This is Sandy. She was born in October of 2005 (making her currently 6 years old). She was adopted and given as a pet to a resident in a nursing home. Through the dementia of a few residents, she was given a very unhealthy diet that resulted in the development of bladder stones.
Which leads us to how Kim and I received her.
Sandy’s owners did not want to pay for her to have a simple surgery to remove the bladder stones (partially because they could come back due to the poor diet). So an anonymous person paid for Sandy to have surgery, with the condition that she have a good nurturing home to come to. It just so happened that my wife asked for a dog of some sort. “Nothing huge, and nothing yippie. Just something that would fit into my lap.”
I made the offer for her to at least meet the dog. So one day, she came to my work and I brought Sandy outside to potty. As soon as she saw my wife, hearts melted. I knew it was meant to be.
We took her to PetSmart after her surgery a couple of weeks later, and decided to find a few things to make her feel right at home. She got a pink food and water bowl (fittingly saying “Princess” across the bottom), a variety of treats, and a pink cushion bed. The bed we really didn’t have much choice on because Sandy decided it was time to relieve herself and it didn’t matter where she was. As luck would have it, that spot was right in the middle of the fluffy bed that shared vital cart space with her.
We tried finding an optimal sleep space for her. We tried leaving her kennel in the bedroom with us and putting her in at night. We even tried just leaving her bed beside ours. She wouldn’t have any of it.
No, Sandy insisted on sleeping between us. Under the covers. Like it or not.
Sandy loves us. She would listen to what we say and tilt her head to the side, as if to say “Are you sure??” We asked her if she wanted to go potty, and if she did she went bonkers with a huge burst of energy that eventually lead out to the front door.
When we had to go to work, we would tell her “Alright sug, Mommy/Daddy have to go to work. Go get in your crate.” She would tilt her head, just like always.
“Yes, sug. Go get in your crate.”
Then she would turn and go immediately to wherever her kennel was, jump in, turn around and wait for us to close the door.
She knew the meaning of the words “Treat, potty, Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, ride, Auntie Maddie” along with several others. She always knew where her treats were, and was cute enough to get one almost everytime on command.
Sandy also has a lot of health problems. Her back leg was accidentally stepped on by a previous owner, so she favors it a lot during the cold winter months. She has allergies, and develops hot spots during the warmer months because of it. And the last few weeks have been plagued with several other health issues.
Sandy would not eat right for a few weeks, but the alarm came when she started having seizures. What initially started as “bubblegum seizures” (which is what it sounds like…looks like the dog is chewing really hard on a piece of bubble gum) eventually became full blown convulsion seizures. We were not sure why because this was something that we had not experienced.
Basically, the reason I am saying all of this is because Sandy is currently at the vet’s office. She has been there since Tuesday morning. Her blood sugar, appetite, and overall mood has been fluctuating for a few days. We cannot figure out what is wrong. Tomorrow morning, the vet is going to perform an ultrasound to try and determine if our dog has cancer.
Cancer is a very ugly word. Nothing good has ever come of it. I have lost family and dear friends to it, and now my dog may be in jeopardy because of this ugly and vicious disease. My hopes and prayers are that it’s something that can be easily treated, whatever is wrong with her. However, the back of my mind is still haunting me. And it’s a very scary thing.
I am having a very hard time in dealing with whats going on. I don’t grieve well, and have been that way for a few years since I started my current job in healthcare.
One way or another, we will find an answer. But I do want to raise awareness. They are our babies. We guard and nurture them the same way they do us.
And this precious little babydoll is currently having the fight of her life. I just hope we can continue to fight for her so she can live out the rest of her life at home.
Where she belongs.

