Welcome to CHARRO's Rainbow Residency

Memories of CHARRO

04.07.1995 to 05.30.2008 Your music is: "YOU RAISE ME UP" 04.07.2011... HAPPY BRIDGE BIRTHDAY... xoxo 02.14.2011... HAPPY VALENTINE's DAY... xoxo 01.01.2011... HAPPY NEW YEAR... xoxo 12.25.2010... MERRY CHRISTMAS... xoxo 11.24.2010... HAPPY THANKSGIVING... xoxo 05.30.2010... HAPPY BRIDGE ANNIVERSARY... xoxo 04.07.2010... HAPPY BRIDGE BIRTHDAY... xoxo 02.14.2010... HAPPY VALENTINE's DAY... xoxo 01.01.2010... HAPPY NEW YEAR... xoxo 12.24.2009... MERRY CHRISTMAS pretty girl. You are missed by so many BEST FRIENDS people, especially your mommie. Send her some smooches for Christmas. YOU ARE LOVED TO THE MOON & BACK!!! xoxo 11.24.2009... HAPPY THANKSGIVING... xoxo "WHEN I THINK BACK... ON THESE TIMES... AND THE DREAMS WE LEFT BEHIND... I'LL BE GLAD CAUSE... I WAS BLESSED TO GET... TO HAVE YOU IN MY LIFE... WHEN I LOOK BACK ON THESE DAYS... I'LL LOOK AND SEE YOUR FACE... YOU WERE RIGHT THERE FOR ME. IN MY DREAMS, I'LL ALWAYS SEE YOU SOAR ABOVE THE SKY IN MY HEART... THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A PLACE... FOR YOU FOR ALL OF MY LIFE... I'LL KEEP A PART OF YOU WITH ME... AND EVERYWHERE I AM, THERE YOU'll BE... AND EVERYWHERE I GO, THERE YOU'LL BE. WELL YOU SHOWED ME HOW IT FEELS... TO FEEL THE SKY WITHIN MY REACH... AND I ALWAYS WILL REMEMBER ALL THE STRENGTH YOU GAVE TO ME... YOUR LOVE MADE ME MAKE IT THROUGH... OH, I OWE SO MUCH TO YOU... YOU WERE RIGHT THERE FOR ME... CAUSE I ALWAYS SAW IN YOU, MY LIGHT, MY STRENGTH... AND I WANT TO THANK YOU NOW FOR ALL THE WAYS YOU WERE RIGHT THERE FOR ME... YOU WERE RIGHT THERE FOR ME... FOR ALWAYS." This is the story of a beautiful yellow lab that was a resident at BEST FRIENDS in Utah. I watched her story on DOGTOWN one night & it broke my heart. You see, this beauty had cancer & as many of my friends here at the bridge site know, we have lost 5 of our 6 doggies to cancer so Charro's story really hit home. When I heard her story, I knew I had to give her a forever home at the bridge. Before I begin, I would like to thank Holly at Best Friends for helping me & allowing me to write Charros' story. First, a short history of the LAB. They are LOVING, AFFECTIONATE, PATIENT & LOVEABLE. They are LIVELY, GOOD-NATURED. They love to play, especially in the water due to the fact that they LOVE to swim. They are FRIENDLY & SUPERB with children. Charro, never got the chance to be any of those mentioned above UNTIL she was rescued by BEST FRIENDS & fostered by her forever foster mommie, MILEEN KEATING. Here is the story of CHARRO. Charro came to Best Friends from a small rescue who saved her from A LIFE ON A CHAIN & years of neglect that had taken a toll on her. When she arrived, she went directly to the BF clinic because she had weepy eyes & a persistant cough. She spent her time in the clinic undergoing medical tests & a very serious surgery. Even though she was having to deal with all of these things, she was still stealing the hearts of anyone & everyone who met her. She had the sweetest nature & angelic spirit. Despite the BEST of care, she was a very sick girl. Charro had a WONDERFUL doctor...Dr. Mike. He took a chest x-ray & found an abnormality in her chest. He wasn't sure if it was a bad infection, squished lung or a tumor. He placed her on meds for an infection. If this was an infection in her chest, the growth would shrink. If not, it could prove to be much worse. Charro was on the meds for 3 weeks. This was not an infection. An ultrasound showed a solid mass. This was most likely cancer. Dr. Mike decided that surgery was needed. He didn't want to see Charro suffer since she was still having a difficult time breathing. And she was still coughing. He made the statement..."it's sink or swim time." The surgery that was going to be done was the FIRST one of its kind at Best Friends. And it was difficult. Charros' chest cavity was opened. And once this is done, she is no longer breathing on her own. Dr. Mike is thinking...wow, a heart based tumor? This is almost impossible to