McKenzie is a 12 years young Long Hair Dachshund. We got her about 11 years ago. She was a gift for a child that had puppy love. Once the novelty of owning a puppy wore off, there wasn’t much interest for her. She spent many lonely days on a porch, starved for attention. Eventually, the mother of this boy decided it wasn’t fair to the dog, and offered her to us. For all the years we’ve had her, the toughest mission was trying to avoid and evade her kisses, for the sake of staying dry, and avoiding her dehydrating herself. She has so much love for everyone in our family, that all of my family’s love added together could not come close to a fraction of what she has given us. Being that she was a family pet, she stayed behind with my father and brother while I attended college.
After a couple years of being in college, I missed the companionship of the most honest friend a person can have. I went to the Alachua County pound, and adopted a 7 month old Shepherd, Sable. Sable was the exact opposite of McKenzie. Whereas McKenzie came from neglect, Sable came from abuse. Sable was on her last day of “Doggie Death-Rowe” when I adopted her. She was very shy, and wanted nothing to do with people. Every time I would go to pet her, she would brace herself for a hit. After weeks of giving her space, she mad the inches towards me. She realized that I loved her, and would never hurt her. She was still very shy around people, and not very affectionate. Her biggest display of affection for me occurred when I called maintenance to fix my AC. I didn’t think they would be as fast as they were. I was in the shower when I heard a booming growl/bark, a girl scream, and my bedroom door slam. I quickly wrapped a towel around my waist, and ran out of my bathroom to find Sable scratching relentlessly at the door, while growling and barking. I grabbed her by the collar, and got her into the bathroom. I opened the door to find, not a girl, but a maintenance worker that could be a stunt double for Michael Clark Duncan. From then on, I noticed that Sable would lay in a spot where she could keep an eye on all points of entry, whenever I was in a state of unawareness (sleeping, in the shower, etc.).
Through a series of unfortunate events, and bad choices in roommates, I was forced to leave college, and return home. Sable and I hit the road for the 5 hour drive, in a Hyundai Accent. It was then that I realized how much she loves car rides. If she got loose, the only way I could catch her was to get in my car, and say, “Wanna go Bye Bye?”
I was forced to crash with my father, until I had enough to get back on my feet. That is when Sable and McKenzie met. Both of them have never gotten along with other dogs, but they hit it off immediately. They were inseparable. It was McKenzie that rubbed a lot of love onto Sable, and I noticed a huge change in her. Sable and McKenzie began competing for the title of, “World’s Best Snuggler”. With a Dachshund, it’s cute. With a Shepherd, it means being forced off the bed, couch, or Lazy-boy. Sable also began to show more confidence around other people and dogs. McKenzie would start the fights, Sable would back her up (by fights, I mean stand offs with other dogs while everyone is leashed, and at safe distances).
I had finally saved enough for first, last, and security for an apartment near my mother’s home. In fact, across the street. It was going to be great. I would have someone to dog sit her while I was away or at work.
Night one of my new apartment would be what got me sole custody of McKenzie. My brother took McKenzie with him to our mother’s house, and I took Sable to our new home. I get a call late at night. It’s my mother, and she tells me to get over there, and bring McKenzie to my place. It turns out that McKenzie sat at the side door that faced my place, sniffing and whimpering for hours. McKenzie was so overcome with joy when she entered my house and was greeted by Sable, even though they had only been apart for less than a day. I felt like a father whose 5 year old kid was having a sleepover. All night, I could hear the clinking of their ID tags and county tags as they ran and chased each other all over the house. By the end of their rumpus time, they decided to “hit the sack”, and by that, I mean commandeer my bed and exile me to the couch.
Years went by, and I introduced them to a new member of our family, Danzig. Danzig was a predominately grey, leopard printed kitten no bigger than the palm of my hand. McKenzie, just being herself, immediately took him in. If Danzig did his kitten in distress meow, McKenzie would leap into action. Danzig’s first night was nothing but cuddling from McKenzie. She had picked Danzig up by his scruff, and put him on the bed. She curled around him, and they stayed that way the entire night.
More years would go by before I introduced another addition to our pack. They met my future wife, Stephanie, and she gained the love and affection from the three of them immediately (They would often bare their teeth at my exes). Throughout the years of our engagement, the three of them formed a very special bond. They were movie buddies, snuggle buddies, and give Brendan the cold shoulder when he does something wrong buddies.
After our wedding, we ran into tough times. I was still struggling for work since getting laid off, my wife had to have costly emergency surgery on her teeth, and Danzig had developed a severe blockage in his bladder, twice! He always waits until Friday to have them, so he has to stay over the weekend at the animal hospital. $$$$$. (Personal note to Danzig: You still owe me $1,000!). The common thread that held us together was the love from our pack, but mostly McKenzie. No matter how upset, mad, or angry my wife and I would be at each other, McKenzie was always the one who seemed to make it better.
They all knew how important Stephanie was to me, and had stopped guarding me, and started guarding her. They would not let her out of their sight. They knew they were not allowed on the bed with her, but would each take a door to guard and wait until she was asleep. Then they would Ninja their way onto the bed, while keeping all doors and points of entry in sight.
We lived in a very small apartment, and I was working two part time jobs, and did not have the time to take them to the park, or on many walks. They were stuck in a small space. Between my two jobs and my wife’s job, we were able to play catch-up financially, and found a little more stability in our lives. We decided we needed more space. We went on the hunt for a new place. My stipulation was a place for the girls. Every place we looked at, was it right for McKenzie and Sable (Danzig didn’t matter, because all he needed was a window sill and an occasional moth to chase)? We found a place that we could afford, that had more space, but more importantly, and fenced yard. They loved it. No more leashes, no more being forced to go potty next to each other, and they could hang outside with out me.
We developed our rituals. I would wake up in the early morning to have coffee, and hang with them in the back yard before work. They would come back inside, Ninja their way back into bed with my wife, and watch her while I was at work. I would often come home from work to find my wife and the 3 of them on the couch watching TV, or in the kitchen making dinner, or sometimes napping. McKenzie could sometimes manage to inch her way onto the bed while my wife would be watching a movie, and the inadvertently end up snuggling.
This past week, we noticed McKenzie walking wobbly, and eventually her back legs gave out. We took her to the vet, and it’s possible she has a pinched disc. The vet prescribed some meds for her, and wanted to make surgery a last resort. She is confident the meds will work, but was obliged to inform us of the possibility of what would happen if they don’t work. She would need emergency surgery, and the cost of the tests and operation would come to about $7k. My heart sank, as I knew we could not afford that. It was made known that further inflammation could lead to paralysis, and possibly the inevitable. While McKenzie is a loaner from God, we are not prepared to give her back yet. She is perfectly healthy, aside from her recent injury. I hope you enjoyed our family’s biography, and please cuddle your pet, give them a break from cuddling you, and include them in your prayers.

