The Rainbow Bridge
For those who have been lost, but not forgotten.......
River Song passed away September 19th 2014, after battling horrific Coccidiosis for over a week.
I had waited on the breeding list for this sweet girl, for 5 long, nail-biting months. When the news broke that her dam had a little doeling for me, I was beyond excited!! A Buttin' Heads Irish Heartbreakr daughter, and she was even more beautiful than I could have imagined! I then waited a couple more months, until she was weaned and ready to come home to me. I had waited so long for my special KW Farms IH River Song.
Within a few days of River being rehomed to our little herd, she began showing signs of stress and it being a difficult adjustment for her. I took her into the house and she wore a diaper indoors for that week, while the recommendation from our vet was to treat her for cocci. I fed her fine stemmed grass hay and alfalfa, which I chopped up into small bits to make them easier for her to eat. She was given Pepto Bismal, Probios, and electrolytes every 4-8 hours. Our vet recommended Corid, Banamine for a few days, B12 complex shots, and drenching her with the electrolytes. We also drenched her with Red cell, and Thiamine every 24 hours. All this for the entire week before the Washington State Fair. I attended to her every need round the clock, 24/7. It was a long, exhausting week for us both.
After that she was doing much better. So we took her to the WA State fair. Upon getting there, she suddenly was barely able to stand, and was sent back home after not passing the vet check. The night before, and for 2 days prior, she had seemed to be back to her normal, bouncy self. I was rushing the morning of the fair check in, and failed to notice her weakened state until the vet checked her out at the fairgrounds. After she made it back home with my mom, she wasn't able to stand at all, and then began refusing to eat anything. River began to go downhill rapidly after that. Later that night, her condition worsened, and she passed away in my parents arms. I was still at the show in Puyallup, WA when it happened, and was devastated after I heard the news. But I chose to stay for the rest of the weekend, and try to push through the loss of my River Song. I didn't share with anyone that my heart was breaking, I just didn't know how to work through it right then.
After I returned late Sunday night, Kylee Wilcox had written me and offered to gift me KW Farms IH Dusty Rose, because she was the last daughter (besides River) out of Buttin' Heads Irish Heartbreakr from this year. Though Rose will never quite be able to completely replace River, she has helped me to heal from River Song's traumatic passing.
But if I could go back and change one thing, it would have to be bringing her to the fair. Though she died of cocci, I feel that by bringing her there, (rushing around that early morning, putting her in a new environment, the long, long van ride there) is what stressed her out even more, and most likely caused her death.
I had waited on the breeding list for this sweet girl, for 5 long, nail-biting months. When the news broke that her dam had a little doeling for me, I was beyond excited!! A Buttin' Heads Irish Heartbreakr daughter, and she was even more beautiful than I could have imagined! I then waited a couple more months, until she was weaned and ready to come home to me. I had waited so long for my special KW Farms IH River Song.
Within a few days of River being rehomed to our little herd, she began showing signs of stress and it being a difficult adjustment for her. I took her into the house and she wore a diaper indoors for that week, while the recommendation from our vet was to treat her for cocci. I fed her fine stemmed grass hay and alfalfa, which I chopped up into small bits to make them easier for her to eat. She was given Pepto Bismal, Probios, and electrolytes every 4-8 hours. Our vet recommended Corid, Banamine for a few days, B12 complex shots, and drenching her with the electrolytes. We also drenched her with Red cell, and Thiamine every 24 hours. All this for the entire week before the Washington State Fair. I attended to her every need round the clock, 24/7. It was a long, exhausting week for us both.
After that she was doing much better. So we took her to the WA State fair. Upon getting there, she suddenly was barely able to stand, and was sent back home after not passing the vet check. The night before, and for 2 days prior, she had seemed to be back to her normal, bouncy self. I was rushing the morning of the fair check in, and failed to notice her weakened state until the vet checked her out at the fairgrounds. After she made it back home with my mom, she wasn't able to stand at all, and then began refusing to eat anything. River began to go downhill rapidly after that. Later that night, her condition worsened, and she passed away in my parents arms. I was still at the show in Puyallup, WA when it happened, and was devastated after I heard the news. But I chose to stay for the rest of the weekend, and try to push through the loss of my River Song. I didn't share with anyone that my heart was breaking, I just didn't know how to work through it right then.
After I returned late Sunday night, Kylee Wilcox had written me and offered to gift me KW Farms IH Dusty Rose, because she was the last daughter (besides River) out of Buttin' Heads Irish Heartbreakr from this year. Though Rose will never quite be able to completely replace River, she has helped me to heal from River Song's traumatic passing.
But if I could go back and change one thing, it would have to be bringing her to the fair. Though she died of cocci, I feel that by bringing her there, (rushing around that early morning, putting her in a new environment, the long, long van ride there) is what stressed her out even more, and most likely caused her death.