6 years ago April came to us. She is a standard Doxie. April was 7 years old when we got her, she was a rescue dog. An old woman in Maine had her and passed away. Her children did not want her so they put her in the dog pound. It was the last day and she was saved by us. She came to us across Long Island sound from Connecticut\via the ferry. This was the day my husband came home from the hospital from open heart surgery! April and my husband bonded and have been pals ever since.

My dog also had problems with his hindquarters and would have to be put down someday. Well, that terrible day came on June 1,99. My sweet Cowboy (welsh corgi/queensland heeler mix) was put down that day. He couldn't stand on his hind legs at all. He never seemed to be in any pain but I couldn't continue to see him struggle trying to get around. My daughters gave him to me for Christmas 1989. At the time I was separated from my husband and feeling pretty lonely. My husband didn't want a house dog, but since he wasn't here the girls got me a companion. Thank sweet bundle of fun became my shadow. There wasn't anyone around who didn't know that I belonged to Cowboy. My husband & I worked things out and he moved back home. Everytime he came near me Cowboy would growl at him. Cowboy slept next to my side of the bed. When my husband would get up for work, Cowboy would jump up and sleep right next to me. He sat next to my chair in the living room. If I got up to go to another room, Cowboy was right beside me. Cowboy also was a great swimmer. He would dive into the pool and do laps with me. He would run around the deck so fast that many times he would lose his balance and fall into the water. If I came out of my room dressed in my bathing suit, Cowboy would start jumping up and down on the couch, barking and letting me me know he wanted to go swimming. I think all the running around the deck was what eventually did him in. He had nerve damage to his back legs and became paralyzed. On the morning of his last day with me, I videotaped him as I talked to him. I will cherish that tape forever. My husband cried when he left him off at the vets. I couldn't be there for any of that. My husband says that Cowboy is in Doggie Heaven and he is patiently waiting for me to join him someday. I don't look forward to death, but I do look forward to the day I can see my sweet, sweet Cowboy again.

I have a black lab/chow mix that I got from my vet when one of my dog's was poisoned by some cruel person trying to get rid of some strays that were in the neighborhood because of breeding season. Alley was in our fence but my neighbor took his dog out for a walk everyday in front of my fence. His dog picked up the poisoned meat first and was dead in an hour. When he made his dog spit it out it was within digging reach under my gate and Alley dug to reach it. She was such a little piggy she ate it all but a crumb that our other dog Tramp found later in the afternoon and got sick from also. Alley survived 3 days sedated and trying to give her body time to throw off the effects of the poison but she just couldn't do it. Tramp got only a touch of it and the antidote was enough to save him.

Anyway, we adopted Shadow from the vet after we lost Alley. She and her brother had been found on the side of the freeway by on of the vet's employee's sister. She had mange and worms and looked pitiful at about 6 weeks of age much like Alley did when I rescued her. I took her home and gave her lots of love and she wormed her way into my heart quickly. She limped all the time though and I thought it was because Tramp tugged on her back legs when they played. I finally had to take her to the vet to find out what was causing her pain and of course it couldn't be anything else but hip dysplasia. The surgery our vet recommended meant she would limp for the rest of her life but would not be in pain. I opted to take her to and orthopedic specialist. He x-rayed her and found she had hip dysplasia in both hips, not just one and told me of a surgery he could do that would mean she would not limp and be pain free for as long as she lived. It was called triple pelvic osteotomy. She had it done on the worst hip first and took longer than expected to get over it. Then I had the second hip done and she got over it much quicker. A year after her surgery we went back for the checkup and told the vet to please remove the springs he must have installed because she can jump straight up almost 6 feet. His response was "What springs?" Her x-rays showed she had healed perfectly and all her hardware could be removed and you would never know she had had dysplasia at all.

I have a 4 ft. fence that I had to have slanted post tops and smooth wire installed in to keep her in her yard. I also live in a mobil home and she jumps onto the front porch from the sidewalk without ever touching the 5 steps. Needless to say she shows no signs of any pain. My mother still can't believe I spent as much money on her as I did because she is nothing but a stray and not a pedigreed dog but that didn't matter to me, as the love in my heart is the same no matter what kind of dog she is. Shadow is a healthy, happy 5 year old dog now and gives back to Tramp what he dishes out to her. She can hold her own. She will live the rest of her life pain free and able to do anything she wants to. I would highly suggest to anyone that has a dog with hip dysplasia to investigate into the surgery Shadow had. It has to be done before the dog is 1 year old and/or before any arthritis sets in. It was well worth the money I spent and will have Shadow for many years to come to love and share my life with. Oh yeah, she was spayed at 6 months and Tramp is neutered.

I don't believe in unwanted puppies and will not ever consider breeding a dog that could pass on something like hip dysplasia or mange. Hope you enjoy her story as much as she brings joy into my life.

I have a miniature Shanauzer named Buddy, he really thinks he is human LOL, he is spoiled rotten. He has brought so much joy into my life I cant even begin to tell you. We got him at 6 months old, he was an abused puppy, so now he still fears lots of things. This makes me sad, as we show him so much love. He shows his love back to us but it hurts to see him being afraid. We have him 9 1/2 years now. We really were blessed the day we got him.