Sweet Cleo

The past two weeks Cleo hasn't felt well - she wasn't putting weight on her front, right paw. We took her to our vet, then to a specialist, ran every test they suggested, but couldn't find the cause. So we decided we just needed to be patient and let the muscle heal (that's what the doctor figured it was - a torn muscle).

Late afternoon on Friday, we were all home and Cleo had just gone outside. We peeked out the window and Cleo was laying on the deck with her paw under her in a weird way. When we opened the door, she laid back and lost consciousness. We scooped her up and tried to wake her up while calling the vet - they said to bring her right in. By that time she had stopped breathing and so we started trying to revive her as we frantically drove to the vet. When we got to the vet (one in town since our vet was 20 minutes away without going through the football traffic), he tried chest compressions, injected her heart, and compressions again but was unable to revive her (he thinks she had a heart attack).

And so our sweet Cleo has moved on to greener pastures. While this weekend has been an emotional one, the thing we all agree on was that she knew she was loved up to the very last minute. We were all with her telling her how much we loved her and what a good dog she was. Plus, because she hadn't been feeling well, we had spent a lot of time rubbing her belly and just sitting with her.

We will miss her more than words can express. Her internal clock that reminded everyone when it was time to eat or have a treat, her perfect hound howl, the stubborn look she'd get when you wanted her to do something, her beautiful spotted belly, her basset waddle on walks, the way she smelled like corn chips after a nap, and so much more.

Mabel also misses her buddy. She has not been by herself for more than a few hours since we brought her home. She has searched the usual places a few times this weekend looking for Cleo, which breaks our hearts. She loved Cleo, even if she did enjoy tormenting her as any little sister would.

Cleo's big paws left permanent prints on our hearts. She will live on through photos and memories and in the knowledge that she was greeted by Buster and Barkley and is now roaming the green pastures of doggy heaven.

We love you Cleo!