Murph and Casey

In our 22 years of marriage, Jeff and I have adopted 3 rescued dogs.

On January 23rd 2005 we took Casey home from Save the Animals Foundation in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was a rambunctious 6 month-old brindled Australian Cattle Dog-Boxer mix with a cropped tail found roaming the streets of Blue Ash, a northern suburb of the city. He was a perfect fit for our lifestyle as we relished long walks and jogging.

In 2006 I was time-sharing a position as a teacher-librarian at Whittier Elementary on the West Side of Cincinnati.  Arriving at school one morning, a beagle dog kept wandering into the building. I thought nothing of this until, between classes, I stepped out into the hallway and saw the visiting Speech-Therapist with a bad knee limping toward me carrying the very same beagle. Apparently someone called the SPCA and before they arrived she took our visiting beagle and hid the dog with her in her car. “I can’t take her home with me but I don’t want her put to sleep in a shelter.” So I took the dog into the library with me, much to the delight of my kindergarten, first, and second grade classes. A few children claimed the dog as their own, but when I called parents, I found out this beagle was a loose dog in the neighborhood. I finally called Jeff, who was recovering from ankle surgery, and asked him to come by and pick up the dog.  We named her Sadie and she lived with us for about 4 years until she got loose and got run over chasing a rabbit on Johnson Road in Dent, Ohio.

Several months after Sadie’s passing we adopted Murph, a 6 year-old schnauzer mix rescued from an abandoned house in Indiana. His first adoptive parents were RVers and felt bad confining him. And then his dad discovered he was allergic to the little guy.

Ironically 5 years later, Murph was an RVer once again. I retired from teaching, Jeff and I sold our house, and we became full-time RVers on August 31, 2015.

Casey and Murph were 11 years-old.  (We picked July 4th for their shared birthday to symbolize their new lives in a forever home, free from roaming the streets or living in a shelter.)

Surprisingly life on the road suited them perfectly. They could no longer manage long walks and enjoyed car rides and chilling out.

Our 2 furry children have traveled across the United States with us and have experienced the smells and set their paws on a diverse variety of habitats: mountains, beaches, deserts, prairies, forests, lakes, rivers, and plains.

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Casey and Murph greeting us at the door to our RV…

Casey at the helm…

Chillin’…

You talkin’ ‘bout me?…

Quenching and eating…

Casey’s favorite seat on the road…

It’s Murph’s turn to drive…

Casey relaxes on the couch…

Murph arranges himself between the pillow and blanket on the bed…

Rise and shine!…

Murph and his pillows…

Besides eating, Casey loves to sleep…

Murph’s new haircut…

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In July Murph stopped eating, not that this was too uncommon, as he did not have a huge appetite anyway. Then he started yelping when we moved him or picked him up and moaning when he laid around.

The Vet could find nothing specifically wrong and prescribed a strong aspirin-like medication. We learned how to pick him up without hurting him. Three weeks later  Murph was not getting better and his prescription needed refilling. Jeff had to feed him by hand and carry him up and down the RV steps.

We returned to the Vet. She did some blood tests and prescribed a medicine humans take to relieve nerve pain. Taken twice a day, the Gabapentin made Murph very drowsy. He was barely eating and Jeff had to bring him a small bowl of water to get him to drink.

On August 3rd we went to a different Vet for a second opinion. She did blood work and took x-rays and concluded that Murph had liver cancer. With her input and advice we decided to take Murph home and give him a last few loving days of car rides, ice cream, and snuggles. We made a last appointment for August 7th.

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Tuesday was a very sad day for our little family of four as we drove to Coquille to say goodbye to Murph and to end his pain.

We were taken to a very beautiful room where Jeff, Casey, and I gave kisses and love to our little guy. (Casey licked Murph’s face a few times.)

I held him in my arms while he received an injection of sedation medicine and surrendered to its relaxing effects. Murph was at peace. And that’s how we left him, as we chose not to witness the final intravenous dose.

You are greatly missed Murph-Murph, Murphy, Moiff, Mr. Murph, Poodley Boy, Murphy Magoo… I know you loved us and I hope you know how much we loved you. 🐾💔