cate

Oh no... I am so very, very sorry to hear this.

Rusky, I am so very sorry to hear that. There is no doubt that the short time sweet Tara was able to spend with you was by far the best part of her life, and I want to thank you for that. Hugs and tears, cate

Birni, I am so very sorry to hear that... ;) Tears, cat

Good on you! I have used homeopathy, acupuncture, herbs, flower essences, nutrition (including vitamin C saturation) etc. very successfully for more than 20 years, both for animals and humans. Lately we even "went as far as" cranio-sacral therapy (after everything, including all allopathics failed!), and you guessed it: Bingo! I wish you only the very best.

Birni, thank you so much. I am so sorry to hear about your purr-fur. I still don't know what is worse, that or an accident... I miss my sweet boy more than ever, but I thought I was done with crying, apart from a few tears here and there. Then, just the other day I watched The Cider House Rules, and when Fuzzy the little boy died alone in his oxygen tent, everything came back to me... The beautiful memories are beginning to return, though. The dogs are just as before and Garp's shy little feline sister who had the hardest time of all of us, is making progress daily. Looks like she is well on the way to becoming the boss around here, something that was unimaginable just a couple of months ago. Thanks again for your kind words. ;)

Thanks everyone, for understanding. It means a lot to me. Thank you all for your kind thoughts and the cyber hugs - I never really believed that they would, but they DO help.

Bob and Erica, I am so very sorry...

What a cutie. I have no doubt that she approves. Nat, I'm so sorry.

~~~ Thursday Morning You are your perfectly normal, happy, licky, purry self. We have a good cuddle and purr, as always. You eat your breaky with gusto, as always. You play with your little sister, as always. I put you into the carrier - no big deal, just a check-up. We'll be back in less than an hour. The vet says your heart sounds fine, but you seem to have some fluid in your chest. X-rays - huge amount of fluid - emergency surgery to insert a drain. Everything goes well, but omg... your beautiful greenish/bluish eyes are now totally black and lifeless... But you tell us not to worry. You have to stay overnight. We just can't believe it. ~~~ Friday Morning Diagnosis: possible Mediastinal Lymphoma. You are so happy to "see" us. We take you to the best vet clinic in the state. The weather is horrific, like never before at this time of the year. You don't like the trip, but you look good and you settle down nicely when we arrive. Then...all of a sudden your breathing becomes laboured and you are put into an oxygen box. We so hate to leave you there, but we have to. Mom goes home and joins the Feline Lymphoma list. ~~~ Friday Afternoon Forget the cancer. New, unconfirmed diagnosis: Heart Disease. But there is some hope. Of course there is! Mom un-subscribes from the Lymphoma list and joins Feline Heart Disease. ~~~ Saturday Afternoon We are allowed to see you. Your coat looks absolutely gorgeous. Your eyes do look better! You look at your dad for a moment - you tell him you are glad that he is here. Your beautiful, pink ear is folded against the glass. I want to straighten it out for you, but I can't - you still need all the oxygen you can get. You are stoned, but you try to use the litter box - you have always been such a clean boy. You taste the cat litter: Yuck! It's the one you never liked. I so wish I could give you some of your favorite food that I was told to bring, but you have to wait. The drugs are not working as expected, but you are such a strong boy. I want to hold you so badly. You are breathing very comfortably now - we put our hands into the cage and rub your ears and chin for a few seconds. You definitely like that. Love you baby. Don't worry, we won't give up! We'll see you tomorrow. Three hours later, the phone call... Your little golden heart just wasn't strong enough. Our hearts are broken. Endless rivers of tears... Your adoring brother and your beloved sisters can't believe it either that you are not coming home. They are all still looking for you everywhere... We pretend that the whole world is actually mourning for you, not the pope. That makes us smile just a tiny bit. You have given so much love to everyone you met, and you keep on giving. Your beautiful body is being studied right now and you will make a difference to other kitties' lives, far into the future. Caring, sweet soul you always were, I'm sure you would have given us your lick of approval for having agreed to it. 6/10/1991 - 2/4/2005 The cat who never hurt a fly, or a mouse, or a rat, or a bird, or a moth, or anything. Oh well, you once inadvertently scared the tail off our resident lizard, but he forgave you and grew a new one. If there are heavens, we'll see you in the one where ALL creatures are welcome. My precious baby boy with the heart of gold and the most loving soul I ever knew, we all miss you so very much...

I only just saw that... Great info!!! Thanks trifecta.

Gusgem, I just read that you have started your Chocolate girl's show career. :D Don't worry about the legginess. My breeder's Number One piece of advice is always: Try to ignore the ones that start out looking like miniature adults. They usually end up to be dumpy and short. It's really sad, but the most likely reason why you can't compare your girl with others her age, is because many breeders actually hide their Labs during The Uglies, which IMO doesn't do anything for the breed. As you can probably tell, I still have a soft spot for the "brown ones", and I wish you only the very best. Also, I'm sure you couldn't have found a better, more fun, show mentor than raz. :p Anyway, that's another forum/thread. :p MissMonaro, interesting thought about black dogs not fading. Funny you should say that, because in my other breed reddish coats are a problem for some, but I have only once heard someone blame the sun. But guess what the remedy is? Yep, many swear by kelp... :D Again, I seem to be very lucky. My girl is almost bluish/black, but she gets a slight brownish tinge when she is just about to drop coat, and I just accept that as something natural. :D about your water-reluctant girl. Just the other day, I caught my boy digging in the wading pool, trying to get his tennis ball out, and he was clearly having fun. But, when he saw me, he stopped and walked away, as if he was embarrassed. So, maybe there is still hope. Trifecta, I tend to agree with you that we can overdo it with supplements, generally. I personally have drastically cut down on all supplements over the years, mostly because of increased confidence in the diet I feed. I have never heard of kelp overdoses, though. Would that mean over-functioning thyroids? How much would it take to cause problems? And could you please tell us what to look out for? Yes, it apparently is the copper that helps with coat colour, but if you are talking about heavy metal contamination, that would definitely depend on the source. I only buy Norwegian and New Zealand kelp. Not sure about the one from New Zealand, but I know that the Norwegian one is still very strictly checked, especially for heavy metals, since the Chernobyl disaster, so I feel quite comfortable using it.

Gusgem, I'm so glad to finally "meet" someone who also has a non-bleaching Chocolate. I tried to explain it above, but it always sounds like a brag, when we are probably just very lucky. Or, do you think it could have something to do with the number (or rather lack of) Yellows in the pedigree? Mine is from almost solid Black/Chocolate lines, with only one Yellow 5 generations back, I believe. But then, mine is also the only Lab I have ever met who couldn't care less about water. cat

Maybe that is it??? I have given mine kelp since I got him at 8 weeks, as per instructions from his breeder.

Welcome Aboard, Abby! ;) Edit: I tried to add something and lost the lot, but it wasn't very helpful anyway. Anyway, from the replies here, together with my personal experience, it looks like it's not just the sun that causes the colour to fade, but probably much more the combination water:sun, with salt water being the worst offender. (???) As a preventative, it might be a good idea to immediately rinse and towel him off after a swim and get him into the house/shade until he is completely dry. Also, it seems that kelp really does help. I used to give my boy a teaspoon a day for around 4 years. Since then I have slowly decreased all his supplements, and today I give a teaspoon two or three times a week only. Best of luck! cat with her Chocolate Lab who will run along the beach, being extremely careful not to get wet.