Saying goodbye to Maggie Judy

On August 26, 2024 I introduced you to Maggie Judy - the little stray shih tzu whose days with us we knew would be numbered. Congestive heart failure is no joke and we had no preconceived notions of a miracle. Maggie was a sick little girl. We could make her better. We could not make her well. We had a mission - make every single one of those days she had with us extraordinary. I think we did.

We - is our amazing caregiving team at house. “House” is the name for the caregiving station that is the small dog/special needs kennel that used to be my carport - and is now enclosed, heated/cooled and outfitted with everything 20 to 25 dogs could ever need. We have some incredibly talented and compassionate young ladies whose lives revolve around these special needs dogs as much as mine do. Two of them, Olivia and Dannika, were on duty yesterday when Maggie needed them the most.

Olivia described life with Maggie and her feelings for this very special little dog in a Facebook post she made earlier today.

Though CPR has already posted about Maggie Judy, I wanted to make a post as well.

Since working down at house I’ve loved this dog so much. I used to be so nervous around her, scared to pick her up in fear of breaking her or something. But she was so sweet.

She didn’t feel well one day and Donna told me about how Maggie loves baths, so I gave her a nice warm bubble bath, dried her with a fluffy towel, and held her in my arms while I brushed her fur for awhile. After that, Maggie started to follow me around everywhere, she hated when I left the room and would bark and cry at the doors. When I would wash the dishes she would come up to me at the sink, as if she was asking for a bubble bath.

I would always pick her gross little boogies out of her eyes and cut her hair when it would block her vision. I even bought dog-safe “nail polish” and would paint her nails to match mine. She really was the sweetest. I’d like to think she chose me. She would sit under my chair and nip at anything that got near me, she didn’t want to share my attention. She would gather all the energy she had to jump up on me in the mornings. Every morning I’d come into work and when I would hear her bark I’d excitedly go “where’s my Maggie Judy girlll!!!!!” And she would be so excited.

I knew something was wrong when she stopped barking for me. When she stopped sitting near me and following me. When she stopped trying to eat everyone else’s food. And it breaks my heart how fast a dog can change when they’re sick. Though it hurt me so much to let her go, I’m glad I got to spend her last day with her.

I love you Maggie, rest in peace my sweet sweet girl.

On this, her last afternoon, Olivia and Dannika talked to her, petted her and simply rested with her. Saying goodbye does not always have to mean with words. It is enough, for dogs, to simply be with them. We were Maggie’s family. We were there for her.

Dannika, Olivia and Maggie

We did not rush. We took our time. This was a time we all want to remember.

Even though we wanted time to stand still, it does not. When it was time, we went for one last car ride. Olivia held Maggie on her lap and Maggie seemed to enjoy the ride, the company or maybe both. When we got to the clinic, we spent more time just petting her. Blood work earlier had shown us that her kidneys were shutting down and while she tried her best to be her old self, she kept laying her head down and her eyes had the far away look of someone who knows it is time to move on. We knew she was very, very tired and hurting so our kind vet gave Maggie a little help to stop the pain and fall peacefully asleep. We think she was dreaming of bubble baths and pink nails and long car rides going anywhere she wished and while she was in that happy place, our vet gave her the final peace. We each had a hand resting on her. It is our way to say goodbye.

The joy of animal sanctuary work is the hello. The pain is the goodbye but without the pain, there is no joy in the first place. You can’t have one without the other. We embrace both.

Donna