Good-bye My Sweet Sweet Jinxie

For some reason, I am finding it very difficult to write this posting because of how much Jinxie meant to me.  When I last saw her on my birthday, I had no idea that she would die a few months later.  I am having trouble getting over her death because it was so sudden to me. 

The week prior to her death, I was told by Vicky that Jinxie was doing great.  Needless to say, no one bothered to tell me she had a wound developing on her body and that a biopsy was sent to the vet for testing.  No one bothered to call me to let me know that she had stopped eating and playing.

Instead, I received this email...

From: "InsyncExotics@aol.com"
To: kbrunner@...
Sent: Sun, January 20, 2013 8:32:00 PM
Subject: Re:

hey I really hate to tell you this and I have been hoping for the last two days I wouldn't have to say anything......... I have been spending a lot of time with Jynxie. She started going off her food last Tuesday but on Wednesday, bone night she did very well. Thursday I was with Tacoma but she did take one treat. She started vomiting on Fri and I started her on meds that we got down her till Sat night she stopped all together. She vomited more on Sat morning and I gave her a shot that should help to settle her tummy. Sunday night she wouldn't take her bone. She won't let me take blood so I am going to have to knock her out to check her out and get blood. The rest of the time I have been with Tacoma trying to get him to walk

Vicky Keahey
President
In-Sync Exoticswww.insyncexotics.org
vkeahey@insyncexotics.com
insyncexotics@aol.com

What the hell?  An email?  I was devestated and very angry.  She couldn't bother to return my calls to let me know that Jinxie was sick after all I've done to help In-Sync?  After our agreement that if anything changed with Jinxie or Sabu's health she would let me know right away? 

Basically, after this "notification", Vicky and I only communicated by text. It was a horrible situation made worse by someone who knew how much I loved Jinxie, yet refused to speak with me on the phone, choosing instead to communicate with me by text.  I did receive one call from Vicky before Jinxie died where Vicky told me that Jinxie was not going to die--that she wouldn't let her die.

One day later, Jinxie was died.  I received the phone call at 4:30 am informing me of her passing--thank God I wasn't notified of her passing by text or email...

I don't blame Vicky for Jinxie's death.  I believe she did everything possible to save her.  I blame her for not telling me about Jinxie's wound biopsy and for not telling me she stopped eating and enjoing life sooner. I've read a few volunteer posts made to Facebook, and apparently, she stopped enjoying life about the time she stopped eating. 

I'm still upset that she choose to email me of the situation instead of picking up the phone and personally telling me what was happening with Jinxie.  After all, I've heard all about the health conditions of all the other cats for the blog by way of the telephone, why was Jinxie's health condition such a secret from me anyway?

When I heard from others on the scene just how bad Jinxie looked a day before she passed away, I knew she was going to die and there was nothing I could do.  Once again, I felt hopeless that another beloved WAO animal was dying and I couldn't save her--let alone see her.

As I type this posting, I can feel my blood pressure going through the roof, so I'm going to pause and pick-up where I left off tomorrow... 

Two weeks later:

One of the hardest thing I had to do was write Jinxie's eulogy for the Cat Tale Blog. I chose to create a video because I was too torn up inside to write her story... 

Friday, January 25, 2013

Our Beloved Jynxie Is Beautiful

We are very sorry to end the week with devastating news...



Jynxie
June 12, 1998 - January 24, 2013

Jynxie, our beloved lioness, passed away yesterday morning around 4:30a.m. At this time, we do not know the cause of her passing.

We are absolutely devastated at the loss of our beautiful girl. We transported her body to Texas A&M Veterinary School of Medicine for a necropsy yesterday morning and we should have some preliminary test results hopefully by this weekend. A more detailed account of what happened to our girl will be provided on Monday's blog posting.

If you are new to this blog, may we present a short video of the lioness who touched our hearts:

Jynxie was a very beautiful and special lioness.
We pray she's been reunited with her brother, Jambo, and her new love, Dinari, at a special place we call the Rainbow Bridge...

We love you so much Jynxie girl...God bless you!

>^..^<

I think I cried through the entire five hours it took to assemble and produce this video the night before I posted it to the blog. 

The following Monday I wrote this posting about my precious girl:

Monday, January 28, 2013

Farewell, Sweet Jynxie...

On Thursday, January 23, 2013, our precious Jynxie passed away. At this time, we are still waiting for her necropsy tissue and blood test results. Preliminary necropsy report showed she had a small nodule on her left lung and a number of tan colored nodules in her liver; however, the cause of her death is still inconclusive and it may be a week or so before we learn the results of all the tests.

On Tuesday, January 15th, Jynxie started to go off her food, which in it self is not unusual, as Jynxie often skipped a meal during the week. On Wednesday, Jynxie enjoyed her bones, so we were confident that she was okay. On Thursday, Jynxie skipped a meal, but ate her treats, but then on Friday, we noticed she had vomited By Saturday, Jynxie had stopped eating and could not be enticed to eat anything, including her meaty treats, so Vicky gave her a shot to settle her stomach. Sunday night she refused her bone treats and when Vicky tried to obtain a blood sample from our feisty girl, she refused. So on Monday, January 21st, Jynxie was sedated so a blood sample could be taken from her. The vet checked her over and she was administered antibiotic shots.

