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ISBN: 0-9779960-8-5
Did they just tell you that your "best friend" is very sick?
Apollo's Creed & legacy to you is to help you find all the resources &
treatment options possible for your
pet to assist him/her to make them feel better.
And if the time
has to come to say Good-bye...
you're able to face that life event with courage,
gratitude for your pet's life & most of all
~ no regrets!
Why I Wrote Apollo's Creed-
When Apollo and I were going through this ordeal, I couldn't find any resource - book or otherwise - to help me make these hard decisions. So, I created the book that I wished I could have found then. As Apollo and I took this journey together, I searched for answers and the only place I could find them was in my heart. This book is for you - first, to know you're not alone facing this - and second to be a source of pertinent information and true comfort during this difficult time.
Apollo lasted eleven months longer than anyone expected, so each and every day, I questioned my intentions. "Was I honoring him as a living being by trying to extend his life (and quality of life) by trying all of these traditional, alternative and cutting edge options? Did he really want this? Would I have wanted someone to do this for me?"
Some people say I pushed the envelope too far, but I knew my dog, so I was at peace.
This book is intended to give you permission to listen - not only to your vet - but to your heart and to your dog, when you have to make these difficult decisions.
I used my medical background as a bridge and I took good notes throughout the ordeal, so that I could tell the story that would not only honor Apollo, but your pet as well.
I hope this book serves as a resource to assist you on your path. I wish you peace and above all - no regrets!
Malignant cancers crash across all the lines of goodness, fairness, faith, love, 'quality of life' and ultimately life itself. Apollo's journey, hand in paw, with his malignant cancer is the poignant story of a loving owner, dog and their battle to achieve quality life for them both. Apollo speaks through the eyes and emotions of his loving companion owner as she passionately describes her compelling drive and urgency to help them both, unconditionally. As it turns out, Apollo's creed of life becomes focused upon both his and her "quality of life."
With unspoken determination HE becomes the teacher "teaching" that cancer is not about dying but learning to live the best life possible. Apollo "teaches" that the "will to live" is a powerful force. At the same time the dynamics of bonding and spiritual attachment become powerfully defined. The patient and the caretakers work feverishly to gain an understanding of the mechanisms of disease and the properties of healing: mentally and physically. Loud and clear, from compassionate touches to the pursuit of learning, the patient and his devoted owner experience a deepening and ever widening bond of love and compassion.
Some people believe Angels have wings; this is a true story about an Angel with four legs and a fur coat. It is a story about the lessons in life I learned from my best friend, my constant companion, my dog Apollo. Lessons learned about life, love, spirit, compassion, courage, hope, determination, persistence, laughter, loyalty, happiness and being a better person. This is also about allowing the most important chapter in my life to close with peace, love, acceptance, and without any regrets.
I am not an accomplished author, nor an experienced writer; I am simply a dog owner who shared life with a best friend, my dog Apollo, for ten and a half years. My best friend and I were inseparable. Every time we moved into a new neighborhood we were immediately known, and commonly referred to, as "the girl with the big dog." Apollo accompanied me to the grocery store, dry cleaners, bank, on wintertime sales calls, and the annual Christmas tree shopping expedition. Apollo and I visited every park in south metro Denver and shared pleasure trips across Colorado from Durango to Aspen. Apollo wasn't "just a dog," he was my best friend, and in many senses we grew up together.
I am writing this book to share our story with other pet owners. I hope that this book will provide some advice, strength, comfort and support to pet owners who find themselves faced, as I was, with the imminent loss of their best friend. We will help pet owners handle the care of our best friends in both life and death. Our story will provide some resources, treatment options and finally, some ways to say goodbye.
When we experience such a strong bond with our pet, they are not merely a pet, but rather a family member, and to say the loss of our beloved friend is difficult is an understatement. Psychologists have found that when we have a very strong bond with a pet that is a family member, their death results in the same feelings of grief and emotions associated with a close human's death. I believe that in some cases the grief may be felt to an even greater extent, perhaps because some people do not understand how much friendship and companionship we share with a close pet, leaving us very much alone in the grieving process.
