Angel came into my life six years ago.    I had been a caregiver to my mother for so many years and with her passing, I now needed to get back to working on myself.  I have a German Shepard X (Jake) who was going to be home alone so I wanted to find a companion for Jake.  I have had Collies before and love the breed; they are so regal and loving.

It must have been fate because I knew nothing about Okanagan Collie Rescue but I found the organization online.   I saw Angel and knew my home was going to be her home.  I sent in my application and a few days later I received a call from Leslie (OCR).  Although I was ready to travel to BC, to my surprise Leslie was fostering Angel in Calgary and she was willing to come to my home with Angel. 

Angel chased Jake around the yard barking at him and I knew she was going to rule the house.  Leslie gave me the opportunity to foster Angel but after hearing her story, I knew I would fail as a foster mom.  I wanted to keep her and Angel deserved a furever home.

It was close to a year after Angel came to live with us that she started taking seizures.  After many tests, it was determined that the cause was electrical.  Angel was put on medication and her seizures were under control.  

Angel loved her walks.  During the warm weather, we started walking early morning to enjoy the solitude.  Angel must have loved it because she started waking me up before 4:00 a.m.  It was time to go for our walk!    When Jake walked, he was on a mission; he did not want to stop but Angel--she stopped everywhere to check out all the smells.  Many times I felt like I was going in two different directions at the same time. 

One day late September, I came home from work to find Angel coming out of a seizure.  About an hour later, she took a grand mal and fell over.  All I could do was hold her and keep her calm.  It took many hours before Angel seemed to be back to herself.  Angel began drooling and this was something she never did.   Angel had always been a good eater but she started ignoring her food.  I knew something was definitely wrong.  Angel was put on antibiotics and the dosage of her seizure medication was increased.  It seemed like this happened over a long period of time but it was only a couple of days.  She began whimpering during the night when she thought I was sleeping.  Eventually, it was determined that Angel was suffering from multiple tumors in her throat.  This was the cause of her drooling; she could not eat, she could not even drink water nor could she get up without help.  After many discussions with my vet, I decided the kindest thing I could do was to let Angel go. 

Cradled in my arms, Angel took her final journey on October 11.  Angel is sorely missed but I know she  is no longer in pain and enjoying all the smells at the “bridge”.