OT: Nova Was Euthanized Yesterday
Novica
Posts: 23,905
My avatar is based on my beautiful Arabian Nova, who turned 7 years old March 3rd. I made the decision to put Nova to sleep yesterday, Friday the 13th, as he developed extreme distress without warning Thursday evening. Rest assured thousands of dollars were spent attempting to save his life, with multiple veterinarians consulting with Auburn Veterinary School.
Nova was my friend, and until the past few weeks (when I had a family member hospitalized for 8 days) there was only about 20 days out of the entire year and a half, that I did not go to the barn every single night to brush his mane and tail while he munched on the flake of hay I gave him. And of course, the carrots and craisins, and craisins were were his favorites. It was our daily routine. He nickered when he saw me, and I'll remember that sound for the rest of my life, knowing that for hundreds of times, he knew just how much he was treasured, and I gave him the thrill of seeing his friend arrive with his treats.
You see, he was a show horse and never had his own human until I got him a year ago last March. His previous owner lived 8 hours away and only saw him to transport him to shows. The trainer had 15 other horses to train so Nova never stood a chance getting known as the sweet, pushy ("give me my treat") individual that wanted his own special someone.
He got that in me, and I got my best friend to look forward to every night. Evenings were my favorite times to go because as you might remember, Nova liked the deer and we fed them (winter only, due to hardships finding food) each night. Thursday morning, when Nova felt fine (I was off schedule and so I went at 7am and fed, he didn't exhibit symptoms until later that day) a deer came into the pasture at NINE AM IN THE MORNING! It was one of the juveniles we had fed, and it looked into the barn and trotted off across Nova's pasture. Until this moment, I had not thought of that deer- but what a nice experience for Nova to have while he was still feeling good on Thursday morning. :)
Nova is buried out at the ranch, so many people coordinated to make that happen within literally an hour while we were at the vets- Nova was buried with dignity, in the pasture he originally had when he first came there last July.
Right now, please do not respond in any way that in time, I will perhaps get another horse. I CURRENTLY AM NOT INTERESTED. Nova was to be my last horse. I'm 57 years old, we were to grow old together. I found I really was more interested in having a buddy than riding. I hadn't ridden Nova in months. It's hot here, he drops a bit of weight with heat (and I often took him to the barn, he had his own high velocity fan!) With the friends I have made with the ranch owner and another boarder (whose new ranch Nova was to be moved to next month, with 1,500 acres next door to ride on) I have places to go and horses to pamper or ride if I ever wanted to, without the ownership responsibilities and anxiety. I don't think I could ever own another one without stressing about not being there to check on them morning and evening. Nova was FINE Thursday morning when I went out at 8am. I left at 10am. So I'll gladly leave all that behind now and just visit the ranch to pamper another horse whose owner rarely goes out there. I told Nova I would give J.R. a carrot from him and I did :)
His life was short- but the last year and a half, my god, was he pampered. The ranch owner rolled her eyes often. Thunderstorms? Bring Nova to the barn. Heat? Bring Nova to the barn.
I'm going to miss those whinnies and nickers. I love that he was excited with anticipation on almost a daily basis. If you're not spending a lot of time with your horse, you're not being fair. They're not a riding machine. They have feelings, and you're letting them down. I had no guilt, not one ounce, about what I could have done with my horse. Time I could have spent- was spent.
The last video of Nova is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJJeFAp4kUs and the music is Independence Day. Because although Nova looked forward to seeing me, he was independent so far as being overly demonstrative. I liked that- it made the times when he would nuzzle me SO much more meaningful. "You're o.k. in my book!"
Never thought I'd be posting anything like this. It's 6am and I went to bed at 10:30p last night, exhausted (three hours sleep) but woke up at 3:30am. I hope I haven't upset you too much, I just felt Nova deserved a memorial and the DAZ community are ever bit as much my friends as the ones here. When you see my avatar, smile, Nova would want all of us to do that. He was loved and pampered, and most importantly, he knew it.
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Comments
I'm sorry to hear about your loss, but it do seem that Nova and you had a great life together. Losing a friend is never easy, but remembering them as they were and cherishing the memories they left behind sometimes makes it easier.
Many hugs
Carola
Thanks. And yes, totally agree. I just went out and walked around the block, nice and crisp and cool, then trimmed some bushes, got out and experienced the birds chirping and large bumble bees as they got into gear around our blooming bottlebrush trees. Nature at its finest.
You didn't get nearly as much time with Nova as you should have...but you did not waste the time you had. Many of us (myslef especially) think we have more time when we really don't know when that time will be up.
Arabians are such a special breed. i've known several full & part breds. I had a 3/4 Arab 1/4 Quarter horse cross I absoltuley loved. I never owned another horse after she died.
