Teh One Who Knocks
04-29-2013, 11:28 AM
By Snejana Farberov - The Daily Mail
Kermie the dog was dying of cancer, but against all odds, she hung on long enough to welcome home her owner from a military deployment.
A video of the touching reunion between the terminally ill pooch and Eric Ralston has gone viral since being posted on YouTube last week.
Eric's wife, Jennifer, explained in the description of the heart-warming 25-second clip that last March, her husband left for an eight-month deployment. He serves in the US Navy as chief hospital corpsman aboard USS Frank Cable, stationed in Guam.
http://i.imgur.com/rcnVfI2.png
A month later, the Ralstons, who live in Northglenn, Colorado, took their 11-year-old Lab-Beagle-Chow Chow mix for a dental checkup after noticing that Kermie’s breath had turned foul-smelling.
An exam revealed the awful diagnosis: that the pooch had oral melanoma.
Kermie was given only two or three months to live, which meant that the pup was going to pass away without her owner by her side.
'We were devastated, to say the least,' Mrs Ralston wrote. 'Kermie was our first child, and we did not think Eric would ever get to see her again.'
But the resilient mutt hung on, toughing it out for several more months. As the end of Eric Ralston's deployment loomed on the horizon, the family became hopeful that Kermie will be able to welcome the Navy serviceman home after all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbZW2tAvOr4
By November, however, the tumor in Kermie's mouth had made it difficult for her to eat or drink, and the Ralstons, who have two children, were not sure she was going to make it.
Mrs Ralston and her sons were determined to prolong the life of their beloved pet at least long enough for her to see her owner one last time, and so they went out of their way to keep Kermie's weight up and make sure she took her medication.
Jennifer Ralston said that she even prepared special meals for the dying pooch and hand-fed her.
Twelve days before Eric Ralston was supposed to return home, the family received the news that his deployment was being extended indefinitely.
The Ralstons were certain that Kermie, who was growing weaker, would not make it until Christmas when her owner was set to come home for the holidays.
But against all odds, the portly, ginger-colored pooch pulled through, as if knowing somehow that she needed to stay alive for the sake of her human family.
A few days before Christmas, Mr Ralston finally came home after nine long months away.
In the video of their bittersweet reunion, Kermie, festooned with a red bow around her neck, could be seen sprinting from the house and into her owner's waiting arms, joyfully licking his face and energetically wagging her tail to express her obvious pleasure.
The family were sure that they will be putting Kermie down within days of the reunion, but then something unexpected happened.
'His [Eric's] return was some sort of magic pill for her. She began eating and drinking again, without struggle!' Jennifer Ralston wrote.
'Watching the homecoming video, you cannot even see the struggles of the previous months.'
http://i.imgur.com/luKYBBW.png
Kermie lived to celebrate her 12th birthday in January, but the cancer was finally beginning to catch up with her. By February, the Ralstons were back to hand-feeding the poor pup.
'When good days became good hours,' Mrs Ralston wrote, 'we knew it was time.'
On February 22, 2013, Kermie's suffering came to an end and she was put down surrounded by her family.
Kermie the dog was dying of cancer, but against all odds, she hung on long enough to welcome home her owner from a military deployment.
A video of the touching reunion between the terminally ill pooch and Eric Ralston has gone viral since being posted on YouTube last week.
Eric's wife, Jennifer, explained in the description of the heart-warming 25-second clip that last March, her husband left for an eight-month deployment. He serves in the US Navy as chief hospital corpsman aboard USS Frank Cable, stationed in Guam.
http://i.imgur.com/rcnVfI2.png
A month later, the Ralstons, who live in Northglenn, Colorado, took their 11-year-old Lab-Beagle-Chow Chow mix for a dental checkup after noticing that Kermie’s breath had turned foul-smelling.
An exam revealed the awful diagnosis: that the pooch had oral melanoma.
Kermie was given only two or three months to live, which meant that the pup was going to pass away without her owner by her side.
'We were devastated, to say the least,' Mrs Ralston wrote. 'Kermie was our first child, and we did not think Eric would ever get to see her again.'
But the resilient mutt hung on, toughing it out for several more months. As the end of Eric Ralston's deployment loomed on the horizon, the family became hopeful that Kermie will be able to welcome the Navy serviceman home after all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbZW2tAvOr4
By November, however, the tumor in Kermie's mouth had made it difficult for her to eat or drink, and the Ralstons, who have two children, were not sure she was going to make it.
Mrs Ralston and her sons were determined to prolong the life of their beloved pet at least long enough for her to see her owner one last time, and so they went out of their way to keep Kermie's weight up and make sure she took her medication.
Jennifer Ralston said that she even prepared special meals for the dying pooch and hand-fed her.
Twelve days before Eric Ralston was supposed to return home, the family received the news that his deployment was being extended indefinitely.
The Ralstons were certain that Kermie, who was growing weaker, would not make it until Christmas when her owner was set to come home for the holidays.
But against all odds, the portly, ginger-colored pooch pulled through, as if knowing somehow that she needed to stay alive for the sake of her human family.
A few days before Christmas, Mr Ralston finally came home after nine long months away.
In the video of their bittersweet reunion, Kermie, festooned with a red bow around her neck, could be seen sprinting from the house and into her owner's waiting arms, joyfully licking his face and energetically wagging her tail to express her obvious pleasure.
The family were sure that they will be putting Kermie down within days of the reunion, but then something unexpected happened.
'His [Eric's] return was some sort of magic pill for her. She began eating and drinking again, without struggle!' Jennifer Ralston wrote.
'Watching the homecoming video, you cannot even see the struggles of the previous months.'
http://i.imgur.com/luKYBBW.png
Kermie lived to celebrate her 12th birthday in January, but the cancer was finally beginning to catch up with her. By February, the Ralstons were back to hand-feeding the poor pup.
'When good days became good hours,' Mrs Ralston wrote, 'we knew it was time.'
On February 22, 2013, Kermie's suffering came to an end and she was put down surrounded by her family.