In memoriam: Ranger
Ranger, 2002-2012
Ranger came to us from North Carolina in February of this year. He had lived his entire life on a chain behind an auto repair shop in Charlotte when a very nice lady decided it was time to rescue him from a life without people and managed to talk his owners into letting him go. Ranger was taken to a vet where he was diagnosed with heartworms and a condition the vet thought might be self-mutilation brought on by boredom. Ranger had chewed his legs literally to the bone. After several weeks of IV therapy, steroids and antibiotics, Ranger was on his way to a better life. Sadly, by April of this year, Ranger had deteriorated and it was discovered that he was suffering from a very painful and damaging autoimmune disease that caused him to bite himself to alleviate the pain. Ranger had a really good six weeks with us before the medications stopped functioning and his quality of life began to deteriorate. Ranger could not have had a better foster Mom than he did and Linda and her family gave him everything they had to make him comfortable and happy and for that, we owe her and her family a deep debt. (We also need to thank Warren and his family for their care of him as they, too, cared for Ranger for several weeks before he went to Linda.) As Ranger continued to decline, the decision was made that it was time to let him go. In rescue, the hardest thing to do is say ‘enough’ and let the dog go because it is not in our nature to give up on a dog. We always want to do one more thing to try to make it work, but every dog is only on loan to us and we have to return them when their time is at an end, no matter how much pain this causes us. Ranger went to the Rainbow Bridge on Wednesday and he had his foster family with him as he left this world. Ranger was loved and his life had worth and that is all we could hope for. If there is a dog heaven, we know he has heaved his 120 pound bulk on a sofa with a big, fat bone to chew on while he waits for someone to pet his head. We’ll see you on the other side, Ranger.
Ranger in happier days
What a sweet boy. At least he got to have a taste of the good life before he passed.
June 2, 2012 at 12:38 am
So very sorry to hear that handsome Ranger has made his journey to the Rainbow Bridge. Our thoughts are with you all. You were his angels here on Earth to let him know what love was. Run free, Ranger, in those grassy fields beyond the bridge. There will be many friends waiting there for you.
June 2, 2012 at 12:39 am
Thank you bfdr, the woman who rescued him and his foster parent for giving him even the small amount of time to realize the life he deserved.
June 2, 2012 at 12:57 am
Linda and the Rescuers at Big Fluffy Dog,
So many prayers to you. We also lost a dog to Lupus. Babe was only 3 and we only had her for 7 months before she passed. Who knows what her life in Kentucky was before she found her way home with us, but she knew love at the end, and so did Ranger. Dogs live in the moment and the love that your family gave him is what he knew.
It does get easier, but honestly the peace comes slowly. Warren Zevon’s Keep Me In Your Heart has been on repeat along with tears and smiles in this house since October. Please let me know if you want to chat sometime, just send me a Facebook message. As hard as it is to lose them, you and I have had an amazing privilege of knowing these dogs, who fought so hard, Babe even inspired me to foster dogs and volunteer with a rescue. They are together, I am sure, playing over the Rainbow Bridge. And I am sure that they will be so happy once we meet them again.
Nicole
PAWS New England
June 2, 2012 at 1:33 am
Thank you for helping Ranger find love so that he didn’t have to die alone on the damn chain. Of course, we would all have wanted him to have time for more love but that he miraculously found love at the end is the kindness you paid him.
June 2, 2012 at 1:35 am
Of course there is a dog heaven!! It’s the same heaven we go to.
June 5, 2012 at 9:50 pm
I worked with “Ranger’s” rescue effort in Charlotte, NC. I would love to talk with his foster mom. He took hold of my heart in the little time I knew him….I am heart-broken to learn of his passing.
July 25, 2012 at 6:30 pm