Ella

Our family suffered a great loss this weekend. Our 3 year old Miniature Australian Shepherd, Ella, passed away very unexpectedly Friday afternoon. To avoid a long, boring post here's the short version:

Ella came down with a condition that has a very sudden onset in previously healthy dogs called Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis (HGE). She was bleeding in her intestinal tract. They do not know what causes this, but obviously it is not a good thing, but not always fatal. The vet, Dr. Felix, was very concerned about her when we brought her in and did his absolute best to save her. He told me that she developed a secondary condition called Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC) which basically overloads her ability to clot which results in her not being able to clot. He told me that this condition is almost always fatal. So, from what I gather, she basically bled out. She went from bad to worse very quickly and died around 3:45 in the afternoon.

I'm not sure that it has really sunk in that she is just gone. She was such a huge part of our family. Cameron and I got her for Christmas the year we got married and she quickly became our "baby". Ella earned the nickname "Silly" and would respond just as quickly to that as she would her real name! She was a spunky, loving, very smart girl. Ella was the first inside dog I've ever had. She was very good with Reese and very tolerant of his tugs, yanks, and hugs. She had also managed to win over our old cat, Carter and the two of them finally became friends.

I'm sure, in time, we'll be alright. There is a huge emptiness in our house now and while I'm sure we'll get another puppy eventually, Ella will never be replaced or forgotten.

We'll miss you, sweet Eleanor.