by Cari Hillard

Created on: October 08, 2009

My life with Kohl began on my first wedding anniversary. My husband and I got our beautiful Labrador Retriever. She was four months old and gorgeous! We brought her home and introduced her to the Queen of the house... our German Shepherd; Sadie. It started pretty rough, Sadie was six years old then and set in her ways. Her attitude was, "Who is this commoner that you have disgraced me with?". Poor little Kohl was just a playful little puppy who was excited to make a new friend. Eventually, she grew on Sadie and they became the best of friends.

Thinking back, I now smile when I remember how much trouble Kohl was in those days. I never knew what I would find. One day she got into our pantry and ate two entire loaves of bread. Her stomach was literally dragging on the ground. We were terrified that it would rupture. What a long and scary night that was. Then of course there was the Christmas that she ate all the glass ornaments off our tree. I shouldn't have been surprised, she ate an entire recliner down to the metal frame while I was at work one day. Just little fragments of foam and upholstery remained scattered on the floor. The best one though, was when she pooped in the air duct on the floor... don't ask me how. To this day I have no clue how she did it. Every time the furnace kicked on, I had to go on a scavenger hunt to find it. My husbands favorite was the time she pooped on my pillow while I was sleeping on it. Imagine my surprise when I opened my eyes and found her present just inches from my face.

Kohl did eventually calm down. She was the world's best "cuddle bug". I miss her so much. When she was six years old she went into our back yard with Sadie. While they were playing she fell backwards on a tree root and ruptured a disc in her spine. I will never forget her cries, or the sight of her dragging herself to the door. She was paralyzed from her waist down. Surgery wasn't an option. I tried to heal her through therapy. Everyday I expressed her bladder and moved her legs, praying that she would feel it when I pinched her paw. It must have been two months or more before she regained any movement. I was laying on the floor with her and rubbed her ears when I heard a tiny thump. I sat up and did it again. It was her tail! The very tip wagged. I cried and cried. It was the first sign of movement. It was many more months of massage therapy, expressing her bladder and carrying her outside. On Christmas eve in 2005, she stood up for the first time. Can you imagine? I was so happy. After that, Kohl slowly began walking again, although she had no feeling on her left side. She got around pretty well though and even began to play fetch. Kohl was not the kind of dog that would ever be happy not moving and playing. She was finally happy again.

That spring she started showing signs of severe nerve damage. She began to chew on her "good" leg. The next thing I knew she had a gaping wound that had become infected. She had a nosocomial infection called Pseudonymous. It was antibiotic resistant. The vet said that if by some miracle, she lived, she could never play again. No running, no swimming, no fetch; nothing. The day she was put to sleep was one of the hardest days of my life. I held her face in my hands. I kissed her little mouth and whispered "I love you, Kohl buggy" as I watched the life slip from her eyes. The moment she was gone I cried so hard that people in the waiting room could hear me. I will miss her forever. She was very special and an important member of my family. She will forever, be in my heart.

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