Annie Oakley

We received a very sad message from our Alumna Annie Oakley’s family informing us of her passing.

Her dad Glen said, “Annie Oakley crossed the Rainbow on December 19,2024. We became her foster parents on March 9,2018, when she was in a shelter in Paulding County with not many days left. She was an escape artist from her owners who did not want her back. She had a deformed right front leg but that did not slow her down one bit. We picked her up and when we got home, she ran zoomies in the yard for 15 minutes, enjoying her freedom. She loved her kennel and never had an accident in the house, such a sweet girl. We thought something was wrong with her in that she never barked. Then one morning she saw a deer in the back yard and barked at it. That was the end of no barking. She now considered the house hers and made sure we knew if anyone or anything came close. Annie was fed twice a day, she knew when it was 6:30am and 4pm. She wanted her food, if you were slow getting it, she would come looking for you. As you might guess she was a foster failure. We promised her a good life, about 2mos later we fostered another GSP, his name is Warner, when we brought him home it was like they had been buddies forever. Thus, he was a failure too. The vets and everyone thought they were siblings because of the way they acted. Whenever we boarded them, we made sure they had a suite, no separation for these two... They would spend hours chasing lizards in the back yard or watching the street from the office window. If you opened the door to the outside, they would run to the car to get in, going for a ride was a joy for them. Annie was starting to slow down some, on her last day she had her dinner as usual then hopped on the couch to nap for a time. When we went to watch TV, she got down as normal and stretched out on the floor. When bedtime came, she normally was ready to go but this time she stood up and then collapsed, I checked her gums, and they were pale. I took her to the emergency vets, and they found she was bleeding internally. X-rays showed a mass on the kidney. When they opened her up the cancer was all over her abdomen and they could not get it out. We were able to say our good-byes and they let Warner come in to say his too. We miss her so much, but we know she is running free.”

Grief never ends… But it changes.
It’s a passage, not a place to stay.
Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor a lack of faith…
It is the price of love.
– Vicki Harrison