ACC Heartwarming Stories

     Memories of Abby Moore (1995 – 2010)
                                

Abby Moore was a Jack Russell Terrier (long leg Parson Terrier) who was born in Cincinnati July 28, 1995. Our son Don and his wife Lori decided to get a dog for their first home in Alexandria, KY. 

Don was serving a fellowship in pediatric cardiology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Lori worked as a clinical research nurse at the same hospital. Abby had to be left during the day but was full of energy when they returned in the evening. At first they tried to leave her in their kitchen with her bed with barricades to prevent her from going to other areas of the house. Very soon they found that they could not keep her confined to this space. This smart little dog circled around behind the refrigerator and escaped to the second floor where she amused herself by getting toilet paper from the bathrooms and spreading it over the entire second floor. They then decided to keep her in their basement where she could look out a sliding glass door. When winter came, they decided that she might like a sweater to keep her warm. On the first day they found that she had removed the sweater by the time they got home.

Abby developed a special bond with Don’s parents, Joanna and Jim, and loved to come to Lexington where she could run like the wind in their spacious fenced back yard. On one visit she skinned her chin on a step while running to the front door on arrival. Her job, it seemed, was to look for and chase varmints all day.

Squirrels, rabbits, birds, and especially ground squirrels, had to run to an inch of their lives. Ground squirrels would often escape by running up downspouts.  A number of the end pieces of downspouts had to be replaced from time to time. One day we were surprised to look out in the yard and see her running with an entire section of guttering in her mouth. The guttering was chewed up. When she put it down out ran a ground squirrel! Abby was so fast that Jim gave her the nickname Blur. She was also known to other family members as Abby Girl or the Abster.

Don then moved to Cleveland to complete additional training at the Cleveland Clinic. Lori stayed home and was a constant companion for Abby. They went on walks on a daily basis and she became well trained. While in Cleveland, Don let her out early one morning before work and she encountered a skunk. Abby showed up at the door with yellow material all over her face. Don and Lori cleaned her up before work the best they could. While making rounds at the Clinic that morning, one of the physicians noticed this strange odor that he said smelled like a skunk. Don became known as Dr. LaPew for a while. On the same day Lori went for her first visit to the obstetrician. They eventually got rid of the skunk smell by disposing of all items that came in contact with Abby that day. From that day on, Abby would bark when she heard to word skunk. Over the years, our grandsons would yell skunk to hear her bark. She always liked to bark loudly when someone sneezed. She did this all her life until her ability to hear was gone.

In 1999 Don came back to UK for a year. With the birth of a new baby, Abby stayed with us.  After one year, they moved to Brentwood, TN. Since fences were prohibited in their new subdivision, Abby became a second dog for Joanna and Jim and helped alleviate the pain of losing their beloved Australian Terrier, Mendy, a few months later. Abby was accepted and soon relished in her role as the only dog in the house. Until her death she showed much happiness when Don and his family visited us in Lexington. Joanna always announced their arrival by saying “They are here”. She would run out to meet them and run around their car and then dash about in the back yard. She did this for the rest of her life. When she became older and unable to run, she still would go out to meet them and very slowly circle their car. She always loved and remembered them.

Abby loved life in her home in Lexington and became well known in the neighborhood. For years, she took a walk of 1/2 mile around the block and all other walkers would stop to pet her. After she could no longer walk around the block, many people would always ask about her. Joanna took her for a slow walk in front of the house every night up to the day of her death. Over the years, Abby established a number of routines. Each night after she went out for the last time, she waited in the kitchen for her nightly treat before walking back to the bedroom. She slept in a bed next to Jim’s side of the bed. 

Each night before getting into her bed, she would go to Joanna’s side of the bed for a goodnight petting and then come to Jim’s side to get another good petting. She then scratched up her bed and curled up for the night. She had other beds located throughout the house; one of her favorites was in the kitchen – dining room under a desk where she could watch every move of anyone in the house.

She had her own lazy boy in the den,  which was placed near the front window where she could watch people go up and down the street.

When a dog went by she would run through the house to the front door and back to her chair. She would also run from one side of the yard to the other side barking loudly until the dog walked out of sight.

Abby was an active dog that liked to help dig in the yard.

When Jim tried to dig a hole in the yard, she would angrily attack the shovel. She would start digging immediately and almost disappear in the hole. As mentioned earlier, she loved to watch for ground squirrels that by this time had become established under the central air conditioner next to the sunroom. Jim had to place a fence around the unit to keep her from digging around the unit. After the fence barrier was in place, she spent many hours sitting on a hassock on the back porch looking out in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the animals.

