[Dailydrool] Plain text version (I hope) of my post about Jane

[dpmcquade at verizon.net]

Verizon and I don't always get it all together properly. It happened again when I posted my memorial to our Jane, which came through as rich text. Because I know that some people may not be able to connect to the post, I am resending it below in plain text this time:
 
Pw Lady Jane of Roo, first of the Dashing Bassets, cast off for the Bridge on Friday, probably aboard the Good Ship Lollipup, captained by her favorite hound, Adm. Sir Belvedere.

For two intense weeks, I had done all I could to help her. Initial tests, about a month ago, showed she suffered from kidney disease, so we put her on a low-protein diet. Her numbers rose rapidly, then dropped and eventually came back to normal. We had hope. But she still refused to eat--our great challenge in these past weeks. Though we catered to her as much as possible, nothing seemed to work. So on Friday, after we discovered that her urine was not normal, we had a second ultrasound done. When it showed a large tumor on her pancreas, our vet advised us that it was time to stop attempts to hold on to Jane and to let her join her admiral at the Bridge.

Jane was our first hound, the one who started us in bassets and encouraged us to become active in basset rescue. Our first foster, Belvedere, was also our first foster failure in part because Jane was so taken with him. Three days after he joined us, the two of them were draped over each other on the couch (those of you who got our 2001 howliday card got a copy of this touching picture). They were best friends until we lost Belvedere to arthritis issues, last fall.

For ten years, Jane trained numerous fosters and foster failures in the rules of the house and took part in many rescue events, though she herself had only been "rescued" from a pet store. From the moment she met him, she adored the DH, Drew, though we had gotten her as a companion for my father, who was in ill health and needed something to give him an interest in life. Jane happily cheered dad's last years, then made it abundantly clear that Drew was her real human. Her feelings were generously returned, and man and dog were a bonded pair from then on.

Jane reached age fourteen with grace and dignity. When our foster Holly arrived, she graciously handed over her position as top dog, letting us know that she no longer cared to rule the pack. But we will never have a better top dog, since she ruled gently, firmly, and fairly. We can only hope that Holly learned enough under her paw that she will guide future fosters in the right path.

 
We deeply miss the crown princess, as Drew called Jane. Her days of counter cruising, sock stealing, and TV-remote chewing are done on earth, but we know that she is again lively at the Bridge, with her fellow Dashing Bassets, Belvedere, Alexis, and Abner.

 
It was a rough year, for we lost three dogs between June 2011 and May 2012. We know that the reunion between Jane and Bel was a joyous one, and that she must have greeted a no-longer-aggressive Abner and gentle Alexis with great delight. But our hearts feel very empty today as we think of them all.
 
Still, we were blessed to have them all, especially Jane, who started it all.
Pam, with Drew, food slaves to the Dashing Bassets