Nova needed someone to love and understand him. You were that someone. He was blessed to have you in his life as you were blessed to have him in yours. You have my deepest sympathies on your loss.
thats good - helped me - peace and love
I'm so sorry... I remember the pictures you posted of Nova, definitely a happy, lovely horse. I'm sorry your loss.
Sorry about your sad loss. Always sad when a well loved animal leaves us in this way.
I'm sure you have a lot of wonderful memories of your dear friend.
Very sorry to hear that, Cathie. It's never an easy decision to make--I've been there. :( I know you'll always cherish your memories of your time with him.
Thank you so very much. I have opened the windows and three of my cats are looking outside at the birds- I filled the birdbath that had sat there, unused and forgotten, filled the birdfeeder, and am right now listening to cardinals happily chirping. I want today to make a difference for other animals on behalf of Nova. It's working to make me feel better. (I have to laugh, a bird just got in the bush, realized there were three cats staring at it!)
I am sorry to hear of your loss.
I spent most of my adult life in the horse business, as a judge, as a trainer. A sad fact is, we outlive our cherished equine companions, whether their time is short, or long.
All we can do is make whatever time they have with us the best of times, care, attention, respect and love.
I think you did that.
So very sorry to hear about the loss of your dear friend Nova, and so unexpectedly too. It's clear he was much loved and you both brought each other a great deal of happiness.
Animals can give so much and ask for so little in return. I will indeed smile when I see Nova here in memory, in your lovely avatar.
Dear Cathy,
I am sincerely sad to hear of your dear, sweet, friend passing away.
It is a truly wonder-filled, wonder-ful, event when we make friends with a dear and precious animal, and the love is certainly mutual from what I have been blessed to experience. My little friend, Molly, a small mongrel (like me) passed away four years ago, and I still dream of her.... she was a wonderful little dog, a little sister to me.
So, Cathy, you and Nova have my heart and prayers..... we just do not know where we will find a precious love, do we......
Love,
Your friend,
Randy
So sorry for your loss. You made a wonderful life for Nova for the short time you were together.
It's certainly been very helpful, thank you. :) I hope everyone has hugged their pets today- my doggie is currently having a great dream (or at least I think so, the paws are going like crazy and he's "Mmmph mmmphing." Both the dogs I currently have are dreamers.
I am so sorry for your loss Novica. I know that Nova will always be in your heart and watching over you....it is just something I feel. When we had to put our dog down it devastated me,my husband, and the kiddos,but we know he loved us the way we loved him :-). Our kids still miss him to this day and sometimes out of the blue will say his name.
We did get a cat about a year later...oc the cat became mine all of a sudden...lol. Her name is Azaelea and she always gives me love...she can't stand it sometimes when I give her too much love!! My oldest daughter who is in college says: " Mom you know you treat Azaelea just like you treat us! We are so spoiled!!" I just had to laugh.
The time that you and Nova spent together will always be with him and you. He knew you loved and cherished him no matter what. He will never be forgotten :-). Sorry sometimes I don't know how to put my thoughts in the right order or have a hard time trying to convey what I am thinking :-).
My heart goes out to you and Nova. I lost my beloved Jet (a black Arabian 3 Day Eventer) to an uncontrolled brush fire. She is waiting for you at Rainbow Bridge.
I know that I am a stranger but when I read your post it was so moving that I had to reply. Know that you are a very special person to be able to see the beauty in a horse beyond the worth of it's hooves and strength. People call me strange when I say that I would gladly take in a crippled horse knowing it's riding use is far gone, I love horses for their true qualities and believe that such a horse that cannot be ridden is still just what it was born to be, a horse. They are magnificent creatures with big hearts and loving (and often times stubborn or quirky) personalities.
Take heart in knowing that your kindness will take you far, and that even with the short time you both were together, he never took your love for granted and the time you shared was far reaching beyond mortality and her sting.
Oh Novica, I'm sooo sorry to hear this. :( It brought tears to my eyes imagining how you're feeling right now. I've lost pets and it's always just heartbreaking. Just always remember that you loved and were loved in the purist form possible. :)
All I can do is give you a tight sympathetic hug and happy thoughts of your boy Nova. :)
What to say? For the fact you had to do this you have my sympathy. For the fact you and Nova had each other for a while you have nothing but smiles from me.
Thank you everyone, you are very much appreciated. This evening was the 24 hour since put to sleep timeframe and I definitely knew when that approached down to the minute. It is very soothing to read about everyone's pets. IslandGurl31, I love the name Azaelea- how beautiful! And Molly sounds spunky- I'd probably be saying, "Come here Molly by golly." We say such silly things to our pets, don't we?! And Jet for a black horse- and black Arabians are just spectacular- is such a fitting name. That is very sad about the fire, I know that you remember the enjoyment you had and hopefully can somewhat block out the other catastrophic events.