 Another favorite activity was chasing and retrieving tennis balls and Frisbees.

The grandsons loved to throw the balls out into the yard. She was so fast that she usually arrived before the balls hit the ground. Her activities had to decrease in September 2003 when she suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament while chasing a squirrel and had to undergo an ACL repair at the Animal Care Clinic. Dr. Schroyer did an excellent job and reattached the ligament. After she recovered, she was ready to resume her past activities but Joanna had trained her not to chase squirrels. When she would start to chase a squirrel, Joanna would clap her hands and yell, “Abby, No No” The smart little dog would then stop on a dime and watch the squirrel scamper away.

For the next few years Abby did well. She did love to eat and had to go on a low calorie diet. She ate three light meals a day and always waited for a bite from Jim’s plate, even if was just a crumb. At night after Joanna got ready for bed she expected a treat from both Jim and Joanna. After the treat she was content to lie on a rug between us and dose while we watched TV. Abby loved to eat and would remind us when it was meal time by running through the house with a squeaky toy in her mouth. Her favorite toys were a gorilla and a starfish.

Her favorite treat was a small amount of corn on the cob, which she ate on the back porch.

 Despite a low calorie diet, she still gained weight and started developing fatty tumors (lipomas) over her body. In 2006, a fatty tumor weighing almost one pound was removed from her right leg and flank. Later in 2009, her tail had to be amputated because of a tumor in the tail was giving her trouble. Her medical problems continued; in 2007 she was diagnosed with Cushing’s disease, a condition where the adrenal gland produces excessive cortisol. For the next three years she was treated with a drug to decrease hormones from the tumor on her pituitary gland or the adrenal gland. Her symptoms subsided but she developed arthritis in her joints and her back. She could no longer curl up in a bed and chose to lie by Joanna’s side of the bed on the floor each night. She developed a stifle in her right hind leg and was unable to bend it when she walked. Each morning for a year we could hear a tramping as she came down the hall. A ramp was placed over the steps going out onto the back porch to help her get down the steps.

She was so smart that Joanna only had to show her how to use the ramp a few times.

Cushing’s disease affects the liver and kidney as well as other major organs of the body. Her liver function tests were always markedly elevated and she had to be on special diets and supplements to help maintain normal function. Despite excellent care, the disease continued to progress with complications involving the thyroid gland, heart and high blood pressure, spleen, and intestines causing retention of fluid in the abdomen (ascites). We were advised that treatment of Cushing’s disease would be costly and it was. She survived three years after the diagnosis and the cost of treatment was well worth it.

One of the many things we will miss is how Abby would always follow us to the front door of our home and watched us drive away.

She would then lie next to the window and nap until we returned.

On Saturday, May 22, 2010, she suffered much pain and refused food and water. She walked the floor and cried. When she was outside for the last time, she walked out to the end of the yard and then circled the car used when she went to the Animal Care Clinic as if to tell us that it was time to end her suffering. The clinic was notified and they were ready for us at 12:45 pm. She did not seem to mind the injection that eased her pain. In a few moments she fell into a peaceful sleep and left us forever. Abby was buried in a memorial garden in our backyard that contains the remains of two of our other precious dogs. Her spot is not far from a walnut tree where many squirrels had escaped for safety after a good chase.

Abby was a unique, eloquent Jack Russell Terrier blessed with unusual intelligence. Despite her many medical problems later in life, she thrived in a home dedicated to give her the best care possible. The doctors and staff at the Animal Care Clinic played a significant role in helping her to stay with us for 14 years, 10 months. The motto of the Clinic is “where pets are people” and we found this to be so true. Although our hearts are broken, we can only reflect on the memory of our devoted sweet Abby. She was a great companion and was loved by all members of our family and all our friends that knew her.

Dog owners like to believe that when a dog dies that it crosses over a rainbow bridge where it is restored to perfect health. Some like to believe that our pets anxiously await our own arrival. If this could be so, I imagine Abby would recognize us from a distance and come running like the wind and jump into our arms, happy that we were once again united in a sea of love and affection.

Some have a lifetime, some just a day. Love is not something you measure that way. Nothing is forever but love for our Abby will always remain in our hearts.  
 

Joanna and Jim Moore
May 27, 2010

Special thanks to the Moore's for sharing that wonderful tribute.  If you have something to share,  feel free to send an e-mail to our webmaster at our address!