Repictured Life: For the Love of Dogs

A Bond with a Dog

My dog's name is Max, I have had Max since I was 20 years old and this September, I will have had Max for 8 years. He's getting older; his movement is greatly decreasing, his excitement is calming down, and his face is slowly graying. Unfortunately, my dog is getting old. On top of that, this year has not been a good year for Max. He started losing hair a little over a year ago; It started with patches on his face and neck, then his entire neck, and eventually his whole body. We were in and out of the vet. No one seemed to have any answers at first, but they had lots of maybe's and those maybe's came with dollars signs behind them. WE'RE STRESSED and worried! At that time, we just were finding out that i'm pregnant and we're in the middle of planning and paying for our wedding.

As the week of our wedding approached we hit a turning point. Max collapsed down the stairs and had problems walking. It turned out he was put on a medicine that could of killed him. Thankfully a concerned vet helped us out and we got through our wedding week but of course, not with out some tears. When we got home from our wedding bliss, it was time to really figure out what was going on with Max. First, Max is just treated for hair loss and the vet expresses that something is causing a weak immune system, we just don't know what it is yet. Then a couple weeks later Max gets a huge hot spot almost overnight. We quickly find out that Max has cancer.......

I felt like a such a mess that day. Here I am 6 months pregnant and the vet comes in and tells us it's mass cells. Instantly I'm trying to hold back the tears! As we go through the options I'm balling, and when she leaves the room I am sobbing. I hate crying in public and the clinic ECHOS, but I just couldn't help it. I was a disaster. I was a disaster for a whole week. In fact, my husband yelled at me saying " He isn't dead yet, stop it!" But Max has just been such a rock in my life and seeing him sick killed me. So in the last year Max has had non stop vet visits and has been through:

A few medicines and shampoos
Mites that caused hair loss due to a weak immune system
Cancer
Surgery to have cancer removed (took two weeks to heal)
A period of weekly tonic baths to get the hair to come back
Ear infection
Yeast infections
Allergies
Hot spots (they look like road rash and bleed!)

I value him because he'e been such a GREAT DOG. I have never had a companion like Max until I found my husband. I know weird but it's the truth. Anyone who has ever met Max knows he's rare! Even our vet Dr. Sarah has become quite fond of him and thanks to her Max is doing the best he can do right now.

FINDING A BOND WITH A DOG

I mentioned above that I was just 20 years old when I got Max. I had a bad day and my early twenties where really tough. That day for some reason, I was having a bad day. I thought maybe if I go to the Humane Society it will make my day a little better. Of course, I found Max that day. I paced up and down the kennels most dogs barking insanely or nervous as can be! Then I saw Max. He was different. He wasn't barking. He wasn't busy. When I would stare, he would stare right back. He seemed calm and in a Humane Society! There was something about him. I paced the kennels a little longer but I knew, I just knew he was MY DOG! I put a deposit down on him that day and came back a couple days later to bring him home for the rest of his life. My roommates about had a heart attack when I brought in 80 pounds of black dog! One my roommates screamed and Max turned around and peed on her couch! He was funny too!

Bringing him home wasn't easy. I think Max was abused.... and whoever abuses innocent animals deserves a beating themselves! For the first month, Max would only lay under the canopy I had around my bed and wouldn't move. It seemed to be the ONLY place he felt safe. I had to hand feed him and carry, YES CARRY, an 80 pound dog to and from the bathroom. Finally I took the canopy down and I started to socialize him slowly. That was a journey. It's almost been a life long journey. I took everywhere I could. I took him around people he could trust. Slowly Max started to trust and feel more comfortable being a social dog. Together we have been through 7 different living situations, many roommates, heartache, college, growing closer with family, and growing into a family. Max has been there to cry on when I've been through break up's, when I found out my uncle had cancer, when my uncle died of cancer, when I found out my Grandma had cancer, when she died from cancer, when I was alone, and when I found he had cancer. He's has helped grow the close bond I share with my Aunt and cousin (because man we all love him), he has been there when I found love, when I moved in with my husband, when I married my husband, and when I brought home my first baby. There has been so many milestone and challenges I've experience in the last 8 years and through them all there has been a really great dog, Max.

Max and I on my wedding day