Suzie was almost 9 years old. She was a beautiful girl who developed severe anemia while pregnant. She had been bred back to back as Dr Hutch recommended doing, and had to have a blood transfusion and her litter aborted via an emergency spay. Dr Jean Dodds kept Suzie alive by giving her thyroid meds since then. She began to bleed out this morning and we had to put her down. I would never put a dog's health at risk again by breeding back to back as poor Suzie paid the price. She was a wonderful dog who we will miss greatly.
Ellie writes
"Suzana was out of Olivia and Tabatha's Knight. She began to fetch the newspaper in every morning when she was 7 weeks old and did so until just a few weeks ago. I have met a lot of Labs but this girl had the most wonderful temperament I h...ave ever seen(actually all 5 of our Knight kids have great temperaments as well as their moms). But she was a real gem. She went through terrible times with the ultrasound, all of the blood tests, bone marrow test and then a blood transfusion from her matched sister. Then, after the transfusion, she was spayed and the litter aborted. But the tail never failed to wag. Her bone marrow did not produce any red blood cells. She did live a good life for the past four years but got tired easily. I bred her back to back and that, I think, was too taxing on her immune sustem."

I am so sorry for your loss Traci .

I'm so sorry for your loss...

Many seem to have been swayed by the suggestion that back to back breedings are safe.

Sorry to hear of your loss. It was a long struggle for Suzie and must have been a very difficult time for you.

The fact is that is didn't happen under any breeding circumstance, and no there would not be any Monday morning quarterbacking going on. We just lost a very sweet dog and I posted this to let people know what happened to us and what my opinion is of the issue.

Ellie and Traci--
I'm so sorry to hear of your pain over the loss of your Suzie. Of course none of us have any promises for how long our time here will be. Suzie was loved--and treated with kindness and affection for all of her years. That's the best any one of us can do.

I know you'll miss her.

Traci, I hope that you and Ellie will find the peace that Suzana has found. I know you made the best decisions you could with the information you had.

She sounds as she was a game girl to the end and enjoyed her life to the fullest. It's always so hard to lose such a bright light from our lives. We always wish for more. But perhaps wishing for more is the best reflection of how much they gave us.

Be kind to yourselves. Kate

Thank you Kate.

Elie and Traci, I am very sorry for your loss. Godspeed Suzie.

So sorry to hear of your loss. What a beautiful tribute to her life.

Traci and Ellie, so sorry for the loss of your beloved Suzana... may her joy and the memory of the times shared together mellow over time the deep sense of loss you both feel today.

Thank you for sharing with us your tender thoughts.

Traci and Ellie, I'm so sorry for your loss of your Suzie.

I want to share with everyone a thought by Maya Angelou I once heard quoted on Oprah that has helped if I remind myself of it at times when I've felt remorse about things I did or wished I had done differently. You know those feelings of the "what ifs, if only I had..., etc."

"If I'd known better, I would have done better."

I think what she was saying was to forgive ourselves (whilst no one else may be blaming us, we blame ourselves) as we made decisions/choices based on the knowledge we had at the time.

Again, I'm so sorry for the pain you are feeling. I know how caring you both are about your dogs.

Sending you hugs.

Thank you everyone. ellie and traci

Dear Traci and Ellie, I am so very sorry for the loss of your beloved Suzana. I don't think there are any long time breeders around who haven't questioned or regretted a breeding decision. Suzana sounds like a wonderful dog and I am sure she knew she was very much loved by both of you.

My dear friends,
I'm so sorry to hear you've lost a beloved friend. I didn't know Suzie but I took a look at her on your site and she was, indeed, a beautiful girl! I'm sure she loved you deeply as well and that she enjoyed her all too short life with you. God speed Suzie.
My thoughts are with you at this sad time.
Hallie

very sorry :- ((

So sorry to hear that you lost her :( My heart goes out to both of you.