remove if it's growing outside of her heart. Dr. Mike didn't think they could do it. He said. "at this point, I euthanize her or it will kill her." BUT he kept pushing away at it. He said.."I have NOTHING to lose." To remove this mass, he had to manuver around major veins that carry blood to the heart. After doing all of this, Dr. Mike makes an encouraging discovery...it's NOT attached to her heart. This is GREAT NEWS!!! After a slow & nerve wracking, 3 hour surgery, the mass has been safely removed. It's now time for it to be sent to the lab for a biopsy. Dr. Mike now closes Charros' chest. Her vitals are good...her pulse is strong...her heart rate is up. Charro is now moved to her kennel. Her foster mom, Mileen, comes to check on her. Mileen made the comment..."you get attached to these dogs, you prepare them to move on to their permanent forever home." "You are their stepping stone to becoming part of a family & to be a family member with other dogs." Now everyone must wait for the results of the biopsy. Charro will stay at the clinic until the results return. Mileen was full of hope for Charros' future. She was looking forward to taking her home & caring for her. Charro improved WELL beyond any expectations. BUT the news of the results was devastating. The mass WAS cancerous & very aggressive. It they went back in & removed all of the tumors, she could possibly live for a couple of years. If not, MAYBE a couple of months. Mileen decided that she was going to keep Charro. That Charro would live out her life in a loving home with a loving mommie. And for the first time in her life, she was going to live INSIDE a house...she was going to have ALL of the luxuries that she NEVER had before. Charro got ALL of the love & attention that she NEVER got before. Mileen said..."she's going to stay & be comfy here, live the rest of her life KNOWING she had a loving home." A few weeks later, Charro took a turn for the worse. Another x-ray was taken & it showed fluid building back up in her chest. She was having a hard time breathing again. The cancer had spread throughout her chest. Dr. Mike said..."she probably felt like a boa constrictor was slowly compressing her chest & it was never going to stop." At that point, we HAD to make life & death decisions based on her physical comfort & the quality of her life." "Quality of life is a very important issue in terms of determining when to euthanize." So even though we weren't able to give Charro a long time, we gave her a good time. And that's just as important." Here is a little bit from Mileen's journal. "Charro got my attention the first time I saw her. It was love at first sight. She was just a little angel. I think of her as a Southern Belle because she was very feminine, gentle & petite. When she looked at me with those big, brown eyes, I was drawn to her & knew immediately that I wante to foster her & give her a second chance at a family." "Losing Charro was heartbreaking even though I knew it was coming. I was happy to have been a part of her life." The decision was made. Charro was not going to have to struggle any longer. The decision was a peaceful one. Charro left on her journey to the rainbow bridge knowing that she was loved to the very end by Mileen, Dr. Mike & the entire staff at Best Friends. And she touched my heart too. Charro is buried at the Angel cemetary at Best Friends. For those that don't know about BEST FRIENDS, here is a little story about them & DOGTOWN. BEST FRIENDS...they are guided by a simple philosophy: kindness to animals builds a BETTER world for ALL of us. In the late 1980's when Best Friends was in its early days, roughly 17 MILLION, yes I said MILLION dogs & cats were being killed in shelters EVERY year. Best Friends' NO MORE HOMELESS PETS campaign created a NEW vision: A grassroots effort to place dogs & cats who were considered "unadoptable" into good homes & to reduce the number of unwanted pets through effective spay/neuter programs. Since then, the number of dogs & cars being destroyed in shelters has fallen to approx. 