Tuesday, March 24, 2015

March 15,2015-

Today with sadness in my heart I end Skyler' s blog......I put a close to any new additions to her blog.....the blog will remain open to go back and read and view over and over BUT there will be no further blogs added. I will let Skyler rest in peace, and enjoy her time over the Rainbow Bridge and blog up there with my Grandparents and other past friends (animals) and run and play, and await the day we will be together again!

See you one day Skyler, I love you and miss you with all my heart and soul!
Pamela

Monday, March 23, 2015

Our Story Part Ten- Final GoodBye!

March 12, 2015-

On Tuesday, March 2, 2015, Skyler was laid out before being cremated. Being cremated she will always be with me physically as well as in my heart!......

Here is my last goodbye where I read and edited the letter I wrote to her again and said my final goodbyes!

I love you and miss you Skyler, and I promise we will meet again over the Rainbow Bridge!

Here is our final video together:

 
The staff at Regency Forest  took great care of her and me and where awesome in every respect, I must add a special kudos to Brian who meets you and careful transport the loved one into the building and lays them out and talks you through the whole process with the utmost respect and care. He really helped me through my loss on his end and really shows he cares!
 
 
St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals is watching over all our lost animals and will be with them all until we all meet again!



Here are the facilities at Regency Forest, beautifully kept, and even with this harsh winter on Long Island you can see how beautiful it really is!

Thank you all at Regency for helping me with my loss, as we all know people and their pets are family and they all know this well- it shows in the way they talk and deal with their clients!




Skyler will be kept on top of the piano with the rest of my pets, the same piano that my grandfather bought my grandmother years ago, which I will play and relearn from years ago. You can watch me getting her ready to rest in peace with me close by everyday and night, here is our last video!
 

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Our Story Part Nine

March 12, 2015-


Before Skyler left me for our temporary parting, as we will meet again over the Rainbow Bridge, I read the letter I wrote to her so I knew that she knew what was in my heart! And she will know that we will be meeting again one day soon, and where!

At this point the Degenerative Myopathy had attacked her respiratory system, you will hear how in this video......it was breaking my heart......but I knew that we were together until the end.

At 5pm on Friday, February 27, 2015- Skyler left this world to go and cross over the Rainbow Bridge and be with Candy, Sammy, Kelso, Mittens, Mulch, and all my past animals and I know my Grandparents are all up there to walk and run and play with them all! They are all waiting for me one day and after I keep all my promises to them here on earth I shall be with them all across the Rainbow Bridge! I love you all!.....

I love you Skylersky!

 
Tune in tomorrow for our last GoodBye!
Have a tail waggin' day,
Skyler and Pam
 

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Our Story Part Eight

March 12, 2015-

Our latest project together is a culmination of everything we stand for and want to bring to other teams of people and their dogs alike. Our book!

Together with our pack- or our team- Sandy, Candycane, Scout, and Benji- we co authored our book...."GET YOUR LEASH ON!" A guide to living a healthy and happy lifestyle together!

 
So go on over to Amazon.com and order our book today, a portion of the proceeds of the book will go towards Kent Animal Shelter until May 2015.
Here's a link to our book:
 
 
Have a tail waggin' day and GET YOUR LEASH ON!
Skyler and Pam
 
 

Friday, March 20, 2015

Our Story Part Six

March 12, 2015-

Skyler is not the only one with some health issues, over the last few years I too have had a few scares....the doctors still have no idea why I have had these episodes either by the way! Every test was done and proven to come back NORMAL! SO what is one supposed to do?!?!??! Right?!?!?!?

I eat clean, I exercise, I have my dogs to reduce my stress levels....I mean hello.....I have a great family.....some close friends.....people seem to like me.....what could it be?!?!?! Hhhhmmm.......

Check this video out:
 
Yes, I had three mini strokes......and at my young age! Weird....although not unheard of......there are other young people who have suffered the same......like Frankie Muniz
 
 
I'd like to know if they ever found the cause for him- thinking probably not.....
 
Most recently I stressed myself out so much that I had another episode (which "unofficially" I am saying it was my ministoke #4......when I went to the ER everything was fine and they sent me home with a clean bill of health.....I mean they did test me out before letting me go and all.......hhmmmm
 
Okay tune in tomorrow for more of our story, some upbeat stuff I promise!
Have a tail waggin' day!,
Skyler and Pam

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Our Story Part Seven

March 12, 2015-

For years Skyler and I have worked with local representatives to get our local dogpark established.  We looked for places to establish a place. We settled on Blydenburgh County Park in Smithtown, NY. We first appealed to County Executive Robert Gaffney, and our local Legislator Andrew Crecca. We soon came to work with a group called H-Dog (who were an established group in the town of Huntington, NY- Long Island), now called LI-Dog. They had no choice to change their name due to Skyler and my work bringing the group further east to Smithtown and even further along than that.....we now have parks in Smithtown and Brookhaven alike......as well as Huntington!

Watch the video here:

 
You can find out more about Blydenburgh County DogPark here:
 
 
And LI-Dog here:
 
Have a tail waggin' day and tune in tomorrow for more of our story!
 
Skyler and Pam
 

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Our Story Part Five

March 12, 2015-

The last few years, Skyler was diagnosed  with Degenerative Myopathy. This is a

 
What is Degenerative Myelopathy?
Degenerative myelopathy is a progressive disease of the spinal cord in older dogs. The disease has an insidious onset typically between 8 and 14 years of age. It begins with a loss of coordination (ataxia) in the hind limbs. The affected dog will wobble when walking, knuckle over or drag the feet. This can first occur in one hind limb and then affect the other. As the disease progresses, the limbs become weak and the dog begins to buckle and has difficulty standing. The weakness gets progressively worse until the dog is unable to walk. The clinical course can range from 6 months to 1 year before dogs become paraplegic. If signs progress for a longer period of time, loss of urinary and fecal continence may occur and eventually weakness will develop in the front limbs. Another key feature of DM is that it is not a painful disease.
 
Degenerative myelopathy begins with the spinal cord in the thoracic (chest) region. If we look under the microscope at that area of the cord from a dog that has died from DM, we see degeneration of the white matter of the spinal cord. The white matter contains fibers that transmit movement commands from the brain to the limbs and sensory information from the limbs to the brain.
 
 
 
 
DM vs Normal
In the section of a spinal cord from a dog who has died of DM (Left), the degeneration is seen as a loss of the blue color at the edges (arrows) compared with the spinal cord from a normal dog which is blue througout (Right).
This degeneration consists of both demyelination (stripping away the insulation of these fibers) and axonal loss (loss of the actual fibers), and interferes with the communication between the brain and limbs. Recent research has identified a mutation in a gene that confers a greatly increased risk of developing the disease.
 
 Above in the video are Skyler and I cuddling on the bed and holding each other close! Although when the we sleep the lights are off and we are cuddled close and comfy together! And Sandy gets into the picture as well!
 
Just a reminder for you:
Goodnight,
sleep tight,
Skyler and Pam