!) My heart is broken but my soul is at peace.

I will share more about Schatzi’s last day(s) soon to continue the education that she and I lived for.

05/07/2024

04/07/2024

Schatzi Lynn Harris
April 17, 2010 - July 3, 2024

Schatzi died by euthanasia Wed, late afternoon, surrounded by love, friends, and family. She spent over 14 years on this earth and volunteered over a thousand hours as a Therapy Dog to bring joy and comfort to humans of all ages in schools, hospitals, and prisons. Most of all, she was an amazing companion to those who were blessed to live with her. Her absence will be felt by many, though her spirit will live on in each of us who knew her.

If you want to help Schatzi’s memory live on you can donate to Assembly of the Wandering Shepherd. We never charge for our end-of-life services and all our doulas are volunteers.

Thank you for being a part of her life.

02/07/2024

I am tired. Being a caregiver can be exhausting. Physically and mentally, caregivers give so much of themselves. Culturally there is quite a lot of shame surrounding such an admission. This is silly! It’s perfectly okay to be exhausted AND honored to be exhausted due to the circumstances. It’s okay to say you’re tired. It’s okay to ask for help!

It’s also okay to add this information to your euthanasia plan. Can we provide for our dogs, and other pets, the highest level of comfort and dignity that they deserve? As p**p accidents become more frequent can we bathe them regularly in a way that is comfortable for them, and us? Are they sleeping ok? Or are they waking so often throughout the night that no one is getting restful sleep? Their comfort and our comfort are intertwined!

I have seen too many small(er) dogs forced to live beyond their comfort levels because their humans aren’t as physically taxed as those of us with bigger dogs. I have had people tell me they have to work (makes sense) so their dogs lie in p**p and p*e for hours until they come home. 😢

Our needs impact their needs in life and in death. That’s okay, it’s expected, and we can talk about it openly to treasured loved ones or animal professionals. (Sadly, not everyone understand the love and responsibilities of being a pet parent. So choose carefully.)

I am tired and I know I will soon be less tired and very sad about that too. 💔

02/07/2024

Schatzi found me a frog yesterday in the olfactory garden at the classroom!
💜🐸

26/06/2024

The last couple of days have been better than average for Schatzi. It may be a coincidence, but I think having guests come to say good-bye has improved her mood, and thus her body, more than a little bit.

Should we change our euthanasia plans?

It’s important to know that you CAN change your euthanasia plans at any time! No one can force you to euthanize your pet, even when it’s medically for the best. (Pets are “property” and thus you will always get the last say in how they are cared for. This may not be a perfect system but it’s the one we currently have.)

Many years ago we took a cat with a failing liver into our vet’s to be euthanized and the vet said, “I think you should wait 24 hours and reassess.” We were extremely concerned because she was starting to have difficulty breathing and we did not want her to suffer. Turns out our vet was right! Her breathing difficulties never worsened and slowly, as her liver started working a bit better, she started breathing easier again. Would it have been okay to euthanize anyway at that first appointment? Yes! Our cat was in that “appropriate” time and we didn’t really know if the experimental meds were going to work. In this particular case changing our plan, and following our vet’s advice, gave our little Noel two more years of life before renal cancer eventually made euthanasia necessary.

It’s almost always best to make a plan for euthanasia early, knowing it can be adjusted as needed. Waiting too long not only increases the chances of pain and suffering but it increases the possibility of an emergency euthanasia which is emotionally awful and often costly. (Sometimes this cannot be helped as in the case of accidents.)

At this time we have decided not to make any changes to our euthanasia plan. (We’re still planning for early July.) We’re thrilled for happy moments but there is still a lot of nerve decline happening that we don’t believe will change. That said, I’m comforted knowing I CAN change the plan any time I want to.

…

This is Schatzi doing her “happy rolls.” She used to do these after every dinner. We don’t see these much any more but Mon night during a visit from a youngling, she was very happy indeed. 💜

19/06/2024

Schatzi’s favorite thing to do these days is to sit outside under my (empty) summer woodshop canopy and watch and smell the world.

