Friday, March 21, 2008

Sad news ...

It's been a very mixed feelings week for me. I have been so high on the great feelings coming from the CL event in Chicago, and have been working hard to get back on track with orders, and contacts and press kits and all those things. (I will post more about the event and my experience with pitching my product and all those good things later.)

Meanwhile here at home, I have spent the entire week trying to nurse our beloved pet Leopard Gecko, Pete, back to health. I came home from Chicago to find him very sick. He was actually sick before I left, but I thought he would be ok. I took him to the herp vet and they said it would be touch and go... a "guarded prognosis" but they gave him fluids and fed him a bit, gave an antibiotic and I've been tending to him hourly all week. He rallied some yesterday, but last night he began to cry. Literally, it was heart-wrenching. He would open his mouth wide and make a tiny mewing squeeky sound. Today he was just not able to keep going. I gave him his meds and about 30 minutes later I checked on him. He seemed to wait until I came in, then he just passed away.
I am so very sad, I loved that little guy more than I ever thought I could. I took care of him, as us moms always seem to do with our children's creatures. I fed him the mealworms and crickets dusted with calcium, I educated myself on how to create a comfy home for him and care for him. I had hopes that he would live a good long time as I was so tired of the sadness every couple of years from losing our hamsters.

It will be excruciating to have to tell my son. He will be home in about 30 minutes and my heart is just completely broken for him. My husband is coming home, because he knows how much Taylor loves Pete.

I'm sorry if anyone is waiting to hear from me today, I'm just going to have to give my son as much of my time as he needs instead of packing and shipping for one afternoon anyway.

In memory of our sweet little Gecko ... Here's my son with Pete when we first got him.


Goodbye Little Petey, you were a very good pet and gave my son lots of love and enjoyment. You will be very missed.



7 comments:

Mom2fur said...

I'm so sorry. I've lost numerous pets and it's never easy. It's even worse to see them suffer, isn't it? Poor Petey! I, for one, believe there is some sort of heaven for pets. So I'm sure he's happily digesting a feast of mealworms and crickets up there!

Dianne Long said...

Thank you so much for your sweet thoughts! I'm sure there is a heaven for our wonderful animal friends, after all God created them too! I told my son all about the Rainbow Bridge when we lost our dear doggie 4 years ago, and we have lost many hamsters and fish since then, but Pete was HIS pet and that is so much harder. He is doing ok considering, and we will eventually get a new gecko, maybe two! Thanks for posting!
Dianne

Mom2fur said...

Thanks for taking the time to stop over at my blog. I hope you come again soon. How is everyone doing over there?
BTW, Happy Easter. I hope the holiday helps alleviate some of your family's blues.

Unknown said...

Hi Dianne,

I am so sorry that Pete passed away. It's always hard to say goodbye ,but rest assured that Petey is in pet heaven. I always tell my kids that pets go to pet heaven. I tell them that this is a happy place where they can play and be with God. Maybe you can get a new pet? I know it won't replace Petey,but it might help to bring joy into the family again.

I also wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed meeting you in Chicago. You are just as pretty as I knew you would be and so very sweet. Hope we can do that again one day soon.
Pink hugs to you Pink Sis!
XOXO
Janet
Janet's Creative Pillows

Deb said...

Hi Dianne....I just found your post about Pete and it made me cry. It is always sad to lose a pet no matter if it is furry or not. Pete was really cute...I didn't realize geckos had ears! I'm glad you were there with him at the end...at least he had the security of knowing you were doing all you could for him. I hope your son has come to terms with losing Pete.

((Hugs)),
Debbie
Cozy Cottage Gifts and Decor

Dianne Long said...

Thank you Debbie. Taylor is still crying some at night when he goes to bed, he did tonight in fact. That's usually when we would pet Pete and feed him, give him water and clean his aquarium, so bedtime is still hard on my little guy. He has a toy stuffed gecko that is now his constant companion. The little toy one had a part of his felt tongue torn and Taylor came down to my sewing room, got a needle and thread and meticulously stitched the toy gecko (also now named Pete) back together. That amazed me! He is such a loving little boy. We are going to get a new gecko soon, just waiting to have the extra $$ to invest in a better habitat. Thanks for thinking of us. Oh. and those things that look like ears are his front legs, bent at an angle in that photo ... hard to tell! I think some lizards do have ears though!

Anonymous said...

Hi Dianne,
I am so sorry to hear about Pete. It is so dificult when we lose a pet. I am sorry you had to see him suffer. Your little boy sounds like a real sweetheart. It was very touching to read about the stuffed gecko.