Pipers’ Peak
We’re back! Sorry we’ve been MIA but we’ve taken the last 2 -3months to grieve and heal after the sudden and traumatic passing of our furbaby Piper. We still have no real answers as to what happened despite necropsy and lab testing. The best guess from the veterinarians is ingestion of some poisonous critter or immune mediated thrombocytopenia. Her decline was quick as she showed no change in personality, energy, or eating habits until her last day with us. Actually, the day before she passed she joined us on our first adventure on the island, a hike of Mount Jumullong Manglo.
We are now ready to share our last adventure with our sweet Piper girl. As you may recall, Piper had been on home quarantine our first 30 days on Guam. We wanted to celebrate her release from quarantine with our first hike on this beautiful island! We met up with Paul’s coworkers early Saturday morning to beat the heat for the hike. Mount Jumullong has a peak of 1,283ft from its base and is only 50ft below the summit of Mount Lamlam, which is the tallest mountain in the world! However, 36,070 feet out of the 37,402 ft of Mount Lamlam is actually underwater! This jungle covered mountain presents its own challenges, but we had a few others added. It is technically the “wet season” here on Guam from June/July to November/December. Meaning that this trail was ALL mud, which we did not have the proper gear for as our shipment from the States still had not arrived. Tennis shoes vs muddy jungle mountain….you can imagine who won.
Of course, Piper girl was showing off and climbing the mountain better than anyone else on 2 feet. As Paul said, “she was goatin’ around” because she was the only one who was not slip sliding all the way up and down. She was the hiking team mascot, making everyone give her belly rubs on our water breaks! The summit of Jumullong is adorned with giant crosses making it a traditional hike for the Catholic community to make at sunrise on Easter morning.
We hope you enjoy these videos and photos of the gorgeous views of ocean, jungle, and the last memories we made with Piper. We are told that this hike was not what caused her illness, it actually helped her/us in a way. Since we had gotten caked in mud, we bathed Piper and found the bruising all over her that we couldn’t see due to her fluffy fur. The bruising was due to her platelet count that plummeted for still an unknown reason. Despite getting her to the vet immediately and doing everything we could, without emergency vet services available on the island, she passed over the rainbow bridge the next day. We are grateful for the amazing 7 years of love, laughs, and cuddles she gave us. Piper, you were the best companion who gave us so much joy and countless memories we will never forget. We miss you every single day. We know you will be waiting for us at the Gates, belly up, waiting for us to rub your belly aka “The Piper Tax for Entrance”. You will always be the “Dog” to our “Docs”.