I’ll catch up on my wood projects later.

19/06/2024

There’s no perfect time to euthanize a pet. But somewhere between too early and too late there’s a lot of “appropriate” times.

Making an appointment to euthanize is one of the most agonizing decisions we make as pet parents. It’s okay not to wait until the last possible moment and it’s okay to plan for a time that works for everyone’s calendar.

Our pets don’t have the same thoughts about the future that we do. They don’t think they should hang on one more month so they can see a grandchild graduate. They won’t die thinking they only wanted more time to walk a child down the aisle. They pretty much know what we provide for them: They know love. To die two months before an event is okay for them because all they will know is that they are surrounded by love.

Because we don’t place our pets in Intensive Care with IV pain meds and around the clock nursing staff we must do the best we can for them in other ways. We must not only tackle their current pain but we must guess about their future pain and discomfort. Euthanizing before something catastrophic happens is not an easy thing to do but it is the loving thing to do.

Choosing a day that allows family to be present is ok. Choosing a day before a weekend or a vacation is ok. Choosing any day in that “appropriate zone” because it works best for the humans’ needs is ok!

Euthanasia means “good death.” We spend their lives doing everything we can to protect them. The last thing we need to protect them from is a miserable death.

We haven’t chosen a day yet for Schatzi’s good death. We are pretty sure it will be in the month of July though. Between now and then we’re loving her as much as we can and providing her with the medical attention that she needs so she isn’t suffering. 💔

15/06/2024

Schatzi has had a rough week. Or has she??? It can be really hard for caregivers to be objective when evaluating someone they are caring for. The best tool we have for our animals is a Quality of Life (QOL)Scale. While the tool requires input from us, which is still subjective, it can help us tremendously to focus our thoughts on one line item at a time. If we use a QOL scale regularly it's easier for us to see changes that will help us determine when euthanasia would bring relief to an ailing pet.

I've attached a QOL scale below. Give it a try even if your pet(s) is healthy. That will help you establish a baseline. There are other great QOL scales available too if you want to try one that is a bit different.

Sadly for us, Schatzi is in fact declining. This isn't a surprise, but it still pains the heart.

08/06/2024

"Let’s talk about some strategies for supporting the aging pet! Caring for a senior pet is a completely different ballgame than a young and rambunctious healthy one, particularly those with chronic illnesses, so our tools need to change. As always, please remember to discuss any changes to your pet’s exercise plan, diet, supplements, or medications with your veterinarian."

Let’s talk about some strategies for supporting the aging pet! Caring for a senior pet is a completely different ballgame than a young and rambunctious healthy one, particularly those with chronic illnesses, so our tools need to change.

01/06/2024

With Schatzi’s hearing impairment we have to be careful when/if we need to wake her up. Like most seniors with hearing loss, Schatzi startles easily when sleeping. It’s important to stay away from the dog’s muzzle when waking them up because it’s a very normal reaction for a dog to bite first and feel bad later. We start with some whistling and then some back feet “tickles” to let her know where we are. We try not to disturb her when she’s sleeping, the best option, but occasionally she is sleeping when we need to give her some medications.

We’ve placed a motion sensitive light next to her beds to help her see when she gets up in the middle of the night. As dogs age they can have vision challenges too that can make seeing in low light more difficult. Night lights can provide them the comfort and confidence they need to navigate their home successfully. This light has also provided some great pictures. 💜

24/05/2024

I can’t park like this everywhere but in front of my classroom I take advantage of using the curb to help Schatzi get in and out of the vehicle.

24/05/2024

If your pet is getting older, they might start losing their hearing. It's a good idea to think about which important cues you'd like to switch to hand signals or other non-verbal cues.

Once you've chosen the cues to change, you can initiate a “cue transfer”. To learn how to do this, check out our new blog post here: https://petharmonytraining.com/aging-and-transitioning-verbal-to-other-cues/

16/05/2024

A dog’s head is much larger, and heavier, than their tail. This is one reason why dogs’ front legs are responsible for carrying 60% of their weight and the back legs only 40%. (A good fitness and conditioning program can help keep those back legs strong and doing their part!)

