Rooney
A donation was made in memory of Rooney by Doctors and Staff of the Elliott Bay Animal Hospital on Apr 26, 2012.
Here is Rooney’s story;
Rooney was found wandering the country roads of southern Texas. My husband’s father and wife live in Wimberley, Texas and they brought him home to take care of him while trying to locate his owner. Vets and shelters were notified but no one claimed him. Immediately, it was apparent to everyone that Rooney was special. He didn’t run, he didn’t jump, he didn’t bark and he didn’t wag his tail. He barely moved, really. He wouldn’t come when called or encouraged and when he did venture around he was pretty wobbly.
My husband and I met Rooney (my in-laws dubbed him ‘Easy’ at the time) while visiting for Thanksgiving. We took to him immediately, and especially me. He was thin and seemed sad. I didn’t want to leave his side and even slept with him on the garage floor that first night. When our holiday trip ended I was sad to leave him but encouraged by the fact that he would likely end up staying there since no one was claiming him.
After returning home, we learned that ‘Easy’ was occasionally having seizures. This seemed to shed some light on his behavior. In a relatively short time his seizures increased in frequency. He was having lots of accidents in the house and my husband’s father became distraught that he couldn’t care for ‘Easy’. When we got a call from him one day saying he was going to have to give him up we said, “Put him on a plane!” We already had two greyhounds and an American Eskimo, but we knew we needed to have him, too. We renamed him Rooney.
Rooney had seizures, really violent ones, all the time. He got super hyper afterwards and would run crashing into walls and doors. He would fall over. It was terrible. He had neurology work-ups and every test that could possibly help determine how to help him. Our vet finally found the right medication combinations and his situation improved dramatically. Rooney was an incredibly lovable dog. He would stare at you blank-faced but you knew that was his way of being affectionate. He followed people around but never begged, never uttered a peep, and was as gentle as can be. He could stand for hours and let our other dog lick his ears and eyes. For all of his abnormal dog behaviors, he had one beloved pastime and that was chasing a tennis ball. He would even bring it back some times!
Rooney needed a lot of attention. He wasn’t very good at holding his bladder or bowels and since seizures popped up now and again we had to be vigilant that he didn’t hurt himself. We wouldn’t change a minute of our last few years having Rooney in our life. He became a beloved visitor at our vet’s office. They were so good to us and Rooney when he eventually became so sickened with P.L.E. that he couldn’t go on. On a loving framed photo they gave us on his last day, one of the staff said it best: Rooney wagged his tail with his heart.
We miss him every day.
Kristie H.
Rooney was found wandering the country roads of southern Texas. My husband’s father and wife live in Wimberley, Texas and they brought him home to take care of him while trying to locate his owner. Vets and shelters were notified but no one claimed him. Immediately, it was apparent to everyone that Rooney was special. He didn’t run, he didn’t jump, he didn’t bark and he didn’t wag his tail. He barely moved, really. He wouldn’t come when called or encouraged and when he did venture around he was pretty wobbly.
My husband and I met Rooney (my in-laws dubbed him ‘Easy’ at the time) while visiting for Thanksgiving. We took to him immediately, and especially me. He was thin and seemed sad. I didn’t want to leave his side and even slept with him on the garage floor that first night. When our holiday trip ended I was sad to leave him but encouraged by the fact that he would likely end up staying there since no one was claiming him.
After returning home, we learned that ‘Easy’ was occasionally having seizures. This seemed to shed some light on his behavior. In a relatively short time his seizures increased in frequency. He was having lots of accidents in the house and my husband’s father became distraught that he couldn’t care for ‘Easy’. When we got a call from him one day saying he was going to have to give him up we said, “Put him on a plane!” We already had two greyhounds and an American Eskimo, but we knew we needed to have him, too. We renamed him Rooney.
Rooney had seizures, really violent ones, all the time. He got super hyper afterwards and would run crashing into walls and doors. He would fall over. It was terrible. He had neurology work-ups and every test that could possibly help determine how to help him. Our vet finally found the right medication combinations and his situation improved dramatically. Rooney was an incredibly lovable dog. He would stare at you blank-faced but you knew that was his way of being affectionate. He followed people around but never begged, never uttered a peep, and was as gentle as can be. He could stand for hours and let our other dog lick his ears and eyes. For all of his abnormal dog behaviors, he had one beloved pastime and that was chasing a tennis ball. He would even bring it back some times!
Rooney needed a lot of attention. He wasn’t very good at holding his bladder or bowels and since seizures popped up now and again we had to be vigilant that he didn’t hurt himself. We wouldn’t change a minute of our last few years having Rooney in our life. He became a beloved visitor at our vet’s office. They were so good to us and Rooney when he eventually became so sickened with P.L.E. that he couldn’t go on. On a loving framed photo they gave us on his last day, one of the staff said it best: Rooney wagged his tail with his heart.
We miss him every day.
Kristie H.
