When I was in college, I began working at a busy animal hospital as a veterinary assistant. As much as I adore dogs, I didn’t think it was fair to adopt one with my crazy schedule of classes, work, and friends—until the day I met Brandy.
It was a typical afternoon when I noticed a group of staff clustered around one of the exam room doors. The veterinarian inside was speaking to a man about his dogs, and from the volume of their voices, things were getting heated.
One of the other assistants filled me in on the background story:
The client had brought in all three of his Shih-Tzu/Lhasa-Apso-type dogs weeks earlier for boarding. Not only were they way overdue for all their yearly services, but they were also filthy and severely matted. The receptionist convinced the man to have all of the dogs groomed and thoroughly checked out by a vet during their stay.
After the gentleman left, the staff went to work. The oldest of the three dogs was frail with a serious heart condition. The middle dog, Brandy, was about 11-years-old. In addition to her painful matted coat, her nails were grown into her paw pads, her eyes were caked shut with gunk from an untreated condition, and both of her eardrums were ruptured from years of horrible infections. As for the youngest dog, aside from her appearance, she was quite healthy.
The veterinarian on their case contacted the owner with his findings. Together, they decided to humanely euthanize the oldest dog and do everything necessary for Brandy. She was sedated, shaved down to the skin, bathed, and thoroughly treated for all her ailments. During her stay in the boarding area, she received antibiotics, pain meds, and ointments for her eyes and ears. By the end of her stay, Brandy was a different dog.
My New Dog
When the day came for Brandy and her younger sister to go home, the man dropped a bombshell: he no longer wanted Brandy. In fact, he told the vet, if he were forced to leave with her, he would abandon her on the side of the road.
Suddenly, the exam room door flew open, and the vet scanned the gathered staff.
“Anyone want a dog?” he asked, his eyes landing on me. “Dina! You don’t have any pets. Want to adopt this guy’s dog so I don’t have to put her to sleep?”
Talk about being put on the spot! I had only seen Brandy in passing a few times during her stay. I couldn’t have picked her out of a lineup. But I didn’t want to see an innocent dog die before her time, so just like that, I became the proud owner of an 11-year-old Shih-Tzu with a whole host of health problems.
The man signed Brandy over to me, and I walked back to the kennel to meet my new dog. One of the attendants pointed out her cage. Brandy was black and white with a deep underbite that displayed her crooked bottom teeth. Her eyes were filmy with cataracts, and her ears were rippled with scar tissue.
“Hi,” I said. “I guess you’re my new dog.”
Brandy wagged her crooked tail and placed her front paws on my chest.
One Sassy Lady
I picked up dog food and supplies on the way home, and Brandy and I began the process of getting to know each other. I quickly learned her likes (people food, bones, my bed, older men that resembled her dad 🥺) and dislikes (dog food, dog toys, dogs, eye and ear medicine, being alone).
During my 10-hour shifts, I would set Brandy up in an oversized kennel with lots of fluffy bedding, fresh water, and snacks. But she never stayed there long. Some employee or another would inevitably scoop her up and carry her about. Brandy’s happy place was always in someone’s arms.
As sweet and cuddly as she was, she could be quite the little monster! For example, if I didn’t pick her up the second she pawed my leg, she would sit down, throw her head back, and let out the most sorrowful howl you’ve ever heard!
She also despised other dogs and would charge after them barking, growling, and nipping at their legs. Once she chased off a Rottweiler and a large Hound that had the misfortune of wandering into our yard. She was 10 pounds of pure sass when she wanted to be!
Saying Goodbye
The day I first took Brandy home, her vet told me he would be surprised if she lived another year. On top of her other problems, he suspected she had bladder cancer; but Brandy and I ended up having close to four years together. In many ways, she watched me grow up. She was there when I graduated college; when I bought my first house; she even came along on my first date with my husband!
In 2009 Brandy really began to show her age. She slept most of the day, had more and more accidents in the house, and often seemed to get lost and disoriented. One day she began pacing and walking in circles, always to the left. My vet confirmed my worst fears: Brandy had a brain tumor.
I started her on anti-seizure medication and kept her with me 24 hours a day. Not only did she come to work with me, Brandy also grocery shopped, ran errands, and ate at restaurants (on the patio, of course)—all while strapped to my chest in a baby sling. But as her symptoms got worse, I knew her time was growing short.
On her final day, my soon-to-be husband bought her a McDonald’s cheeseburger and chicken nuggets. We fed them to her as we said goodbye.
Brandy’s Legacy
Brandy was the very first dog that was ever mine and mine alone. She taught me that senior dogs have lots of life left to live and plenty of love left to give. Less than a month after she passed away, my soon-to-be-husband and I adopted another sassy Shih-Tzu mix named Finch. A few years later, we took in Rosie, a death row senior with a heart condition; and the year after that, we adopted Kio, a 13-year-old Chihuahua whose owner passed away suddenly while on vacation in our city.
Now that I am a full-time stay-at-home writer, we also foster an assortment of special seniors as they await their forever homes. Below is our current guest. Her name is Sissy, and she was abandoned on a rural golf course when she could no longer produce puppies.
To learn more about Sissy, contact All 4 Paws Animal Rescue in Pawleys Island, SC at adopt@a4psc.org.
Toledo, United States.
