R.I.P. Emma and Fires!

Yesterday we took Emma, our 11 year old senior, to the vet when she appeared to be in distress.   After a day of X-rays and tests, it was determined that her lungs were full of fluid and fibers, she was straining to breath, combine this with her failing kidneys and she could no longer fight the battle for life.   We had taken her in for tests two weeks prior, but we had expected to have several more months with our golden lady.   The comparison of X-rays from just a short time before were dramatic.  We were using two tests to gauge her progress, we watched her closely to see when she could no longer come to bed on the second floor, and when she lost her appetite.   The night before, she was still climbing the stairs, determined to sleep with the pack, but when morning came, she could not come down on her own.

 Emma was our cousin, her mom and dad are our families daughter and son-in-law.  Since their move back from Tampa, Emma, Molly and Piper, and their parents have been staying with us, waiting for the renters to move out of their home.  Emma is the reason I live here, she was the original "rescue" in the family, she was the reason everyone else became involved in rescue.   Molly and Piper will carry on in her absence, in her memory.   We will remember Emma as the happy lady that loved playing in the ocean waves when she lived in Jacksonville and Tampa.  

Meanwhile, the fires in Colorado are creating a crisis.  The fire on the edge of Colorado Springs kept the family up all night even though Colorado Springs is 90 miles away.   Our cousin had to go help move people out of care facilities that were being threatened by the fire, into their facilities on the South edge of the Springs.   Today they will be moving more people into the Denver area medical facilities.   Any empty beds are rapidly being filled.   We were on the phone last night looking for a place for a Colorado Springs family to stay and even with help from a phone bank, the closest hotel room was in Dillon, Colorado, 160 miles from Colorado Springs.  With 35,000 people are already evacuated in Colorado Springs, 6,000 in Boulder and 2,500 in Fort Collins, there are no rooms left in the front range of Colorado.  Today is not going to get better, high winds threaten to expand the fire greatly and they are already evacuating The Air Force Academy and its housing.  We are working with a matching service for people that will open their homes to fire victims. 

Wish us well, pray for rain and keep Emma in your thoughts.

Mogley G. Retriever