Elke Our 'Baby Girl'

by Sandy
(New Palestine, In)


Our hearts are broken and the house is empty and too quiet. Our sweet 'baby girl' Elke is gone. Taken from us too, too soon and so unexpectedly. One afternoon she's playing tug-o'war, chasing her squirrels and birds; that evening vomiting several times and a very hard panting that never stopped. A trip to the vet the next day showed an enlarged heart. Medicine the vet said should help her could not stop the agony she went though.

I will never forget her beautiful brown eyes that seemed to be pleading to me for help...and I couldn't help her. She crossed the Rainbow Bridge 2 1/2 days after this all started. Everyone tells us time will make it easier. I pray that is true because right now I have this swelling in my heart that feels as though it could burst, just like Elke's did. The tears seem to come out of no where.

My husband too is hurting so much because she is not there to go about with him on their daily routines. She helped collect the paper, went out to get the mail and made sure the mowing was done properly. Oh, and ran after the inevitable sticks and balls he would throw.

Elke was our joy on the day. She would wake with us in the mornings with her short little tail wagging and her special 'schnauzer talk.' If it got past her bedtime, she would stand, stare and moan until you realized she wanted to go back to our bed. If we did have to leave her, which was not often or for very long, she would be right there at the door to greet us. And we could count on her giving us a robust 'talking to.' If your a schnauzer owner, you know the wonderful 'schnauzer talk.' When she 'talked' I know she was telling us something that was important to her. On the flip side, when I would talk to her she would look at me so intently, with her deep brown eyes, that I know she understood a lot of what I was saying.

Elke was a stout little girl measuring about 17in. and weighting about 30lbs; but that was just perfect for us. She was just the right size to roll around on the floor and play with her 'Daddy.' It didn't take long for her to conquer our hearts. Whether sitting at table reading the paper or one of us on the computer, she was right there in our lap... helping out.

Elke was my constant companion when I retired on disability due to COPD. It was such a comfort to have her beside me. Elke was an amazing girl. I don't know if she fell into our routine or she had us adapt to hers. When we traveled and was loading the van, she would be in the van right behind the drivers seat before the bags had been loaded. As if to say, "Hey, I'm ready....hurry up. Lets go." Her groomer told me more than once there was a little old woman in Elke; because she was too wise to be just a dog.

I don't know how this enlarged heart was able to sneak up on us the way it did. Elke had always been well cared for and checked every year by our vet. So my advise to everyone is... an x-ray of your beloved schnauzer around the age of 6 or 8 might be a good idea. There is medicine for it if caught in time.

Comments for Elke Our 'Baby Girl'

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Jun 04, 2014
Understanding your loss of "Baby Girl"
by: Pat from Mead, Wa

Just wanted to say how sorry we are to hear of your loss of your beloved girl. We lost our girl at 11 years young to Cancer that also came on very sudden. You can read our story earlier about Katla Brit our girly girl. Your picture reminded me so much of our Katla. We lost her last January but I still grieve her passing.
It helped me to get another little female Schnauzer who we named Abby. She is five months old and full of mischief. Not everyone deals with loss like ours in the same manner. I wish you peace as you remember the precious time you had with her. No other dog ever replaces the one that is gone. We move on and make new memories always holding those times dear in our hearts forever.

May 11, 2014
To Elke's mum & dad
by: Tina

I am so very very sorry to hear about Elke she really was a beauty.. I know how you are feeling right now, I lost my little Milly Dog ( see below) on 25 January this year and my heart broke into two.. Big hugs are being sent your way and here's hoping Elke and Milly are playing together and very happy xx

May 07, 2014
Thanks for Your Comforting Words
by: Sandy (New Palestine)

Thanks to all of you for your words of comfort on the loss of our beautiful Elke. Three weeks and four days have passed since she left us. The silence is palpable. The hurting ever constant.
Anjali, I hope your right about Elke bumping into Sasha. She had never been away from someone in the family, even for one night; so she might have been afraid. Cheryl, maybe with Sir Monroe having just crossed the Rainbow Bridge, Elke also met up with him. That is the way I am going to visualize her passing. She has met friends of her kind and she is not alone or scared. Always in my thoughts; always in my heart 'baby girl.'

May 05, 2014
Elke is beautiful!
by: Cheryl

Your Elke sounds a lot like my Monroe. Retrieved the morning paper and was always there with us, sitting in my husbands lap and so forth. I agree with you, I think they are really little people in four legged bodies. So smart and human. They are the best dogs in the world, in my opinion.

Know I hurt with you and feel your loss as well. I know you will always miss her but from her photo, you took very good care of her. You can tell she was loved.

Cheryl

May 05, 2014
feel your pain
by: Anonymous

You and your husband are not alone; I lost my best friend Mitzi recently, my heart has a huge hole, I miss everything about her.

May 04, 2014
To sweet Elke's Mum and Dad...
by: Sasha's mum Anjali

I cried a lot after reading about Elke's passing,
such a beautiful Girl and i totally understand what you are going through..
My darling baby Sasha also passed away in a day's time after finding the tumor in her bladder, i felt that she is snatched from us in a days time... I was soo hard to face.
I am still greving for her loss...

they will live in our hearts for ever that is for sure i know...
take care...

Elke must have met my darling baby Sasha in the brigde... They must be playing without any discomforts in their health...

Elke's mum and dad.. take care...
sending you both love and healing prayers.....


May 04, 2014
How very sad
by: Jacqueline

What a beautiful doggie, she was. I'm sooooo sorry. My beautiful boy died about 3 weeks ago and I really know the pain you're feeling. Schnauzers are so special. I've had many dogs but the bond I had with both Banjo and Nelson was very tight knit. They've both moved on and, whilst Banjo's death was more recent, I bought myself another little schnauzer puppy just recently because of the joy these dogs bring into my life. She's lifted my heart and made me smile again. She's as naughty as they come but I adore her like I did my boys. This may not be the right move for everyone but the grieving is so intense, it's good to have a distraction.

I feel your pain and I hope that you will find comfort eventually. Our dogs are like humans - you don't know what health problems lurk beneath. Maybe there's nothing you could have done so don't be hard on yourself. The spirit world hopefully has a wonderful place for your Elke and she'll wait for you, I'm sure. I know it hurts, the loss. The pain is unbearable but with time, you'll cope better but you'll never forget her and she'll always be in your heart.

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