Bluebell – 1st November 2005 to 25th June 2011
We first met the little girl who was to become Bluebell in the spring of 2006. She was brought by Sandra as a puppy, with her sister Dixie, to a Meet and Greet at Springfields, Spalding and we fell in love with her on sight. We decided to add her to our family of Sally, Mr Paddy and the infamous Mr Muffin immediately.In fact, she was difficult to love for several years. Physically, she was absolutely stunning, and won several classes at minor dog shows because she was she was so beautiful. Mentally, she was a little b…… If she didn’t get her own way, she would scream. If she was bored, she would scream. If she went somewhere she didn’t approve of, she would scream. At Meets and Greets, she would scream, and everyone in earshot would say, “Ah, Bluebell’s with us today.” In a nutshell, Bluebell was well known. She would pester at mealtimes and steal all the other dogs’ food (and ours). But she was a stunner. And when they made Bluebell, they broke the mould.
Just before Easter 2010, we noticed symptoms that worried us. We consulted our vet, who thought the best plan was to refer her to Dick White Referrals at Six Mile Bottom near Newmarket where she was found to have a tumour in her small intestine which was removed. Admitted for a week, she was out in three days, which was typical Bluebell.
Histology showed that it was an early leiomyosarcoma, which was malignant but operable. It was recommended she returned for another scan in 6 months; in the meantime, she grew fit and fat and resumed her dog show circuit.
In September 2010, the scan showed she had another tumour. It was again removed, and her vet felt everything was fine, but she should return earlier next time. She was scanned again in December; this time there were tumours on her liver, so part of one lobe was removed; the recommendation this time being that, post-Christmas, she had a short course of chemotherapy.She shrugged these doses off with her usual fortitude, the last treatment being in April. However, after a short time, it was obvious that she was not her usual feisty self. She became picky with her food (unheard of) and lethargic (unknown). It became a challenge for us to pace the streets of Spalding in search of morsels that would appeal. She craved water and would often vomit it back because she had drunk so much. She found it difficult to climb into (our) bed, and during the night, she would wet herself (gallons). In June I requested another scan to see whether her problems were due to the chemotherapy or the cancer.
The scan showed nearly all her liver had been taken over by the sarcoma. The prognosis was poor; her life expectancy weeks rather than months. On the afternoon of Saturday, 25th June, her condition worsened and at 7pm that evening, our vet helped her on her way to Rainbow Bridge.
She is much missed by her litter sister, Dixie (aka Discit) and adopted siblings Sally, Mr Paddy, Mr Muffin, and new brother Tom Barnaby, who arrived just before she left. She is buried in the wood at the Patch, and we are creating a wildflower and Bluebell garden there in her memory.
RIP Big Bubba, may your time at Rainbow Bridge be a peaceful one.
Daphne Ledward
