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I lost my Dobe girl last week. She was only five years old. She spent the first two of those years trying to eat my house and destroy my sanity bit by bit. She shredded recliners (yes, plural), curtains, various beds and towels, all with impressive efficiency and joy. She snapped a water line causing an impressive 60ish foot geyser. I swore I was paying penance for some past transgressions. I've done lots and lots and lots of rescue with special needs dogs, feeling all smug about the dogs we'd rehabilitated and successfully placed with a variety of special needs and behavioral issues. And yet I met my match and subsequent humility with a six month old Dobe puppy with a clean slate. No baggage, no emotional issues, happy as a clam with a bombproof temperament. And that love of shredding stuff. As far as she knew, her name was TANGO NOOOO!
She had been kicked by a horse as a small puppy, and her leg was severely damaged. The vet fixed it up; it just needed time to heal. My understanding is that the former owners did not follow through with aftercare and her leg ended up shattered somehow. They decided not to dump the money into an "ugly" dog (her ears had a sorry crop job) and abandoned her at the clinic for euth. The vet had them sign her over and he just kept her and tried to repair the leg again. It was during this time that we adopted her at six months of age. We ultimately had the leg amputated because it never healed well, was in atrophy, and causing her great pain. She couldn't use it anyway, and it was only hurting her, so we ditched the leg. Within 24 hours, she was all eff that leg and bouncing around happily. It didn't slow her down at all.
Last week, she was doing her usual evening zoomies routine, running ruts into the yard and just having herself a good time when she suddenly collapsed and died. We rushed her to the vet anyway, but she was gone. The vet believes it was an undetected heart issue. It was so sudden. I guess if she absolutely had to go right then, I'm glad she went doing something she loved, suddenly and with no suffering. The puppy sent to test my patience became the best dog ever. Absolutely bombproof and would have made a fabulous therapy dog. One of those things I always meant to get back into except for life getting crazy.
RIP Tango. Down. Stay. Good girl.
She had been kicked by a horse as a small puppy, and her leg was severely damaged. The vet fixed it up; it just needed time to heal. My understanding is that the former owners did not follow through with aftercare and her leg ended up shattered somehow. They decided not to dump the money into an "ugly" dog (her ears had a sorry crop job) and abandoned her at the clinic for euth. The vet had them sign her over and he just kept her and tried to repair the leg again. It was during this time that we adopted her at six months of age. We ultimately had the leg amputated because it never healed well, was in atrophy, and causing her great pain. She couldn't use it anyway, and it was only hurting her, so we ditched the leg. Within 24 hours, she was all eff that leg and bouncing around happily. It didn't slow her down at all.
Last week, she was doing her usual evening zoomies routine, running ruts into the yard and just having herself a good time when she suddenly collapsed and died. We rushed her to the vet anyway, but she was gone. The vet believes it was an undetected heart issue. It was so sudden. I guess if she absolutely had to go right then, I'm glad she went doing something she loved, suddenly and with no suffering. The puppy sent to test my patience became the best dog ever. Absolutely bombproof and would have made a fabulous therapy dog. One of those things I always meant to get back into except for life getting crazy.
RIP Tango. Down. Stay. Good girl.
Heartbreaking.
amanda
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