Dog Heaven

I got a package in the mail today from Maggie’s Oncology Vet Hospital,  called Bay Area Veterinary Specialists or BAVS.  Mag had her amp surgery there and our Oncologist is there, Dr. Cecile Siedlecki.

I opened the package and found this book:

It is a book written to help children understand and cope with the loss of a dog. It is simply written with colorful illustrations.

When I opened the front cover I found this:

I took Mag to BAVS in March right after our regular vet diagnosed the melanoma tumor in her mouth.  We sat with  Cecile for close to a hour  discussing options and deciding on what, if any treatment to pursue.  Cecile has always been open and honest with me about Maggie’s cancers and treatments.  She was completely supportive of my decision not to aggressively treat the melanoma at that point in Maggie’s life.  After we were done talking Cecile took Mag in the back because she wanted to try and get a picture of the tumor in Mag’s mouth.  I thought that it was a little strange since we were not going to treat the cancer.   I now know that she wanted to get a picture of Mag for this book.  At that point we both knew that it was Mag’s last visit there.

In the book God makes biscuits for the dogs, and because he has a sense of humor he makes them in funny shapes.  He makes kitty-cat biscuits and squirrel biscuits and ham-sandwich biscuits.  My favorite are Ice-cream biscuits.

Author: krun15

Maggie was a little black pug born in 1999. On September 7, 2006 she lost her left rear leg to a mast cell tumor. Because of lymph node involvement Maggie went through a 6 month chemo regimen. She was given 6 to 9 months after her amp, but she beat mast cell cancer! In the winter of 2010 things started to slide; in the course of about 2 months she had 2 MCTs removed, was diagnosed with incontinence and kidney failure, and then the big blow- oral melanoma. She lived her carefree tri-pug life until she crossed over on June 2, 2010.

11 thoughts on “Dog Heaven”

  1. What a fabulous vet you have! The one I went to in Denver used to make clay paw prints that they painted and fired to commemorate a pet’s passing. I bet Maggie is enjoying an ice cream shaped biscuit right now.

  2. Ice cream biscuits?

    Now THAT is doggie heaven.

    I’m going to go look for some now.

    What a pawesome vet team you have. WOW! It was nice to see Mag’s pretty face on the book. How cool.

  3. Wow!

    Simply amazing!

    What a wonderful thought and what incredible people they are to take the time to put your book together!

    the chauffeur

  4. That was soooo sweet, Karen! What a nice surprise for you that they did. Bring tears to my eyes…..

    Tracy, Maggie’s Mom

  5. Oh my gosh what a beautiful gift! Something that you will treasure forever.

    Darlene (Angel Tehya’s Mom)

  6. very touching!! definitely a forever gift – ice cream buscuits sound delicious!!

    gayle & charon

  7. What a wonderful gift from your vet team… You can tell that Maggie really made an impression on them! 🙂

    Angel Jake and Wolfie’s Mom

  8. I would love to read that book. 🙂

    I never told you, but the day after Maggie crossed the bridge, it was spooky: I was driving home from work and thinking about Raven and then Maggie, etc. I mean, I was *thinking* about her and I saw a person walking a pug on the shoulder of the highway, which was ironic enough, but as I passed— it was a tripug!! I about had a wreck with the rubber necking I did. It brought tears to my eyes. I was on a highway so I couldn’t pull over. This was in Grass Valley, CA.

    You are still in my thoughts and prayers. 🙂

    Dawn

  9. Karen, what a wonderful gift from Maggie’s oncologist. We have some books from Cynthia Rylant from when my kids were little – as I recall they have great illustrations. Now I’ll want to add this one to my collection!
    I’m still keeping you and Tani in my heart…
    Susan

  10. Karen, I posted to this topic when you placed it on the forum but I just want to say once again what beautifully kind gesture by your vet and his team.
    You and the Pugapalooza gang are in my thoughts. (that’s a tongue twister for sure)

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