— Brendan from Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Mark, one year ago this last May, we adopted Sadie Sue! My step daughter, (17) talked my wife into getting a dog. My wife not a fan of dogs, asked what should we do to get one. I immediately said lets go to the local shelter.
My step daughter and I went. She was interested in a small purse type dog, (current fad). Yet all these dogs seems a little to high strung, even for her. She asked did I see anything, I said yes, a Cocker spaniel/golden lab mix. This dog was a mess, matted hair, Slighty ungroomed and the saddest eyes. My step daughter took no interest.
As we were leaving the shelter, two workers had Sadie Sue outside at the door. My step daughter walked up, knelt down, and Sadie Sue Stepped up and laid her head on her lap.
Mark, we did not pick this dog, she picked us. At that moment, Sadie Sue knew how to win over my step daughter, to the point she could not get Sadie out of her mind.
Sadie Sue is the best dog anyone could ask for, she is 10 years old, and my wife is total in love with this dog.
The joy she brings our family, cannot be measured or put into words! Makes us wonder how we ever got along without her!
You stated many times, there are wonderful dogs at shelters, and Mark you were right!

— Neal from Freeport, IL

Our family dog Subaka who was with us for 16 years, was put to sleep on 9/7/2010.
She was a joy to us all through out her life and gave us nothing but happiness for all those years. Now we wait for the sorrow to go away but it will be with us for a while because it’s very hard to forget. Farewell best friend.