Most dogs, if they live long enough, will develop back end, or hind leg, weakness because of their dog physiology. A super easy thing we can do for dogs as they enter their senior years is to lift their food and water bowls off the ground a bit. This allows them to maintain their normal weight distribution between their front and rear ends while eating. Dogs with weakness in their hind end will have to work much harder to stay standing when their head lowers towards the ground, and while that can be a fantastic part of a fitness program, it can be super unpleasant to deal with while trying to eat a meal.

I like the food dish to be lifted to somewhere between their elbows and their shoulders as a starting point. The dog will tell you, or show you, what works best for them.

Recently Schatzi told us that her food bowl was too high for breakfast. Mornings are when her back legs are the stiffest and most wobbly and she stopped eating unless we put the bowl on the floor. Unfortunately the floor wasn’t much more help so we made an in-between adjustment. (The food bowl is on the left and water is on the right.)

We bought this adjustable stand from Amazon knowing we would need to make adjustments. 🎉 We’ve only recently lifted this water bowl off the floor keeping two others on the floor throughout the house. By providing choices we can easily see preferences when they exist. Currently she seems to drink from all three water dishes the same so I’m inclined to continue to give her the two options for now.

Some challenges are easier than others. Adjusting the height of a couple of bowls is the easiest thing we have done to make Schatzi’s life better. 🎉🥣🩶

16/04/2024

Schatzi is losing her hearing. She still hears many words that she is familiar with but higher pitched tones seem to be gone.

On one paw this is kind of nice: She now rarely barks when a package is delivered to the front door. On the other paw this has shown me where my sign language is lacking.

If you’ve taken any good dog class recently you would have been taught hand signals alongside verbal cues to help you communicate with your dog. These are usually, “sit, down, stay, come.” Schatzi and I still have those covered. I also have a hand signal for my marker word “Yes,” and something that kind of translates to, “You did it! YAY!” 🎉🎊

I wish I would have added hand signals to go along with:

“Be right back.”
“Be back after an hour.”
“Potty?”
“All done,” and/or
“Do whatever you want.”
and
“I love you.”

If we’re lucky our dogs will live long enough to lose their hearing as this is a common challenge for older humans and dogs. Though I worked really hard on our “obedience” cues I now wish I had trained her more like a deaf dog from the beginning. (Yes, we all talk to deaf dogs. We can’t help ourselves. 🗣️)

Cues (what we once called “commands”) are simply a form of communication. It’s the way we humans use to “talk” to dogs. Dogs talk to us more with their body language. We all know communication is the key to any good relationship!

We’re still doing pretty good at getting our points across to each other. I’m sure she says, “Do you understand what I’m saying?” as much as I do. 🤷 The stress over this issue is minimal because I have always allowed Schatzi an enormous amount of agency. She is still choosing what to do with her time and body most of the time. It’s just one of those things I wish I had thought about more in her youth.

What about you? Is there anything you want to be sure you can communicate to your dog if/when they lose their hearing?

~Robynn

15/04/2024

What a wonderful day for playing outside and napping inside. 😎💤

10/04/2024

Hard, slick, floors can be treacherous for our young and older dogs. (They’re not good for our healthy, middle aged dogs either.)

In Schatzi’s case, a fall could be life threatening. Because she has ataxia, a wobble when she walks, we have placed impact absorbing mats throughout the house. Not only are these mats much easier for Schatzi to grip her feet to, if she does fall, she’s less likely to get hurt. They aren’t all pretty, but I’d rather live with ugly floors than without Schatzi.

Yoga mats often work quite well for most dogs and can be found at Ross and similar stores for “cheap.”

Getting old is hard, but there are things we can do to ease the challenges that come with senior status. The more we can do, the longer our dogs will live. As the Canine Arthritis Management organization says, “More rugs, less drugs.”

~Robynn