We are beyond sad.  Crushingly, overwhelmingly sad.  But I will try to give some information that you’ve richly earned with your tears and your prayers and fervent wishes for Penny to heal and get better.  Our evening vet consultation was not good.  We did not give her last meal of the day because her breathing was very labored and her overall condition seemed worse, she was in a totally altered state.  Her heart rate was extremely high.  She went down, but in a sternal position, a good position to rest and we decided together that maybe this was okay, that she would really rest for a while. Things detoriated with incredible speed and by 11:00 she was truly suffering.  Several other horrendous things occurred in the course of one hour which the vet said were precursors to imminent death and there was no way to reverse that, in his opinion. We cried buckets and asked him to end dear Penny’s suffering. It will be awful in the morning telling the children.  Penny was a world class horse, an extremely gentle, good-natured, beautiful horse with a kind eye and a willing spirit.  A once in a lifetime horse that you have the pleasure to love. It doesn’t do her justice to say she will be missed. We have lost a dear, dear friend.

In the end, the vet said that the things that occurred today led him to believe it was one of three things; a brain lesion, brain abcess, or brain tumor.  A test run just now in the clinic showed no obvious sign of infectious disease, but he was very clear that without further testing at UW Madison he could not be sure.  So we intend to take this terrible episode full circle and try to rest with the knowledge of having done every single possible thing we could do for Penny, including finding the reason for all this. 

Very early in 2006 I posted that inevitably, this year was bound to be a year of some loss and sadness for Saddlebrook.  With elderly and very arthritic Maggie the Pig, 16 year old Elvira, Bill’s dog, and 32 year old Pharaoh, the old gentleman, we were bound to lose a “member of the family” before the year was out.  But I had no idea. Very old pets who have lived a wonderful life and die peacefully with full knowledge that they are loved and well cared for…I have no quarrel.  Life must go on and many fond memories remain.  Penny’s illness and passing was very different, of course, and our hearts are very heavy. Thank you all for your amazing grace, shoulders to lean on and compassion for animals and humans alike. We will circle our arms around one another in the days ahead and try to heal ourselves as well. Thank you for your unfailing kindness.