Root

Guardian Root Von Gottschalk
 Unfortunately, at 7 weeks old, weighing just over 2 pounds, my beloved Root lost her fight.  She got aspirate pneumonia (she somehow inhaled milk into her lungs which caused pneumonia).  We took her to the vet in thinking that she might need to go back in the incubator with oxygen and probably start on antibiotics.  The longer we stayed in the clinic with her, the faster she went downhill.  We did chest and abdominal x-rays, fluids… The vet said she did not even have a fever. I thought it was a good thing- but he said it was a sign that her little body could not even mount a defense  Towards the end, as her breathing was so labored, I scooped her up out of the incubator and snuggled her up under my chin the way we always did. She took a piece of my heart. Unbelievably hard to sit here without her right now.  You cannot imagine having a love so big for something so tiny. 2.4 pounds of pure joy and love.