Ernie

In September we had a tragic accident. Our beloved 11 month old Golden retriever, Ernie, was backed over by a semi. He was able to drag himself with his front legs out from under the front tire. I rushed him to the vet and xrays showed he had a broken pelvis, broken rear leg, and a broken  or cracked sacrum. Our vet gave us hope if we took him to Washington State University Veterinary School where a team of orthopedic experts could mend him back together. The next day we had a very long drive to get there. Unfortunately, Ernie had more than just broken bones. He was not putting any weight on his good rear leg, and was not responding favorably to various pain tests. In other words, he had nerve damage. We made the painful decision to put him down. We brought him home and buried him on our property next to another Golden we had, Jake. Jake died at age 8 from bone cancer. We got Cooper about 2 weeks before Jake died.

Cooper knew immediately when we brought him home as he sniffed with great care at the box that Ernie was in. Cooper barely ate for 2 weeks and had little energy. Bubbles, our 16 year old cat, cried out mournfully with long, agonizing yowls.  Ernie used to play ball with her. He would drop the tennis ball in front of her as she lay or sat, and she would bat the ball away with her paw. He would jump to get it and bring it back to her to drop in front of her again, which she would then swat with her paw, and this would repeat over and over again. It was comical to watch.

We love you and miss you Ernie, Rest in Peace.