I am not in a professional field related to animals, but I do love animals and spend a lot of free time reading about them (particularly dogs) and researching related topics. I plan to share some of my findings here. Please note that I am not a veterinarian, and you should always consult with your vet regarding medical issues.
I grew up pretty much always having a pet in the family. Usually we had a dog (or two, or three, or more!), but we also had a cat. As an adult, I have adopted cats and dogs. I promote adopting instead of shopping for an animal, and believe all dogs and cats should be inside pets, as members of the family. I have loved and lost several beloved pets, and care about things like nutrition and exercise for my pets.
In 2012, my eldest stepdaughter's mother adopted a puppy from the local SPCA for my stepdaughter. After a couple of months, her mother decided she was done dealing with a puppy and said she was going to return it to the shelter. At that point, we intervened (as the dog was physically in our home) and made the decision to keep the puppy as a family dog, belonging to the entire family and no one particular person. Benelli was a basset/lab on paper, but anyone who saw her knew she had some pit bull or american staffordshire in her. The entire family fell in love with her.
Several months later, we decided that Benelli needed a canine playmate, and we adopted Remy, a basset/beagle from an SPCA a couple of hours away. For nearly a year, Benelli and Remy were the best of friends and life was good. In April 2015, Benelli was a bit picky about her food, eating some of it but leaving much of it in the bowl. I wasn't particularly concerned as we were getting to the end of the bag of food and this was typical behavior for the end of the bag. We went out of town for a couple of days and while we were gone, her condition worsened and she laid on her dog bed, refusing to eat, drink, or get up. We rushed home several days early and took her that afternoon to our vet, who directed us to take her to a nearby specialty hospital. That night, the emergency vet gave her two blood transfusions and pumped her full of medication to help stabilize her and help her body fight what it was dealing with. By the next morning, things were worse and due to her organs failing and Benelli being in a lot of pain, we made the decision to have her put to sleep and end her suffering from Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA). She was two and a half months shy of her third birthday, and losing her devastated my entire family. We had Remy to love and take care of, but the loss of Benelli left a gaping wound in our lives.
Five months later, we knew Remy (who celebrated a year with us the day after Benelli's death and also her second birthday two months later) needed a buddy to pal around with, and we humans were just not enough. I was looking for another basset around her age as we prefer short dogs who are unlikely to jump our fence. Instead, on Halloween 2015, we adopted a five-ish year old overweight beagle who had been abused, and we named him Otis. We adopted from Love Mutts Rescue. Remy and Otis made fast friends, and she plays very well with him (she sometimes forgets she's much bigger though!). I can't imagine my life without a couple of dogs to love.
Benelli Grace (07.01.2012-04.18.2015)
Gone But Always Remembered
Left: Remington Ophelia (b. 07/04/2013)
Right: Otis Ulysses (b. ?10/31/2010)
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