5 MILLION a year. Best Friends is home on ANY given day to about 2,000 dogs, cats & other animals. Best Friends was responsible for rescuing MANY of the animals that were left behind because of HURRICANE KATRINA. They are also responsible for rescuing animals in wartime situations, animal hoarding & failed shelter situations. Best Friends is the ONLY organization in the COUNTRY capable of mounting such MAJOR rescue efforts. For that, Best Friends is truly the BEST!! Best Friends is NOT a bad place for the fur babies that need help. The fur babies are safe & sound at Best Friends. Now, a little blurp about DOGTOWN. Dogtown has been doing a great job at Best Friends for almost 25 yrs. Dogtown began in 1987 with about 100 dogs. Soon after, dogs started coming in from all over the country. There are big outdoor enclosures, comfy indoors & each has a kitchen/staff area. At Dogtown, you're really just like any other orphaned child. Maybe you had a bad home, maybe it didn't work out...or maybe you'd always been a stray, dodging cars & stones & anyone in a UNIFORM until you were finally caught & taken to the POUND. Either way, nobody seemed to want you. You were just too plain or too frightened or too old or too big...or you simply couldn't get along with people. At Dogtown, you get breakfast in the morning, treats in the afternoon, nice walks & lots of afternoon snoozes. It's really like a GIANT summer camp for doggies. The best part of Dogtown??..lots of visitors willing to give you lots of hugs & smooches. And not one person thinks you aren't adoptable. How great is that??? SO sweet Charro...run fast, play hard & sleep well. You don't know how many hearts you touched. And even though I don't know you, you will be forever in my hearts & I hope you are playing with my gang. And when it's time for me to come to the bridge, I hope to get to meet you. You watch over your foster mommie, Mileen. You send her smooches so she knows you are OK. And you watch over Dr. Mike. He did his very best to help you. They all miss you very much. WE LOVE YOU TO THE MOON & BACK!!!...xoxo To everyone who visits this sweet girl...THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 05.11.2009...hello pretty girl. I received a little note from your mommie, Mileen. She misses you so very much. She called you an ANGEL. And she hopes that by having your story here & on DOGTOWN, it WILL save another doggie from life on a chain. There's a little shepard by the name of SHEPP. Find him...he knows what it was like living at the end of a chain. And his life ended at the end of that chain. Take care pretty girl. Send Mileen LOTS of smooches so she knows you are OK. xoxo 05.30.2009...hello pretty girl. It's been 1 year since you made your journey to the bridge. I know you are loving it there. You have many friends, not only at the bridge but here on earth. And your mommie, Mileen, she misses you so very much. I hope you are sending her smooches. And don't forget all of the wonderful people at Best Friends. They miss you too!! We love you pretty girl. xoxo 10.14.2009...Happy Fall pretty girl. I am so sorry that I have not been here to visit you lately. I won't let that happen again. I know you are having a good time with all of your new friends. Please know that you were loved by your foster mommie. And she misses you very much. Send her some signs so she knows that you are OK. You are LOVED TO THE MOON & BACK!!!...xoxo Please also visit AKER, BUCKY, Buddy, COLE, Dakota, GODS Gentle Giants, KARLEY, KEIKO, Keisha(BooBoo), LADY WENDY, MANDY, MERCY, PFEIFLES' BABIES, REGINA, SHEPP, SNOW PUPPIES, THE FORGOTTEN, Tiger Lily, Trail of Tears and URSA.

Photograph Album
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CHARRO's People Parent(s), Paula, would appreciate knowing you have visited their Baby's Residency. Click here to Email Paula a message, or to send a sympathy card click here. Email this page to a friend. Give a gift renewal of CHARRO's residency.

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