December 21 is my birthday! I’m 13 years old and my life has been quite remarkable really.
I was born December 1998. When I was just a baby (4 months old) my family decided they didn’t want me – as cute as I was, so they dumped me and I ended up in a place called the SPCA. The day after I arrived at the SPCA a man and a lady came past my enclosure and I heard him say – “she’s a little cutey!” They were talking about me!
The next day the lady came back and was giving all the other volunteers instructions about what jobs they needed to do. Turns out she was a supervisor and she was delegating all the work to others so she could spend more time with me!
She played with me for a long time and then I fell asleep in her lap (I knew that would work - hehe!)– I heard her saying to people “I’m sorry she has a home”, "no – she’s no longer available" – "no she’s mine now!”
Anyway March 17 I went home with the man and lady who I later learned were Murray and Colleen. They took me to their house where I met their German Shepherd Kala who was 5 years old at time. At first Kala didn’t seem to want me there but we soon became really really good friends and we played and played and played for hours every day! It was great.
Then one day when I was a year old Mum took me to the vet because I had sore legs and was limping 'far too much for such a young dog'. The vet did lots of tests and they said I had luxating patellas (huh?) in both knees and would need surgery!
Then they called us back and told mum I had severe hip displacia in both hips – they lady vet Louise said “her hips aren’t even borderline - they’re completely stuffed”. When Dad got home that night Mum was sitting on the floor with me beside and she was still crying – God only knows what was going on! Kala was waiting for me and Mum wouldn’t let me go!
Anyway Mum started to add stuff to my food and it seemed to make a difference – I wasn’t so sore anymore. I had the knee surgeries and Mum kept me in a cage for 6-8 weeks for each knee. That’s long time for a 1 year old to not be allowed to play – or even go for a proper walk!
Over the years I’ve been back and forth to the vet – once to have the tie taken off one of my knee caps that they’d tied in place – I wish they’d make up their minds. I had to have two claws quarterised because I tore them off when I was playing with Kala on the mini tramps (I got caught in the springs); I split my leg open when I was chasing Kala through the house because stupid Mum had left this big old dehumidifier in the way and I crashed into it.
Kala and I used to go sailing with Mum and Dad too but I unnerved Mum too much because I was all over the boat and Mum and Dad thought all the jumping and falling was bad for my legs so they stopped taking us sailing with them.
Then in February 2005 Kala Jane died – and part of me died too. I loved Kala so much – she was my best friend and I was really sad for weeks and weeks. Mum cried for three weeks without stopping I think. Kala was 11.5 when she died – something called cancer I think! I heard Mum and Dad talking about bringing another dog home. No one could take the place of Kala they said - she was so clever, but in April 2005 Mum took me to a place where there were heaps of dogs. She introduced me to another GSD named Molly. Mum started to cry again (I was pretty used to this by now though). She rang Dad and he came back with us the next day and we brought Molly home for a few hours. Then Molly joined our family April 13 2005. She was 7 or thereabouts but nothing like Kala. She was very mellow and cruisy and didn’t know how to play. Sad eh! I tried really hard to show her how Kala and I used to play but she never really got it – poor girl. But Molly and I also became good friends – not like Kala and I were but I was really glad Molly was there.
But in September 2009 Molly got sick – Mum took her away and Molly came back with her belly shaved – just like Kala. Molly had this cancer thing too and two days later she collapsed. Mum rang Dad and they took me to the vet clinic with Molly – where she died. I was really sad again.
In November 2009 I heard Mum saying to someone on the phone “send her here and I’ll hold her until we can sort something out”. Next thing I know Mum turns up with the crazy bloody 2 year old GSD named Sharni (Sharni Jo)! Man was she a loose digit! I was bit too long in the tooth to be bothered with the nutter like her - Mum promised she’d only be here a short time and that she was going to live in Christchurch. If you’ve never heard a dog in hysterics you should have been there when I heard Mum say that. Two years on and Sharni is still here – of course. She’s a pretty good kid really – nice and very friendly but a bit too spirited for me some days but don’t worry she knows when I’ve had enough and she's learned to respect me.
I also have this thing called spondylosis which flares up now and then and Mum puts me in a crate for a few days to make me rest – and then I come right again.
