Shelby by Kimberly, Erik, Harley, Kendall and Willie (I miss my sister) Zern

This is Shelby at 7 years old, and 1 week before her death from intestinal lymphoma. Shelby, or "Pretty" as we usually call her, came into our lives as a 10 week old rescue. She was the sweetest girl, and loved her big brother Willie (our 8 year old weim). She was sweet, loving and so eager to please. She dealt with the arrival of 2 babies and acted like a second mom. The kids crawled all over her, and right up until the day before she died they laid in bed with her.

She started vomiting occasionally, nothing abnormal I thought, for a counter surfer and garbage picker!! She and Willie were in the "sanitation business", always in the garbage. After a week of sporadic vomiting, we took her to the vet. They put her on an antibiotic, and said to watch her closely. She continued to vomit. She then had blood work that led to the diagnosis of Canine Addison's Disease, or so we thought. She continued vomiting after being on the meds for that disease. An ultrasound confirmed intestinal tumors, and the prognosis just said "poor". I felt like I was punched on the gut. My little girl, who had just turned 7, was not going to see another birthday, Christmas, etc. It was very hard to absorb. That's when we were referred to Dr. Post. He did not deliver wonderful news, but he put things into perspective, and we decided to try chemo. Even if it worked well, she would only have about 6-12 months.

She was hospitalized for 3 days, over Easter weekend. She spent her last Easter in the hospital. I was so upset. This was the LAST thing I wanted to do to her. She did not want to be in a hospital, she would rather be home feeling ill than in the hospital getting "better". She did, however, bounce right back from that episode and lived comfortably and actively for another month on Prednisone. Dr. Post told me what would happen without the continuation of chemo, but I felt that it was the best way to go. She was my girl, from day one, all I wanted for her was a painless transition, not to prolong that agony. She was acting healthy until about 12 hours before we had to make the final decision. I held her tight, my husband looked her in the eyes, and we said a tearful, painful, but loving goodbye. She's buried under the Dogwood tree outside of our bedroom window.

I wanted to make a dedication and donation in Shelby's name because no one but us animal lovers, pet owners, know the pain and heartfelt loss of loosing a fur baby, especially prematurely. Shelby was my shining star, and the end came so quickly. She and Willie were (are) my kids before I had human kids!! She was my best friend, my protector, my unconditional love, and just plain ol good girl. I wanted her life to matter outside of our home, and with this small donation, maybe help someone else going through
the same terrible situation. On behalf of Shelby Zern, let there hope for all of the animals with cancer, let there be a cure soon, and let them live to be old men and old ladies.