— Andy from Salisbury Mills, NY

Kylo was a recue dog that our family got when he was less than a year old. I remember meeting him and his owner then at a community park so we could get to know him and right off, we fell in love with him with his big floppy ears and huge paws. He was to us a very unique dog with a chocolate brown coat and short stubby tail that wagged like there was no tomorrow. Without hesitation, he became part of the family.
Over the years, we walked; we hiked the hills surrounding our city of Livermore. We took Kylo to the beach in San Francisco one time after an earlier trip where we noticed others out playing with their dogs, tossing balls into the ocean and Frisbees where their dogs would go and retrieve them back so we thought nothing of bringing Kylo on our next trip. He was so excited to go and once we got there, we took him to see what the ocean was like. I took him off his leash and he loved to go after the ball so I tossed it into the ocean waves and off he went to retrieve it and as he came back to me he saw another dog on the beach and being the social dog that he was, he ran past me, leaping over sun tanning bodies as he went from dog to dog. This continued for about 20 minutes as others helped to corral my excited Kylo. That was the last time we took him there.
About a year ago, I came home from work and as I always did to go and play with Kylo but this was a day i would not forget. Kylo did not come to me but was trying desperately to vomit and he had a glazed look in his eyes reaching for help. We rushed him to the only veterinarian hospital that was open late. The friendly staff rushed him into the back and within minutes, the doctor came out and told us the only way to save him would be to operate on him as he was suffering from GDV and that depending on the damage and when this occurred that there may be damage to the tissue so complications could set in and so there was a 50/50 chance of survival but there was something else that showed up on the x-ray, a dark spot on the lung and to consider that it could be a tumor. We gave our consent for the GDV surgery and waited. The doctor later came out and said that surgery went well and that the spleen had to be removed during the procedure and that infection would have to be watched for over the next week. 3 days later Kylo had an elevated temperature and so we took him back in where it was discovered that he did have an infection and the doctor told us that he would have to go back in for more surgery but due to his age and recent surgery, he might not survive. We again consented to the surgery but asked that while Kylo was under the anesthesia to give us a report on his condition so if euthanasia was to be an option. 45 minutes later we received news that the infection was not associated with the previous operation and it was isolated so there was a good chance for recovery if we proceeded and of course we consented.
Over the last year, he has changed, we have seen Kylo age where he no longer wants to run or walk far. He has gotten thinner. Today, we are going to say goodbye to him as he has stopped eating and can no longer get out of his bed and I can see in his eyes, he tells me it is time. This will be the hardest thing that I will be doing and I hope it is the right thing when I place that dreaded call to my veterinarian.

— Randy from Livermore, CA

Eleven years ago I was going through a bitter divorce. At the same time, a good friend was struggling with what was to be the last stage of her battle with cancer. Due to her illness, Kathy needed to find a home for her 5-month-old yellow lab puppy, Bailey.

My two teens and I were the fortunate family that took him into our home.
We managed to survive the early years with Bailey, including his chewing on shoes, clothes, my son’s jet ski life vest, and constant counter surfing any time we turned our backs.

Now, the kids are hard working adults and owners of their own yellow labs with many of their own stories to tell: Buddy, who as a puppy jumped out of the back of my son’s truck on a back country road and a few years later pushed an air conditioning unit out of the 2nd floor window, and Brodie, my daughter’s lab, who made a special effort to swim out to greet the only boater on the water in Charleston, SC, where she lives. As you may note, they have kept the “B” theme with the names.

For the last five years, it has been just my companion with me at home. We are getting old together. I had a knee replacement two years ago, and he now needs a lift when getting up on my bed. But at 11 ½, he still is doing great.

Bailey started out as Kathy’s puppy. I am grateful she chose such a wonderful dog. I know he was and is a gift from God. I am so blessed to be his adopted mom.

