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A Tribute to My Equine Friend, Gomer
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A Tribute to My Equine Friend, Gomer Today I lost a good friend. He died suddenly after an illness of only 1 day. His name was Prophet Tenskwatawa (aka Gomer) and he was my . Unless you are a pet lover, you probably won’t understand my grief. But that’s okay  Gomer was born 17 years ago on day of the 75th running of the Indianapolis 500. He was the cutest little guy ‒ chestnut with a grand white blaze. Looking at his eyes, something wasn’t right. They were cloudy. The vet, Dr. H, arrived within an hour. When he examined Gomes, he informed me that the little fellow had cataracts and his sight was, at best, 10%. Dr. H then asked if I wanted to put him down. I was devastated! Quickly asking a lot of questions, I found out that there was an excellent equine ophthalmologist at Purdue University. Equine cataract surgery was a fairly new procedure and the findings had been promising, but it wasn’t cheap! Hearing that bit of information, I knew that I had to give Gomer a chance. So, at the age of 3 months off Gomer and his mother headed off to Purdue. On the day of the surgery, I was “on pins and needles.” Seven hours after the surgery began, I received the called I had been waiting for ‒ the surgery was completed and appeared to be a success. They were able to remove the cataracts, but wouldn’t know how well it went for another 4 weeks. Let me tell you, it was a LONG month! The staff that worked with him would provide daily updates on his condition. When they reported that he was watching things (ex. birds), I almost cheered. After he returned home, Gomer had to have ointment put in his eyes 3 times a day. One person had to hold him and the other person had to lift his eye lid and apply a thin line of ointment on the inside. Guess what job I got…lol. This went on until he was almost 1 year old. Because of all the handling Gomer received during his first year, he was very calm and docile. He was like a VERY big dog ‒ gentle, came when you called him, fetched sticks, etc. Lol. Gomer lived his entire life where he was born (except for his visit to Purdue - which based on cost of that endeavor, I have been able to ascertain that he obtained a Masters degree) and never left again until today  Yesterday, Gomer didn’t look right. He was moving slowly and rolling around on the ground. I called Dr. H (yes, Dr. H is still his veterinarian) and reported his symptoms. Dr. H suggested a remedy and instructed me to call him back in an hour if it did not work. Within 2 hours of my initial call, Dr. H was out to examine Gomes. He advised me that if the treatment he administered and meds didn’t work, the next step would be to take Gomes to his clinic for more extensive treatment. And if that treatment didn’t work, the next step would be to either put him down or to send him to Purdue for surgery (cost estimation - $6,000). After a long night of hoping to see some improvement, I called Dr. H to let him know that I would be bringing Gomer in A.S.A.P. Dr. H started treatment about 10:30 a.m. The treatment would take about 10 hours. At 7:45 p.m., I received a call that Gomer didn’t make it...He died of colic. Losing Gomer hurts in the same way that losing a human friend to a sudden accident hurts. For me, there was no lingering illness to help me prepare for the inevitable. It was unexpected, sudden, and heartbreaking - my friend was in pain, he was sedated and then died. Full stop. End of story. The relationship between me and Gomer was a simple one – free of the complications that people experience in dealing with each other and full of unconditional love. Try getting that from any human  Gomer was always happy to see me and didn’t ask for much ‒ hay, grain, water, carrots, and apples. I will miss him! AKA  |
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LA -- We are so sorry for your loss of Gomer. I remember when our former dog was put to sleep, I cried for days. It is definitely a heart felt loss for us pet lovers. Our thoughts are with you! xoxoxoxoxoxo Mike and Ann Be sure to check out our group: Naughty and Nice Northside
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Awww - thanks for your kind words You two are the best! LA{=} AKA
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Sorry to hear about the loss of your 4 footed friend.     The perversity of the universe is unbounded.
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I'm soooo sorry to to hear this. We grow SO attached to our animals that they become almost our children and definitely some of our best friends. They're loss is one that is particularly hard to get over. That being said, even though the loss hurts, it IS good to focus on the great memories and keep them alive in your heart. My thoughts and prayers are with you. -tm
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I am so sorry to hear about Gomer, that is so sad. I remember blogging a few years ago about losing my dog of 25 years, there is nothing like the love of a precious pet and friend.... Women Women everywhere and not a pussy to eat......
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12/20/2008 5:41 pm |
Hello beautiful! So sorry to hear of your loss, for life is precious regardless of species. Hang in there and think positive thoughts of all the joys shared. dirk
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