Responsding to the thread posted earlier today:
I take no offense to the inquiries, but want to set the record straight regarding the passing of our best man, Ch. Cressmoor's Iron Oxen.
His illness and subsequent death was quite sudden - but definitely not caused from a virus he picked up at a dog show. Ox had an acute infection caused from an abscessed tumor in his small intestine. The onset was rapid and had begun just as I was returning from Miami Valley. My husband called me while I was on my way home from the Specialty to say that Ox had a little regurgitation and loose stool, but was otherwise acting fine. 2 days later his temp spiked up and he was refusing all food and drinking very little...Emergency surgery revealed a 4cm tumor in his small intestine. The biopsy results came back as lymphoma. Other than the peritoneal infection which caused a dangerously high fever, his blood work showed no abnormalities except a high white cell count from the infection. The surgeon could find no involved lymph nodes or metastatic tumors. The location of the tumor was so close to the stomach that the surgeon was unable to get enough intestine to establish "clean/cancer cell free margins". 8 days after surgery, Ox's fever returned, indicating the resectioned area of the bowel had begun to fail because the margins were not clean. With sadness, I opted to put Ox down before his temperature advanced to a distressing level again. Nothing more could be done for him. Had the tumor been further down the intestinal tract, the surgery may have bought a few more months time for Ox. However, the end would not have been far off.
For those of you who have called or sent cards/emails with your condolences; Tim and I want to thank you publically. We have been overwhelmed with the out pouring of sympathy from the Labrador community. Seemingly everyone understands what it is like to lose that "special" dog. Sad though it is, it is comforting to have friends who empathize.
Many Thanks,
LuAnn
Godspeed, my precious man...
BISS CH. CRESSMOOR'S IRON OXEN
05/17/00 - 05/21/09
I'm so sorry to hear about the passing of this lovely, lovely boy! I am sure there is a huge hole in your heart right now. Take comfort knowing he did not suffer and you set him free while he still had his dignity left. He shall always live on in his kids and future generations to come.
I have been traveling on business this week (my life these days). I didn't know about Ox until Rebecca mentioned to me on the phone the other night. I'm devastated for you.
I have memories of him as a puppy boy at Hoosier one year. If I remember right, Linda Schiele was showing him and he was being an ornery little cuss which was so wonderful to see considering that Linda always has these well-behaved little tail-wagging girls. He was jumping on her and just being completely full of himself. I loved every minute of it...but even on two legs, you could see he was every bit of a stunning dog and he carried that all the way into his Veteran years.
He was a special boy and I'm glad I had the chance to encounter him! God bless you during the coming days, weeks, months. Having lost my heart dog a couple of months ago, I was in tears all over again putting her pictures on my Facebook page the other night.
