Georgia's Legacy

Our Journey Together Begins

Georgia Penelope Wigglebottom officially came into our lives in October 2000, a 4-week old furry bundle of energy and love. I don’t know how many people get a lightening-bolt moment in their life, but I did on that first day when I met her. The second I looked into her eyes, my heart skipped a beat and I instantly knew why I was put on this earth. To be her mom. And so she could be my greatest teacher. I had found my purpose. 

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When we brought Georgia home at 8 weeks old, she immediately became the center of our universe and the light of our lives. Affectionate, playful and independent, we learned early on that she had a great love of playing soccer and the outdoors, and we spent many hours together playing in the park and going for long walks. With her intelligence and sensitive nature, Georgia taught us the depths of the human-animal bond and what unconditional love really means. Before meeting Georgia, I had no idea how unique each dog, or animal, really is, and didn't realize how fully you could communicate with another soul without even speaking the same language. She was my child, my friend, my Heart Dog and my Soul Pet. She changed my life in all the best ways…and then became the center of my worst nightmare. 

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Throughout her life, Georgia was athletic and healthy. With the exception of having demodectic mange as a puppy, she rarely had a need to see the vet other than for annual checkups. So, it was a devastating shock when we were told that she had multicentric lymphoma at only 4 years old. We had suspected since Christmastime, when we first noticed swollen lymphnodes in her neck, but our concerns had been brushed aside as just an infection of some sort. “Dogs this young don’t usually get cancer.”  If only I knew then what I know now! Fear and panic don’t even begin to describe the feelings I experienced in hearing that diagnosis. My baby was dying. 

We were told that without treatment, she would live another few weeks. With chemotherapy, months or years. We didn't know where to turn to help our baby and were amazed at the lack of information and support available to us at the time. Thankfully, I found some great doctors at WVRC in Waukesha, and an amazing Pet Cancer Support Group online where I was able to find the information and support that we needed to fight our battle. 

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Georgia's Brave Battle

 

Since she was so young and otherwise healthy, we chose to pursue chemotherapy. Georgia started the WI-Madison chemotherapy protocol the day after her lymphoma diagnosis, and not a day too soon. The cancer had spread significantly within the week since the fine needle aspirates had been done, and nodes could now be felt throughout her body. Georgia responded to treatment pretty quickly, and was in complete remission within a couple of weeks of starting chemotherapy. The first month of treatment was very hard on Georgia. In some ways she had more energy than she had for a while, making us realize how sick she really had been at diagnosis, but in other ways she was losing ground. Specifically, she was continuing to lose weight and looked very tired and worn out. We sought the help of Dr. Ann Margret-Morgan, a holistic vet in the area, and quickly saw improvement in Georgia's energy and spirit as we created a diet and supplement plan that supported her immune system and helped lower the toxic burden of the chemo drugs on her liver and kidneys. 

Georgia completed the first round of chemo in September 2005. She had been a brave girl through it all and her prognosis was excellent. She now wore a battle scar from her treatments, on her right front leg from one of the chemo treatments, and her whiskers were gone, her fur a little thinner, but she was as beautiful and loving as ever. We came out of treatment with great hope, amazed at how much we had learned over the past 6 months and at how "normal" this new life with cancer had become. Our team of vets had saved her life, and despite looking into additional treatments, including radiation therapy or maintenance chemo, we decided that we would move forward as if the cancer would never return. And for two beautiful months, we lived completely cancer free.

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At the end of November 2005, Georgia came out of remission. We caught it early, and this time around had the benefit of a brand-new veterinary oncologist in town, Dr. Rachel Reiman. We started the WI-Madison protocol again and easily fell back into the chemo routine. Side effects were much less the second time around, and Georgia handled it well. Georgia continued to fight bravely for several months, never letting cancer take her beautiful loving spirit, and always giving us new reasons to keep hope alive. But, in early April, the treatments stopped working and despite changing drug combinations, we eventually found that Georgia was ready to stop fighting. 

Looking back, there were only a handful of “bad” days during her 13 months of treatment. For this small thing I am grateful, as just a week before she went to the Bridge she was playing soccer in the backyard and playing tug-of-war with her little brother. She was our wonderful, happy Georgia until the very end.

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Saying Goodbye

 

Georgia left us on an unusually warm and sunny day, April 24, 2006. She was only 5 1/2 years old. We called Dr. Reiman and had her meet us at the hospital. It had been a rough few days, and despite all of our best efforts, it became clear that Georgia was ready to let go of her struggle. We took her outside on a big soft blanket in the sunshine at about 11:30 am. With those she loved most in the world with her, holding her and telling her how much we loved her and would miss her, she left us. 

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Peaceful and silent. It happened so fast, and seeing her there, it was so hard to believe she was gone. She was no longer struggling, but our hearts were now shattered.

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Georgia's Legacy

 

There were days after Georgia left us that I was convinced that life could not go on. Losing her and learning how to keep moving forward in life was the hardest experience I’ve ever had to go through. But over time, I realized that the love she left behind is stronger than even the deepest pain of grief and that she continues to be part of my life every day because she became a permanent part of my heart from the moment we first met. 

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Because of Georgia, I decided to honor her by establishing a canine cancer support and information website called Georgia’s Legacy that I ran for many years, and I had the honor of helping families from all over the world through that effort. She also inspired me to take a deep dive into holistic health and complementary therapies for animals and led me to become a Certified Pet Loss Counselor, Reiki Master/Teacher and to change careers and join the veterinary field as a hospital manager. Everything I do for animals today is part of my way of honoring her and her memory and to pay forward all of the love she brought into my life. My goal is to always make her proud and to make sure that the lessons she taught me were not in vain. 

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Despite the intense pain of losing Georgia, I would not give back one second of her life with us. To never know that kind of love would be so much worse.

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I don’t know why Georgia had to get cancer, especially at such a young age. And I don’t know why she lost her battle when others have succeeded. I will also never know if we could have changed her fate by making different decisions, however big or small, at various points throughout her life. What I do know is how unfair it all seems, and how lonely it can be when you would give anything to help your furkid but you don’t know where to turn. I also know that if I could work through the pain of her loss and find my way back to joy and gratitude, anyone can. I truly believe that.

 

That’s the mission of Soulpet Healing – to honor Georgia’s life, and the lives of my other bulldog Sampson, and ALL of the amazing animals I’ve had the privilege of knowing and loving over the years, by helping other families who are facing serious illness with their pets or coping with the challenges of grief and loss. To provide comfort, hope and healing during the most difficult times as a pet parent, so that no one ever has to feel like they’re going it alone. 

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If you are currently struggling with an ill pet, or the loss of a pet, or are just looking for advice or resources, please reach out so I can work with you to make this journey a little bit easier. Together we will find ways to honor the bond you share with your Soulpet, and you’ll discover the compassionate support you need to keep moving forward. 

 

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