My Wonder Pup – Survived Lyme Disease, IMHA & Cancer

My Wonder Pup – Survived Lyme Disease, IMHA & Cancer

BrandiIt was love at first sight. A tiny little black bundle of spirit approached us on the sofa. She had this proud little trot even when she was only a few weeks old. On the thousand-plus miles trek back home, we learned she became car sick while in the back seat. So full of spirit and spunk that when we found a hotel room she began barking at her papa’s shoes; they were bigger than her, but she was determined to let them know she was boss.

It was a 17 year-old love affair; she gave us her heart and soul. In her life, she was able to travel to all parts of two countries by planes, automobiles and ferries. She was always with us with the exception when we visited Germany and Florida and we had a dog sitter come to our house during that time to watch her. She loved the outdoors but was more of an indoor dog and a bed hog; who knew that such a little dog could take up so much space on the bed!

 She was also a great watch dog, she only barked when it was necessary to alert us of human visitors as well as animal visitors. You’d be greeted with a bark and a wagging tail. When there were animals around, she definitely let us know with her certain bark and growl. And she wouldn’t let up until she knew that we understood there was an animal outside. Once we acknowledged that we had taken heed to her warning, she would stop barking but she would still case the perimeter of the house. She was a brave one and smart; you wouldn’t see her going into a situation that she didn’t know the outcome.

Spunky & Irresistible:

She went to obedience training classes beginning at about 5 months old which morphed into a social hour class for eight years with her pals of German Shepherds, Labradors, Rottweilers, Great Danes, and a few other large breeds.  She also did well when we went through the agility and obstacle course as the other larger dogs did not to be outdone. (We had to hone her in at times at the higher jumps so that she wouldn’t hurt herself, but she sure didn’t like it.) She found Black Labradors very appealing and attractive. When she took a shine to one, she really strutted her stuff. Whewee! She was irresistible; those labs stood no chance of resisting her. Who wouldn’t find an extremely spunky female, which stood her ground with very large dogs and came out on top, irresistible? She also loved marking her territory.

She found Black Labradors very appealing and attractive. When she took a shine to one, she really strutted her stuff. Whewee! She was irresistible; those labs stood no chance of resisting her. Who wouldn’t find an extremely spunky female, which stood her ground with very large dogs and came out on top, irresistible? She also loved marking her territory.1-2-export1-001

Loved by All:

The trainers fell in love with her great disposition and her special skills. Groomers and veterinarians fell in love with her. She was a host to several different types of dogs which all liked her; she was alright with them visiting as long as they didn’t stay too long. She loved everyone especially babies. If she saw that someone wasn’t too keen on her, she did everything to have them fall in love with her. She loved people visiting and greeted them with a bark and wagging tail.  

Very well-behaved and Funny:

When she was a tiny little girl, her curiosity got her into a pickle when she got stuck in a live trap. I called out for her to come and all I heard was a tiny whimper. The look on her face was precious. She loved playing fetch with an orange; she was so smart that she knew if it was thrown around enough, it would split. Somehow she would clean out the inside of the orange of all its pulp leaving only a shell; you went to pick it up only to find it was just the shell. She knew never to bark while inside an automobile. I could leave a granola bar in the car, go in and shop; when I came back the granola bar was still intact. She was so funny with toys; she played with them over and over but never destroyed them. She learned early on that if she did ruin them; they would be gone forever. At night, when we were sleeping, she would find her giggle ball and hit it around so that it made noise to tell us she was up. If that didn’t work, she’d conveniently make it hit the wall with a loud thump.  Her favorite game was hide and seek; she’d love to go find her mommy when she was hiding.  She also loved hiking and long walks.love of dog 

Gifted Beyond Belief:

She sure was gifted. Of the many gifts she had, the most astounding was her ability to sense my health and sense the weather. Papa used her as a barometer when it came to my health. When I became bedridden with Lyme Disease, she never left my side. She had to be dragged out to take care of business. She was able to sense that I was about to lose my sight even before I knew I would. She was able to sense if I was about to experience bad chest pains minutes before they happened. My husband watched her to see how I was actually feeling. She stuck to me like glue when I had my bad days; but she wasn’t far from me when I had my good days. She even was able to sense the hurricanes; while the meteorologists were discussing the paths of the hurricane, her actions were telling me that they were coming our way or that they weren’t. She was right on the money all the time.

Most of all, she knew when you needed love, comfort and joy. She knew just what I needed when I needed it.

Wonder Pup: Survived Lyme Disease, IMHA and Cancer

She was called the “Wonder Pup” by our Vet. One morning a year and a half after I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease, she awoke to find that she was completely paralyzed. We rushed her to the Vet ER, there suggestion: back surgery. The paralysis disappeared not too long afterwards. With my experience with Lyme Disease, we decided to go to our Vet and ask for a tick panel blood test. Diagnosis: Lyme Disease with a few other tick-borne diseases. She recovered pretty well.  Throughout her life she survived hip surgery, gall bladder and thyroids issues, a toe removal due to Cancer and IMHA. When she was diagnosed with IMHA, which I have been told is a form of Babesia in dogs, the current Vet didn’t think she would survive long maybe a couple weeks. Then we found Dr. Dave, with patience and skill, she was back to herself, alas, her nickname was the “Wonder Pup.” She lived another several years.

Good Bye, Sweet Pea:My Baby Dark Empty

Our baby girl left this world last Tuesday. She was still very strong and young at heart but her body finally gave out. It is amazing how strong she was. She filled our lives with so much love and laughter. We will miss her deeply.

Right now, we are not ready to bring another furry bundle of joy into our lives, but we would definitely say that bringing her into our lives was the best decision we ever made.

Now, we begin to work through the dark and empty.