Last year in May I nearly died though and that was scary. Mum and Dad were about to go out and Dad told Mum when she came downstairs something was really wrong with me – I felt pretty crook I have to say. They bundled me up in the car and drove really fast to the emergency vet. Mum was slapping me in the face and screaming my name because I was unconscious by the time we got to the vet.
I had to stay in hospital that night and the vet told Mum to be prepared ... but the next morning he had no explanation for what had happened and thought there was a dog transplant during the night – I’d ransacked the cage, shredded every piece of newspaper and tangled myself in my IV line 3 times during the night so ‘come and take her home’. I was 11.5 years old and they had my in a cage for God’s sake - I wasn't going to put up with that!
Anyway long story short Mum thought I needed to be checked over by her favourite vet Kevin so they did more tests. The next day Mum rushed me back to the vet clinic and Kevin put me into a deep sleep. When I woke up they’d taken out my spleen because it had been bleeding. This was serious stuff now – I wasn’t as young as I used to be and it was a big surgery for such a petite wee thing. Mum and Dad took me home that night with my IV lines still in and Mum slept on the floor with me all night for about 4 nights.
But hey that was 18 months ago and here I am! Huh - although I still managed to give Mum another big scare just last week actually. Sharni and I had been to the vet again (Did you know Mum has shares in that business!) just for routine stuff though. We were already to go home and Mum got yakking to someone she knew. Well I wasn’t about to just sit there so I polished off 10 x 75mg tablets (my usual dose would be ¼ of one of those tablets per day) – very tasty.
Mum came back to the car and next thing I know she’s rushing me back into the clinic! They made me and Sharni vomit – very undignified! I was really sick though – and I mean really sick but if I hadn’t chucked all the tablets back I would have died from liver damage. Didn’t say that on the label though did it!
My hearing isn’t quite as sharp as it used to be but I still absolutely love my two walks a day – I run every now and then with Sharni just to humour her really. I sleep a lot more than I used to – when you get to my age you’ve pretty much seen it all really. Mum has put a Biomag on my bed for me because she reckons it will help with aches and pains. I’m even allowed up on the sofa beside her at night now.
I still try to take the stairs two at a time but miss every now and then. Mum insists on carrying my up sometimes – that woman! AND I also get to sleep right beside my mum on the days Dad is out of town. Sharni chooses to sleep in the spare room but does come in early in the morning for a quick cuddle before our walk.
Every night Sharni and I run to see Dad when he gets home. He loves me heaps more now than he did when I was a puppy (I kind of chewed a few things up when I was little). He holds my face in his hands while he gently strokes my head and tells me “you’re so precious Shelby Dooby”. He kisses me goodnight on the top of my head every night and then kisses Sharni (he usually gives Mum a kiss too).
I have many nick names too – are you ready for this: Shelby May is my real name but I get called – Shelby Dooby Moochy Moony; Mooch; Smooch (because I really really really love cuddles); Chickadee (Mum even wrote me a little song), Pumpkin; Thumper (because of my really waggie tail hitting against the furniture) Sweet Pea; Stinker Dog; Dirty Little Stinker ('cause I love rolling in muck!); Chicky; Precious little Girl; Punkiedoodles; Mum’s girl; Pumpkin; Cutey Pie - OMG and so it goes on.
But they’re all terms of endearment – especially from Mum. Everybody who meets me thinks I’m pretty cute and they all seem to love my “little face”.
Oh I forgot to say that when Louise my lady vet told Mum about my HD she didn’t say at the time that she only gave me 3-5 years because of the shocking state of my hips – huh what would she know! She got that one wrong but as she said - one of her happier mistakes. I’ve made friends with all the vet nurses and Kevin especially. Mike’s really nice to me too (and I know where they hide the treats there!).
I love my life and celebrate every day. My tail has a mind of it’s own and wags all the time – and I mean all the time - and I know how to smile. Dad reckons that's how my hips got stuffed – because I wag too much. I smile at everything and make the people I meet smile too. Expect for really bad things, like when I was really sick or when Kala and Molly died, I’m happy all the time. (Mum often says she'd love to come back with my spirit - whatever that means).
I’m really pleased I've fooled those vets and will probably send another birthday wish next year!! Life is to enjoy and have fun in - and I do that every single day!
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