— Anne from Frederick, MD

I would like to tell you about my dog white pit bull named, Mykayla. She loved everyone she met (except squirrels, cats and over pushy dogs).   She was happy everyday of her life until her legs turned to rubber and she collapsed in front of me July of 2005.  I rushed her to the first doctor that made me wait with her in my arms for 21/2 hours.  She seemed alert and happy at this point but was declining.  One side of her face was drooping a bit and she was drooling. One side of her body was not working, front and back leg. ( I was trying to be tough but was crying the whole time).Once they saw her they offered no advice, nothing! And when I asked about many different options they said no, no, no. Only to come back Monday (this was Friday night) for an MRI. I said, “Do I have to wait that long”? Their answer was,”She probably won’t die before then”. I took Mykayla home and then realized I don’t know how to have her go to the bathroom and went back the next morning for them to show me how to express her bladder. It was so full I thought it would burst! I didn’t want to go back there again and paying around $300.00, so I went to a vet in Riverdale closer to me. They took x-rays of Mykayla and blood tests, found nothing wrong but recommended a hospital 11/2 hours away and the doctor said he would monitor every move. Mykayla was alert at this time but sad and scared. My daughter drove her to the hospital that night, now 3 days after Mykayla collapsed. When we admitted her at the hospital a deposit had to be made up front and financial papers signed and the approximate cost they said would be $8,000. We put a sizable down payment on a credit card. To sum this horrible where they almost killed my dog….they preformed tests on my dog that were unauthorized. I had to leave her there to go to finish some work so that I could be freed up to be available. During this time I couldn’t get anyone on the phone to tell me what was going on with my dog. They lied to me….stalled me, etc. Even the local doctor who said he would monitor every move did not. I drove down there to take my dog home. When I saw the condition of my dog I was so angry you have no idea! I had taken her food initially because of being a “down dog” (not able to walk) she should eat her food softened. They wrote the instructions and put her food labeled in the refrigerator…but didn’t give her a drop! They tried to say she wouldn’t eat …and they told me she had diaherrea….I warned them how important that she only have her food because she will get sick if she is switched but in three days they didn’t take the time to hand feed her. I took pictures of her and the shaved skin on her side where they did a muscle biopsy and claimed to me that she had a bed sore. You could see her ribs. She was freezing, shaking and filthy dirty. I had taken some Holistic Remedies with me and food. Thinking she would stay as they recommended. But I knew before I went there that I needed to bring her home and I was right. She would never have made it to Saturday. I made them bring her to an examine room and I put blankets on her, gave her the remedies, feed her and cleaned her! She was completely dehydrated. Mykayla drank 11/2 liters of water on the spot and ate 21/2 cups of softened food! I stood by her on the gurney from 9pm til 3am until they kicked me out and I slept in my car and at 8am I took her from that hell hole on a stretcher and after sending most of them to hell for the treatment of my dog….I and crying I said “And my dog will walk again”!
I prayed so hard…I said, “GOD you created this beautiful dog for me to love and I’m not ready to loose her, please heal her”! I know HE helped me and Mykayla. I propped her with pillows, I expressed her bladder that would sometimes take an hour and I gave her enemas. I treated her with herbs and homeopathy….I hand feed her and I slept on the floor next to her sleeping maybe only 4 hours a night. My biggest concern was that her internal organs would shut. She had never been sick before in her life except when my daughter bought the wrong food, so she had that going for her. We saw progress and then many days when I questioned if I was doing the right thing by her. But what kept me going were the dreams that I know GOD gave me, my daughter and my neighbor who used to help in the morning shift to go outside. In all our dreams Mykayla was walking. After 4 months, I asked GOD to please have her walk on the next Sunday. That Sunday came and went and she didn’t stand. But the next Sunday ….she stood! I couldn’t believe my eyes! What I learned from this experience was to ask GOD but not tell HIM when!!!! I forgot to mention that I took Mykayla swimming to help re-build her muscles that had diminished and I would stretch her legs as physical therapy. But here’s the most fantastic thing…..in my constant research I read about frankincense oil; I was using others but decided to use this one. I really didn’t know how she could get her muscle mass back and I prayed about that too. After I applied the frankincense to her paws and down her spine, I saw the most amazing results. She began snoring in the deepest sleep and while lying on her side, began running and running and running. And day by day I could see her muscles building. It was a miracle!
I then made a carrier for my 50lb. dog so that I could relieve the friends who helped me carry her up and down the steps. And even after she began walking she could only go up the steps with me spotting her but for the next 4 years of her life, I hand fed her 4 times a day gave her $200.00 worth of people herbs and vitamins a month….and loved her to death. I have a video of her playing ball….she had a funny hop because some damage was down to her front legs. I believe it was from mold in the home I lived in because I too was sick for 2 1/2 years and didn’t know why but I was treating my sinus infections but poor Mykayla couldn’t tell me anything was wrong with her and she always seemed fine except in looking back there were a couple of times leading up to her collapse where I did see a couple of signs.

Well I vowed that as long as Mykayla was never in any pain I would do whatever it took to keep her with me. I have had many dogs in my life…growing up on a farm in Michigan and after…..but never a dog with her beauty inside and out. Everyone love Mykayla she was the embodiment of LOVE. ….all wrapped in a beautiful PIT BULL. In October of 2009 2 times Mykayla cried in pain and became stiff for a brief time gazing into space. I knew for a few months that the day was coming and I constantly tried to prepare myself to deal with that reality. My daughter picked Mykayla and me up and we went….my friend had made arrangements for me because I couldn’t. Once we were in the car Mykayla only picked her head up once…when my daughter left the car. Once she came back she continued to sleep in my arms. When we were in the waiting room filled with other animals she didn’t even look around. When we went to the examine room….she never checked anyone out, not her normal behavior even though she was totally with it. They gave me time alone with her and I was crying hard while kissing her face and she pulled away from me! My friend said, “Stop crying honey…it’s not good for her”, and he was right. When I stopped crying she didn’t pull away. She didn’t want me to cry…. Mykayla was fifteen and one half years old.
I will miss you forever, Mykayla

— Victoria from Riverdale, NY