Thornapple Hill Chinese Shar-Pei

This page is dedicated to the Shar-Pei that we have loved and lost but will always remain in our hearts.

The Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called The Rainbow Bridge.

When a beloved pet dies who has been especially close to someone here,
that pet goes to The Rainbow Bridge.

It is a land of meadows, hills and valleys
with lush green grass.
There is always plenty of food and water and sunshine;
our friends are warm and comfortable.
Those old and frail animals are young again,
restored to health and vigor.
Those who have been hurt or maimed
are made whole and strong again.
The animals play all day;
they are happy and content with each other.

But, there is only one thing missing.
they are not with their special person who loved them on earth;
the one who had to be left behind.
Then the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance.
The bright eyes are intent;
the eager body quivers.
Suddenly he breaks away from the group,
flying over the green grass;
his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been seen.

And when you and your special friend meet,
you take him in your arms and embrace.
The happy kisses rain upon your face.
Your hands again caress the beloved head.
You look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet.

And then, together, you cross The Rainbow Bridge.

Never to be separated.

J & B's Moose
9/87 - 8/91

"Sharpy" was our first Shar-Pei. In 1987, we purchased her at 10 weeks old from someone that had bought her and then their landlord would not let them keep her. A couple years before,I had seen the Aramus commercial that had a Shar-Pei sitting on steps. I fell in love with them. One day I came home from work and Ben told me to turn on the cable classifieds. He would not tell me what to look for. He said "You'll know when you see it." I watched for about 45 mins then I saw SHAR-PEI PUPPY FOR SALE and I knew that was it. I took down the name and number, called, drove over there and brought her home. Although this purchase was totally on a whim and unresearched, we never regreted it for a second. Sharpy introduced us to a type of love we'd never known before.

One day in 1991 Sharpy became lethargic and refused to eat. I took her to the emergency animal clinic and they diagnosed her with cystitis. They gave her a shot of antibiotics and sent her home. She was worse the next day so I took her to her regular vet. They suspected Pyometra. When they opened her up the next day to spay her they discovered that she had a ruptured spleen and peritonitis had already set in. When we went to stay with her she was in shock, jaundiced and still unconscious. While we were with her she suffered cardiac arrest. The vet and staff tried to resuscitate her but she was gone.

J & B's Satin Doll
9/9/89 - 11/4/96

We kept "Satin" (on right) from our first litter. She was a black, horsecoat with very correct structure. Her ears did not prick until she was 6 months old. We had her spayed. She had been healthy most her life. At about 5 years old she was having incontinent episodes. The vet prescribed DES which strenghtened her muscles and cured that problem. Soon after her 7th birthday we noticed a first time agression problem where should would challange us when we tried to make her go out in the morning. We hired a private canine behavioral trainer. A couple weeks into the session we noticed that she had lost alot of weight. Then all of a sudden she was refusing to eat. We took her to Cornell Univ. where they diagnosed her with 75% kidney failure. We made the hard decision to let her go before she started to suffer and lost the use of her hind legs. We didn't request a Congo Red stain but in the vet's opinion the necropsy showed no visual sign of amyloid, the kidneys were not in the same shape as kidneys with amyloid. The vet at Cornell felt the kidney failure was caused by a long term kidney infection. We feel her aggression problem was caused by the kidney problem and going out to urinate might have been painful.

We still miss her very much. She was one that never left the bed at night, always by your side on the couch and would sit in the window looking for me when she knew I was due home from work. She was also the alpha bitch in the house.

J & B's Enterprizing Kirk
9/9/89 - 12/17/97

"Kirk" was Satin's litter mate. They were the only 2 with pricked ears. Kirk was tube fed as a young pup. That caused a very special bond between him and Ben. Ben refused to sell this pup. That special bond remains strong even after Kirk's death. Kirk became lethargic one day and had an appointment with the vet that afternoon. He never made it. He died suddenly at home in our bedroom. Please visit Kirk's page to learn more about him.

Hai-Lo Porsha Piggy
4/1/93 - 3/28/98

Porsha was a true apricot dilute. We got her when she was 1 year old. She fit right in although she and Satin had their share of 'tiffs' when Porsha was in season or pregnant and her hormones were flying.

It was a Saturday when we noticed that Porsha wasn't acting like herself. She just laid there. As the day went on we could tell she was feeling worse. I started calling vets. It was late saturday afternoon and I could not get ahold of any, none called me back. She kept getting worse, seemed to be in pain, lingering on consciousness. I finally reached a vet about 15 miles away who said to bring her in. It was now dark out, blizzard conditions and 4 inches of fresh unplowed snow on the roads. We carried her to the car and Ben sat in the back with her while I carefully drove to the vets. She was unconscious in the car. About 3 miles from the vet's she started gasping for air. I carried her into the vet's office. The vet tried to start IV but her veins had collapsed. He finally found a weak vein but it was too late. The vet said she died of cardiac arrest.

If there is any, I guess the good news is that her Congo Red stain showed that her kidneys were clear of amyloid. This was such a relief as we also own her daughter, Dallas, and grand-daughter, Niki.

We miss her very much.

Cody lived to be almost 11 years old. He was my #1 man. Cody-man. He was my traveling partner when I used to commute to NJ. He was our foundation stud and we now have his daughter, 2 grand daughters, 1 grand son and a great grand daughter here with us to always remember him by.

Cody developed Mast Cell Cancer. We had a couple tumors removed but they kept developing. The nature of the beast. We put Cody to sleep when the itch got unbearable for him. He was still a happy boy and did not appear in any pain.

Cody's liver and kidney congo red stain was negative for amyloidosis.

Visit Cody's page:
Veteran HOT Hailo Commander Cody "CODY"

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