Mini

When Jenny came to live with us Mini was nearing the fourth month of treatment for her non-functional kidneys.

Kidney failure was not something I was familiar with.  It was always a bad sign when Mini refused food. Mini loved food and would eat everything in sight, keeping our floor completely crumb free!  It was unbelievable that she would become so finicky an eater.  I would fix her some food and offer it to her and she would turn away.  Every brand of ready made special kidney diet food available was offered to her and she would sometimes try it for one day then refuse.  Then there were the recipes and then there were the crazy things I'd just try for the heck of it.  She really liked creme of wheat with maple syrup for awhile.  Then there was the cheerios faze.  Anything that she could get down and keep down was great.

Every day she would cheerfully go to the vets for subcutaneous fluids and as long as her little tail was wagging I thought she could keep on wagging.  We very much lived in the moment.


By the time Jenny arrived, Mini's health was quickly declining and sadly she was starting to suffer too much.  Her life was too short, only 9 years and in spite of all that was wrong with her - she was completely deaf, had hip dysplasia, a bad spaying that caused severe infections when she was a puppy and finally kidney disease - she was the happiest and most beautiful dog we ever had.  Just two weeks after getting Jenny, I held Mini as she wagged her tail for the last time. Now we would have Jenny who we had a late start with, so I guess it all evens out somehow.


Jenny is my light at the end of the tunnel.  She seemed to be Jintsy's light too.  Jintsy, our nearly 16 year old beagle,  immediately became more attached to Jenny.  It seemed that she thought our other springer Missy had finally returned.  Jintsy was sure that Missy, our springer, was her mother and that she too was a springer spaniel.  Beagles are silly.