Well last week was one for the books.
All week long thoughts of Sir's last day kept creeping into my mind. In dreams, while driving, while doing anything. It seemed so real that I had to shake my head to get the thoughts out.
I would see him lying on his side in a field and I laid down next to him. We were staring into each others eyes, mine tear filled. His nostrils flaring and taking in deep breaths. I watched his body rise and fall as he breathe the air.
I watched him and talked to him, stroked his head as he breathe his last breath. I watched the light go out of his eyes. Then I was drawn back to reality. Asking myself if I wanted to be there when it happens. Did I have the courage? The answer was and is yes! I want me to be the last thing that he sees. I do not want him to go to the other side alone. He deserves better than that.
Laurel sent me a text during the week and told me that Dr. Wen was coming out on Saturday evening to examine him. I asked if he was okay and she told me that he was.
I arrived at the Barn around 11 AM after spending the morning running errands and was greeted by my friends and some new volunteers going through this years Volunteer Orientation.
I went back to see Sir and he appeared to be happy to see me. He actually looked pretty good and was more like himself. Heather Davis, a volunteer, told me that he was being a brat. And when she told him that she would tell me he would stop. LOL
Later that day after everyone pretty much left, Laurel and I were talking as she prepared the buckets for the next morning's feeding. She then told me that Sir had taking a turn for the worse during the week. And that she had made the decision that we needed to put Sir down on Monday. He was that bad. She didn't want to tell me until she had him looked at and was sure it was the right decision. She called Dr. Wen to discuss it and went over what medications he was taking. He made some adjustments and she began the new regimen. Well 5 days into it and he improved drastically!
She is so much my friend and like a sister. She is always looking to protect me from stress and sadness. I love her for that. Tommy is the same way. They are caring and compassionate towards others.
Dr. Wen finally arrived. Sir was on cross tied. I had brought him in earlier and Laurel and I groomed him.
Dr. Wen examined him, feeling and pressing in various areas. He stated that Sir looked good. Then he listened to his heart. I stood by watching for what seemed like an eternity. Finally he stood up, stepped back, removed his stethoscope and said "This is good! His heart rate is almost back to normal"
The last time he listened to the heart is was so erratic that the best he could do was count around 120 beats, This time it was 70!
From www.LivingLegends.com:
A normal resting horse has a heart rate of 38-40 beats per minute, foals (70-120 bpm), yearlings (45-60 bpm) and 2 year olds (40-50 bpm). Maximum heart rates can exceed 180 beats per minute, but a rate above 80 should be considered serious in most non-exercising horses.
So you can see from the above that he was in peril and made a major improvement.
I haltered him up and led him back to his paddock. I talked to him the whole way. I was like a giddy school kid. Not ashamed to admit that I shed some happy tears. Once again he won!
When I got back to the barn Laurel was emotional and I told her that I felt like crying because I was so happy. She said that she already was.
We celebrated this small victory together and said goodnight.
Sunday I returned to the Barn and was speaking to Louise about the morning session with the Stony Brook Veterans Equine therapy session. She told me that the girls went to get Sir to participate and he basically refused. She went back to see if he wanted to join as he usually did and she got the feeling that Sir was saying that he was done with that, LOL He was feeling good and just wanted to chill. She said that he was a one person horse and that I am that person. I was of course very happy to hear that 😎
I will see if I can work it out financially so I can adopt him. That would be wonderful!
Thanks again for reading about and following Sir and I. Your thoughts and prayers really do help!
With much love and gratitude.
Sir and Frank "Sir's Human"
