As the world dealt with a pandemic beginning in the early spring of 2020, I lost one of my very special angel dogs, Chicken. Chicken was a spunky, 2 pound local celebrity and retired therapy dog, so her loss was felt deeply.
Chicken was approximately 15 years old and had been without teeth for about 5 years. In the last three years of her life, her entire jaw had dissolved. (This happens sometimes when dogs lose all of their teeth, which is why I’ve had several fosters foster fails who have had major extractions, but the vet has left a tooth or two in place when possible.)
Feeding her a food-processed soup of nutritious soft food and water and then keeping her clean as she never kept all of her meals down became a routine. Trying to keep calories and nutrients in her already teeny body was difficult. She had been struggling for a couple of years by the end.
Here is a video she and I filmed at Christmas 2019 when I thought I might be losing her at that time:
I knew she was in a fragile state when I left for a business trip at the very end of February 2020 – just as COVID-19 was beginning to be discussed on the news in Kansas – and gave her in-home pet sitter lots of advice and trust. I was informed throughout the week of her decline, and was anxious to get home to see my girl for myself. Unfortunately, when I walked into the house, she couldn’t even lift her head. I did rush her to the vet, and it was there confirmed that her little body had simply had enough and she was shutting down. I took her home to pass in love and peace, and that’s exactly what she did while I snuggled her impossibly tiny blanket wrapped body on the couch.
She is missed every day. She was such a light with so much personality. Having her, and losing her, has taught me over again how lucky we are as humans to have the companionship of dogs to brighten our lives – and if we are as lucky as I was with Chicken, they brighten the entire world.
It didn’t take me long before I welcomed another foster pup into the family, and I’ll write much more about little foster fail, Finch, who took Chicken’s bird-shaped space in my pack.
Chicken’s popular instagram account has transitioned to instagram.com/a_dog_named_chicken_family where I tell the stories of the fosters and family members who have benefited from the legacy she started with me to adopt the underdogs and share their bright lights with the world. And that’s what I’ll continue to do here too.