Have you ever heard the expression that your pets have you trained- like when you keep repeating a behavior for them to do and they sit and stare at you, watching- so you're the one jumping through the hoop, lol! They're probably thinking, "Yep, looking good...." I do want to share something on a lighter note that I had posted months ago during Ken's bird sale. I had a Yellow Nape Amazon (a sheer genius with the IQ of a 3 year old) and she'd quietly wait until someone would approach and talk to her. She'd then lean toward them like sharing a conspiracy type secret and say, "I can talk. Can you fly?"
Cathy, I am very sorry for your loss of your companion. I understand how you feel about not replacing him with another as felt the same way when I had to euthanize my 13 year old cocker spaniel/golden lab cross, Coco. I cried for 3 days, she was so much a part of our family. You just can't replace that.
Hi Cathy sending you mega hugs and huge thanks for sharing Nova with us, you have a huge heart as it can be seen in your generosity of sharing in the Art Forum, you were lucky to have come across such a magnificent Horse and had the opportunity in making fantastic memories xx
My condolences and sympathies, its always hard to lose a friend.
Thank you Kharma, hermana5, and scorpio64dragon. I wasn't surprised at all to hear from you :)
Everyone enjoy your day, I am. Still not going back to the barn as there is one boarder left and he may be riding or trailering his horse out to the local state park, and due to trailering Friday for horrible reasons, I don't wanna see THAT. So just chillin', downloading V4 stuff, and if any of you have V4 renders, pop over to the art studio thread if you'd like and strut your stuff. I'm featuring V4 for the next week or two (and other things.) SereneNight and I are showcasing products and we love renders from other people too (and your opinions on the products you're using.)
Love you all!
Cathie
I tried to pm this, didnt want to clog up this thread, but my comp defeated me again.
The real joy of horses are in the 'quiet times"
Condolence from the other side of the world on your loss, Cathie. My sister-in-law's a horse person and I had to do the same thing once to a cat adopted as a kitten; while I can never know what you're going through I have some tiny idea.
Nova knew he was loved and loved whole-heartedly in return. A lot of times I think the phrase "dumb beast" doesn't apply to non-human animals at all.
Sincerely,
Jaime
That is absolutely soothing and so nice of you to share! I have to say the gal is much better looking than me :) That does so remind me of Nova.
I am actually headed out the door to the new ranch Nova was to be moved to in a couple weeks- they staked out the barn today and my friend and I are going to see it together for the first time. And she adamantly said I was going to come out anytime I wanted to, and ride two out of three of her horses (the other one threw her and broke her collarbone, and THAT one I had zero interest in, believe me. I'll ground work him for her and work on the spooky training with my feet on the ground!) So that is sweet of her. I've looked forward to seeing her horses the past two days, they were Nova's pasture buddies for a couple weeks. Cash is a quarterhorse but same coloring as Nova, I think that will be a positive thing.
Thank you also camerabanditman- I totally agree. Humans are a lot more "dumb" in so many ways. (For example, horses don't steal from each other, they do it face to face when they want to take what the other one has, lol.) Your comments were deeply appreciated.
Off I go to the non-existent barn but get to see it staked out. BTW, I designed it. When it gets done in a few weeks, I'll share it with you.
I lost both of my four-legged friends this year to advanced age (Baby the cat in January, Jack the dog in August).
Although I am saddened by my loss, I consider my life has been made much richer for having known them for a while. I wouldn't have missed my time with them for the world.
My heart goes out to you in sympathy.
Tjohn, that is so perfect! I hadn't seen that before. Rainbow Bridge, yes, but not with the horses. I can picture that entire poem. Made me smile.
I'm back from the new ranch and there was a thunderstorm in the distance but pouring down rain, it was nice sitting on the porch out in the country.
I'm sympathetic (and empathetic) to everyone who has ever parted with their animal companion. Thanks for sharing the snippets about your animals with me.
Cathie
I am so sorry for your loss. Nova was as lucky to have you as you were to have him. You made his last year on this earth a wonderful time and for that you are an angel. Animals are more than just friends they become family.
You did the right thing for Nova as hard as the decision was to make he is at peace now and will wait patiently for you at rainbow bridge and will be expecting you.
I have been where you are and it is not an easy thing, I had to put to sleep many years ago my cat Snowball of 12 years, she had cancer and we waited until there was nothing else that we could do. Surgery was out because the tumor was in her jaw and she would have had no way to eat. She was ready the day I took her in, I know because she walked over to the sink in the vets office looked at it then at me and came and laid back down. You see she loved to drink out of the faucet sink and would never use a bowl and when she couldn't do what she loved anymore she was ready.
I know you probably didn't get that with Nova as it was so sudden, many hugs to you in your time of sorrow and know he will be waiting.
I am looking at my three fat spoiled cats and am reminded that life is so precious.
You were a great friend and luckily were able to provide Nova with lots of love and good care during that short, but lovely period.
Thanks for sharing your story, and take care <3</p>