Later that evening, Vicky noticed that she was shivering, so an electric blanket was placed over our girl. She seemed to be doing okay with the electric blanket and several comforters covering her body. Our lead keeper, Mak got up every two hours during the night, to check on Jynxie to make sure she was warm and comfortable throughout the evening and early morning hours.

The next day, Jynxie was still lethargic and refused to move around. Blood test revealed that Jynxie's white blood count was low, possibly from an infection, and her kidney levels were up (off the charts), so she was given another dose of penicillin, in the hopes of eliminating the infection.

At this point, Jynxie was kept hydrated with subcutaneous fluids every eight hours and she was given additional penicillin shots; unfortunately she was still wobbly on her legs. Mak continued to checked on Jynxie throughout the night, trying to get Jynxie to move around.

On Wednesday, January 23rd, Jynxie got up and went to lie down in her den. While we were thrilled that Jynxie was moving around again, it did make it a little more challenging for the staff to administer fluids and her shots. Later that evening, Jynxie seemed more alert and she was drinking water on her own, giving Vicky a "stinky" face.

She appeared to look much better compared to Tuesday night; moving around outside her den. She even "barked" at Vicky when she tried to administer her four shots and another round of fluids. Jynxie was kept bundled up because her body temperature dropped below normal of 101-102 degrees earlier in the week. On Wednesday, her body temperature climbed to 97.7 and continued to improve.

Karin and Robert volunteered to stay overnight with Jynxie so Mak could sleep through the night with instructions to call her if Jynxie threw off her blankets or seemed to be in any distressed. Vicky and Mak were called to Jynxie's side at around 3:00 a.m. when Karin and Robert noticed that Jynxie became unresponsive and her eyes looked cloudy. Shortly thereafter, Jynxie had her first and second seizure. While the vet was en route, Jynxie had her final seizure as she passed away about 4:30 a.m. just as Dr. Kerin arrived. We had all noticed noticed that Jynxie showed signs of having had a full-body hemorrhage, or she could have thrown a blood clot to the brain.

Vicky, Karin, and Robert departed with Jynxie's body to Texas A&M Veterinary School that morning where a necropsy was performed and tissue and blood samples were taken in the hopes of learning why our precious lioness passed away. Not wanting to leave Jynxie behind, Vicky stayed overnight with our girl until Jynxie's body was released to Pet Memories so her body could be cremated.

On Saturday, January 26, 2013, a memorial service was held at Pet Memories at Rockwall, Texas. Over 35 people with flowers attended her memorial service to say goodbye to our special lady and to share wonderful memories of fun times spent with our girl. Some of the flowers were placed with Jynxie's body and some of the flowers were held back so they could be scattered into the lake from the bridge in her memory. Since we were not allowed to view her body, Robert and Karin had a large 16 x 20 poster made up of Jynxie which Vicky placed at the ceremony, so we could gaze upon her beautiful face.

Jinxie's ashes were placed in this beautiful urn and it was placed in between Malikai and his brother, Dinari's urns.

Her physical body may be gone, but her loving spirit will live on at In-Sync Exotics. As new volunteers arrive at our sanctuary, they will learn from Cheymn, how unique and beautiful Jynxie was to us all.  

In Memory of JynxieJune 12, 1998 - January 24, 2013

May you find peace and happiness with your brother Jambo, and your special lion companions, Dinari and Malikai, Jynxie! You were loved by all and you will never be forgotten...

If you would like to make a donation in Jynxie's honor, you may do so by clicking HERE. Thank you.

>^..^<

Despite how I was notified about Jinxie's passing, I thought I could work with Vicky, in the hopes that her passing would bring us closer together.

I was wrong.  Several days later I received another text that the initial necropsy report came back and it looked like Jinxie died from cancer.  When I tried to call Vicky back, after receiving this disturbing text, she refused to pick-up the phone, even though she had just sent a reply text just a few moments before the call!  I tried calling twice on my way home, and she refused to pick-up.  When I got home, I tried calling her again.  First call I made, she picked up the phone and then promptly hung-up on me.  When I immediately called back, the call when to message after several rings.  I called back again, and this time my call went directly to message.

When I texted her asking if she was taking any calls, she texted back saying she was in "a meeting."  I texted back asking if she could call me back when done....  no response.

One hour later I texted her asking if the "meeting" was over so I could speak with her and she replied that she was "visiting the cats." 

That did it for me.  Jinxie meant the world to me and Vicky's behavior was a slap in the face.  That was the day I made my decision to leave In-Sync.

Several days later, I did receive a copy of Jinxie's necropsy report which I thanked Vicky for.  Jinxie was a very sick lioness and no one even knew how sick she was until her necropsy...

Jinxie's Necropsy Report by WAOCase

I never did receive the final necropsy report, nor did I expect to.  Just knowing why Jinxie died was enough for me. 

May God Bless and Keep You Always, Precious Girl.  Jambo, Jinxie, and her baby "Brian" are together forever in Heaven.  Amen.