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Maxx

We lost Maxx last weekend. It seems impossible that he's gone, he was so
alive. Maxx had epilepsy and although many dogs live normal, long lives
with their epilepsy controlled, Maxx was never lucky in that regard. He
was evaluated at Cornell University and by the Veterinary Referral Center
in NJ, not to mention dozens of visits to our own vet, but we just could
never control his epilepsy demons. Maxx seizured every few weeks at
first, then more and more frequently, until sometimes it seemed like the
"normal" times were only a respite and the seizures were the norm. We
did everything we could, monitored his medication levels, tried
homeopathy, eliminated preservatives, gave him vitamins and various
medications until it seemed like every hour there was a "Maxx thing" that
had to be done. But he was so patient, he never complained.

The epileptic seizures intensified and became even more frequent,
sometimes he'd go in and out of petit mal seizures for hours, only to
"finish up" with a grand mal, which left him (and us) totally exhausted.
But the next day, he'd be "back" to our Maxx, such as that were. And we
forgot all the pain of the seizures and concentrated on trying to find
something, anything that would give us some control.

Maxx overcame so many odds in his short life. So many racing greyhounds
are destroyed when their careers are finished, but Maxx beat the odds and
he was placed with an adoption group who found him a home with a family
in New York. But his peace was short lived; not long after finding his
"forever" home, he developed the epilepsy and evaluations indicated his
prognosis was poor. His family, reluctantly decided to either find him a
new home or have him euthanized. They set a deadline of April 1st and
set about trying to find someone to adopt Maxx, without any luck. But
somehow his plight came to the attention of Kate Bressler who maintains
an on-line list of "special needs" and senior greyhounds in need of
homes. He came into the "Make Peace With Animals" adoption program at
the 11th hour - Don's famous trip to the rest stop to pick Maxx up came
at the end of March. Just days before the appointment for his euthanasia
was scheduled.

Throughout the past 22 months, Maxx has rallied again and again, over
unbelieveable adversity. Last November we kenneled him at a "reputable"
boarding kennel for a few days, he apparently seizured unnoticed, in the
concrete run and when we picked him up, he was comatose, covered in blood
and bruised from head to toe. We rushed him to the vet hospital and
although it was touch and go for a week, he pulled through and came back
to us. In November of this year, we took Maxx to spend Thanksgiving with
Don's family in Nebraska, and toward the end of our vacation, Maxx went
into status and seizured almost non-stop for 48 hours. But again, he was
not ready to leave us, and he fought his way back.

Then around Christmas, Maxx developed a fungal infection and his toes
were becoming necrotic. More vets, more pills, a biopsy, soaking his
feet several times a day in medicated water, anti-fungal creams and
powders. Still Maxx never minded, just stood there & heaved a
magnificient sigh when faced with the prospect of another tub of orange
(betadyne laced) warm water.

Then last week, the worst setback. Maxx began vomiting and eliminating
blood. We tried xrays, blood work, an evaluation of the medications he
was taking and a lot of prayers. The bleeding stopped but 2 days of
intense, painful seizures began. And this time my big red boy had no
more reserves of strength left to fight with. Don was away on business
and wanted to come home immediately, but I told him Maxx would hang on
until he could finish up and get home. And he did. I was wrong about
his strength, Maxx held on until Don could get home, I honestly believe
he wanted to say goodbye to his "Daddy".

He started to fade almost immediately after seeing Don. He fell into a
kind of semi-coma and just never came back to us. After 24 hours, we
knew he had said goodbye and just needed our help in crossing over to the
Bridge. Our dear friend Pat, came to our house so Maxx wouldn't have to
make that final trip to the office and we sent him on his way. Hopefully
to a better place, seizure free, where he can run like he never had the
strength to run on this Earth.

Maxx was a champion in the truest sense of the word. He raced only a few
races and his best finish was an "almost third". He had health problems
throughout his life that would have felled a lesser creature. He was
hurt by his rehoming from his original family and did not trust in our
love until we had proven we would stand by him, and even then, he was
never a demonstrative dog. But he was special, he was very special. And
I think that God got tired of waiting and wanted his most special boy
back at his side. Maxx taught me patience, perseverance and courage in
life, but his lessons aren't over. Now I need to learn to be kind and
forgiving and loving enough so that I'm judged worthy enough to be
reunited with him when it's my turn to cross the Bridge.

Love you Big Red, run with the wind.......