Photos by Gerry Bradshaw
Star
Fairway Mischievous Starlett JH, CGC, WCX, FM
February 11, 1995 - May 5, 2006
Breed: Labrador Retriever
Gender: Female
Jumps: 16"
Averaged: High 4's
Fastest: 4.88
First Tourney: 10/27/1996
Last Tourney: 06/21/2003
Handler:Gerry Bradshaw
Little did we know when we picked up that cute little puppy from the airport in the spring of 1995 that our lives would be so enriched. Star was a wagging bundle of brown fur that the airport employees were enjoying so much that we almost could not pry her away.
After we managed to pull her away from the airline personnel, Star moved right into our home – and burrowed into our hearts. Her eyes burned into you. Her tail never stopped wagging, and she could cuddle and lick like few others. Oh, the plans that we had for that little girl!
Star was an active puppy. She soon showed that she was a gifted athlete who played at all sorts of sports. She grew into a gorgeous, sleek, dark picture of what a Labrador should be. Then, the unexpected happened.
In 1997, just before we were scheduled to have her hips x-rayed for the final time in order to get her OFA certification (she had a good prelim reading a year earlier) she crashed into a jump in flyball practice and came up limping. The x-rays showed that she had a luxating patella, and that she had mild bilateral hip dysplasia. Her potential breeding was now out of the question.
The doctor indicated that her hips should not be a problem for her athletic endeavors. He had seen plenty of field trial dogs with worse hips enjoy long careers. The knee was something that could be easily repaired. We scheduled the surgeries (knee and spay) and never looked back.
Star took a while to recuperate, then resumed her athletic life style. She showed a lot of heart and desire, and never stopped being that loveable creature that had stolen our hearts a few years earlier.
She hunted and swam like few others. She ran around the yard, chasing her canine housemates, and she returned to play flyball.
After running in only two tournaments prior to the accident, Star took two years off, then returned to play the game. She ran in another thirty tournaments in the next three-and-one-half years before her hips told her to stop at age 8. After that, she stayed close to the game, running in an occasional demo and at a practice now and then while visiting with her old flyball friends. She continued to enjoy hunting and swimming for many more years as well.
By the time that Star was 9, though, her surgically repaired knee and her hips had become real problems for her. Arthritis had really set in, and she became a lot less active. She no longer ran quite as much, and hunting was no longer too much fun for her. She continued to find swimming to be a great (and easy) pastime, and we got her into the water as much as possible. Most of all, she was still great company for us, and she ruled the house.
Shortly after her 11th birthday, Star began to have trouble breathing. We rushed her to the veterinary clinic, where checks showed the need for a cardiologist ’skills. Those initial x-rays and sonograms showed that she really did have a big heart after all – too big. Trips to two emergency clinics and a cardiologist later, and the verdict was in.
Dilated Cardiomyopathy was the diagnosis. There was no way to know how long Star had left, but she could be made comfortable with medication and life style changes for as long as that might be. Salt was out of her diet, and her exercise had to be reduced (climbing more than a couple of stairs was out). She gained a fistful of new medications and returned to live out her remaining days at home.
For the next three months, Star lived the life of luxury. Plain kibble was no longer good enough for our girl. She got to enjoy venison, duck, rabbit and turkey mixed into that kibble. Those needed pills were delivered in a fig bar. She got to be carried up and down the stairs in order to visit the bedroom that she had slept in for so many years.
Star didn’t understand that she had to cut back her activity, and she pushed things a bit too far on occasion. It may have been a lot shorter than it once was, but she could still jump and bark her welcome to us when we returned home after work, and she was always ready to be petted and hugged.
On May 3, 2006 things began to go wrong. Star vomited a couple times and showed signs of being uncomfortable. We watched her through the night. She got no worse, but she got no better.
On the morning of the 4th, she ate her breakfast, then vomited several more times. She was not holding down her needed heart medications, food or water. Veterinary care was obviously needed if she had any chance to survive. Without those meds, she had no chance.
Star took her last trip to her vet that morning. A check showed no real reason for the vomiting. The best guess that could be made was that she had just eaten something that was violently not agreeing with her, and she might pull out of it with time. We decided to see if IV fluids and anti-vomiting medications could pull her through this problem, allowing her to hold down her much-needed heart meds.
Star spent the night at the clinic, attached to an IV bag. By the morning, she was looking much better. Her heart meds stayed down that morning. There was fire in her eyes, and she wagged for people (including Lorel) checking on her. By that afternoon, though, she had taken a very bad turn.
She vomited again, totally emptying her stomach once more. She was lethargic, and really looked as if she hurt all over. The fire was gone from her eyes. She did not even want to drink water when it was given to her.
She had put up a great fight, but we could not ask her to go through any more of this, not with the strain being put on her already weakened heart. For her, the fight had to end, and she needed to be allowed to slip away peacefully.
Star crossed over the bridge at a little past 6:00 pm on May 5, 2006 with both of her loving humans stroking her, looking into her eyes and telling her what a good girl she was. She is missed terribly.
Sleep quietly for a while, then run like the wind again you beautiful girl ….
Lorel and Gerry