In Memory of Miss Tulips
A sophisticated lady with sass and spunk who knew just what she wanted, but had a heart tender as could be to all who gained her trust. Tulips was not usually someone’s best friend upon first meeting, but once she knew she could trust you she was as loyal as could be.
We brought Tulips home in July of 2019. We had recently organized as a WA non-profit, after finding Chino on the side of the road, raising funds to build him a proper home, and of course he couldn’t move in until he had a goat companion. Tulips was the one. I had seen her photo months before on a Petfinder alert with Whatcom County Humane Society in Bellingham. I fell in love with her sweet face and just knew that she was the one. After a long weekend of flying, I drove up to Bellingham and met this special girl. She was not interested in being touched or petted and was quite nervous about the whole thing. So we didn’t waste any time loading her up into the van where I had a large bucket of fresh hay, fresh water, straw bedding, and she nestled in for the loooonnnngggg ride home. She happily ate her hay up by the front seat, gazing out the window as my co-pilot, almost seeming to know, this was it. Her new home, where she would be loved and cared for, for the rest of her life.
Upon arrival at home, Eric surprised us with a beautiful handmade sign that said “Welcome Home” It was hanging on the brand new fence we had built for them and was there to greet Tulips upon arrival. We proudly introduced Tulips to her new living space and soon brought Chino down to meet his new companion. In hind sight, Chino may have preferred to live in our main yard with the dogs, but at the time we thought he would be so excited to have a pasture to roam, his own barn to cozy up in and a beautiful new friend. Chino played a bit “hard to get” with Tulips, but she could handle it, from that day forward Chino was her man. Chino loved her too, but he could be a bit demanding at times or disinterested in her presence, but Tulips was a loyal companion and Chino was her best friend.
When Chino got sick, Tulips was always by his side, trying to comfort him. And the night he passed we let her be with him until morning so she had time to say goodbye.
We knew she needed a new companion soon, but we all also needed our time to mourn Chino, so in the meantime Tulips just hungout with us. She would come hangout in the yard with the dogs, we’d relax and sit on the deck, and she’d go hiking with us. Once we brought home Woody and Sage, she was still interested in being with us but it didn’t take long for her not to want to leave the boys behind. As time passed, they grew more and more bonded and soon she wasn’t too interested in going far from the barn.
Tulips was the matriarch of the barn and Woody and Sage thought she was the best. Following Tulips wherever she went, whether it was laying in the sun together, grazing, playing or having a snack. If Tulips was there, so were the boys. If she got tired of their rough housing, she’d let them know. She would greet Eric and I at the gate as well as all her favorite volunteers with a sweet look and head rubs. She loved to rub her head on the humans she trusted the most and she loved her long lovely hair to be brushed.
It was towards the end of February, when Eric and I returned from a ski vacation (my bucket list item) that we noticed Tulips wasn’t eating all of her evening treats. This was definitely not normal. And a day or so later she seemed to be acting fairly quiet and not herself. This is when we found out about her mastitis and two strange masses in her chest. We brought her home and tried daily injections which would be the least invasive approach to helping her. After a month with no change and the injections getting less tolerable, we decided to do a mastectomy. The surgery went well, though she got a bit of an infection at the incision site. After some time we were able to bring her home again and the masses in her chest had not changed in size which was good news. She went over a month happy and healthy at home, her checkup went well and we were headed for the 3 month checkup, when once again we noticed Tulips seemed a bit more quiet than usual. The masses in her chest were unchanged, but she had fluid buildup in her chest cavity. They were able to remove the fluid, but could not figure out the cause. Her bloodwork seemed basically normal and samples of the fluid had no information to give. Mostly out of curiosity and trying to decide what was best for Tulips, we opted to do a full body CT scan. On the scan they were now able to see masses in multiple places in Tulips body, her uterus, liver, lungs, and the two still in her chest. The doctors believe she had cancer but without taking a sample of one of the masses, we couldn’t know for sure. The risk of trying to take a sample was high and the reward for knowing what we were dealing with was unlikely to change our options, so we opted to bring Tulips home knowing each day we had with her was a gift. It seemed a miracle that we could even bring her home.
Tulips was comfortable and clearly happy to be home. The boys were so excited to see her and chose not to leave her side. She enjoyed free grazing on her own time early morning and night and midday we kept her cool in her barn with a big fan, cooling wet coat, frozen treats, and clean cold water. The hot afternoons were definitely hard on her. She loved to lay in the sun more than anything, but she was now having trouble regulating her body temperature, so she would soon overheat laying in the sun and make it more difficult to breathe. It was obvious Tulips was sick, but she had a strong spirit and a strong will to live. She still loved to be cuddled more than ever.
By the next Friday, we started questioning her quality of life and if she was struggling to get through each day or still comfortable and content. Her incredible vet had been checking in EVERY day to see how she was doing. On Friday I asked, “Is there any chance you would be willing to come visit and if the time is here, we lay Tulips to rest at home?” There was a slight pause, followed by, “oh, Anna, I would be more than willing to do that.’ My eyes filled with tears, my heart with gratitude and relief. It was almost too good to be true. Tulips vet who had been through it all with her, who we trust beyond belief, who is one of the most compassionate people we know, was willing to drive 4 hours after a week of work, late at night to be here for Tulips, so she didn’t suffer, and so she could be laid peacefully to rest in her own home with all her loved ones surrounding her. We could not have hoped for anything more.
Tulips significantly down trended from Friday to Saturday am. She became more lethargic, less interested in eating, it took her a lot longer to recover after getting too hot, and she seemed to be having more difficulty breathing. We did not want Tulips to suffer. We did not want to rush things either, which is an incredibly difficult place to be, making that decision for another living being and loved one. When is the right time?
Tulips had many visitors her last week at home, many of her favorite volunteers came especially to see her, spending quality time, along with Eric’s parents visiting, my mom, and Dr. Sexton. Saturday morning she spent grazing as much as she desired. I let her lay in the sun for as long as her heart’s content. She enjoyed getting brushed by Eric’s and my mom. We sat in the sun with her eating grapes, bananas, crackers, and strawberries…many of her favorite things. When she got tired she moved into her barn to be under the fan and to rest. We new this was the time to say goodbye, surrounded by love, a full belly, and the place she felt the most safe. We loved on her and we cried, Tulips stayed strong until she no longer had to. She went quickly and peacefully. A sense of relief brushed over me knowing she was finally at peace. But the sadness of her being gone still lingers. We cannot thank Dr. Sexton enough for her compassion, care, expertise, and wholehearted kindness. She made a wish come true. We could not have imagined it better for Tulips. We know we did all we could and Tulips fought as hard as she could. We all miss her gentle, sparky, affectionate spirit so much. There is an empty space here for now, though we know she is now at peace, with Chino and the others looking down.
We deeply miss you sweet Tulips and will forever remember your loving spirit.
