In Memory of Ethel

10/10/95 – 01/21/08

Ethel came to FBRN in September 2005. She arrived with sores all over her body, a raging staph infection, teeth in such bad shape she could hardly open her mouth, and overgrown nails. After many vet visits and many tests, we found she had Pemphigus-Foliaceus, an auto-immune disorder that affects the skin. With a regimen of antibiotics, Methylprednisolone and Azithioprine we were able to get her skin cleared up. Unfortunately, this condition is not curable, so she had to be on medications for the rest of her life, and be monitored closely by us and our veterinarians. We adopted Ethel into our family in May of 2006. You could not have asked for a sweeter little girl. Ethel was a petite girl of 17 lbs. She had so many endearing qualities. She would kick her little front feet out to the side when she walked quickly, making her appear to be prancing. She made small, soft “hooting” noises as she walked along, giving her the nickname of “Hootie”. She had the kindest, gentlest and loving brown eyes on a very petite face with large frenchie ears. She did not interact with our other pets much except to cuddle up to them for a nap sometimes. She was a people dog. She believed if you had a hand free, it should be petting her. If you would stop, you would get “the paw” urging you to return to your duty of petting her. She was very tired when she first came to us, but the medications gave her a new lease on life. She even decided to join us on walks around our property in western Wisconsin. Towards the end of 2007, she began to decline. She started having some problems with her back legs. We found that she had a mass in her abdomen that was pressing down on the nerves to her back legs, her colon and bladder. At that point, the vets did not think she was in pain, so we took her home to share what time we had left with her. We did not biopsy the mass as it would not be treatable, no matter what the diagnosis. She was too weak to withstand such an invasive surgery, and with her immune-suppressing drugs she had to take for the Pemphigus, chemotherapy would not have had any effect on the mass. We had a few more weeks with Ethel, and then she began to have trouble going to the bathroom. A visit to the vet revealed that the mass had grown, effectively blocking her colon. I had promised Ethlee (my nickname for her) that she would not suffer. My husband did not want to see Apple (his nickname for her) in pain. We made the difficult decision to help her out of her earthly body and free her spirit. Ethlee and I gazed into each others eyes as she left this world. As usual, her beautiful eyes were full of love and trust. I pray we made the right decision for her. We miss her dearly, but are grateful for the years we had with her. She was a very sweet girl. Godspeed Ethlee! You will not be forgotten.

Meli and John Bowersock