Our story and thanks to one person

[SophiesChoice]

This is my first post to the Labradoodle forums although I've been a long time reader but I have a story I need to share.

Warning, this might end up being long.

6 years ago we decided to adopt a puppy. After months of consideration we decided an English Springer Spaniel would be the breed of choice. We did our research, searched for breeders until we found one we were happy with. I drove the two states away where she lived and "met the parents" (she didn't allow people to interact with puppies normally but since she had no litters allowed me to come) She had a litter being born in early April, we were first on the "list". We picked a outgoing, bouncy, perfect, beautiful classic colored girl who's mother was amazing. Since we had a family vacation scheduled the first week of June we made arrangements to pick the puppy up at 9 weeks instead of 8. When we went to pick up our little girl we brought our 3rd son with us who was 8 at the time. When we arrived our Sophie was there waiting full of vigor and excitement but there was a problem, not only was Sophie there but so was the runt of the litter who had decided to affix himself to my son. Long story short, we left with two English Springer Spaniels, Sophie and T.J. (my 8 year old is named Tyler), you get the picture. On the way home we stopped and purchased a second set of puppy supplies including a second crate.

The good days: Once home things progressed exceptionally well, both dogs were all that you could ask for, funny, smart, eager to please, super easy to train. I can honestly say, I don't remember either one of them ever doing their business in the house. It was crate, walk (go potty), play, feed, walk, crate for a few weeks with the play time getting longer as each week passed. Soon both would go potty when asked, sit, lay, stay with hand signals only and their favorite game was to "stay" at the front door while I hid treats and they would "sniff" them out, they loved that game. By about 6 months it was obvious that while both were exceptionally good dogs they were different. Sophie was outgoing, excited, sometimes stubborn a fat bundle of this world was made for me! T.J. was calm, sensitive, never stubborn, skinny, small, center of I love you gravity. This was a good time...a very good time.

The hard days: Sadly, the good times didn't last. While Sophie was thriving, TJ was not growing very much. TJ was not gaining weight or size and would sometimes bit his own leg for no apparent reason. We of course took him to our vet who explained that runts often take longer to thrive and sometimes never do. TJ's slow spiral was the most frustrating and painful experience of my life, literally. Here we had this dog we loved, who loved us and we could not figure out what was wrong with him despite repeated visits to our vet. Finally at about a year TJ's symptoms worsened, he started convulsing. I won't go into the details as they still bring me to tears today but after referrals to 2 different regional hospitals TJ was diagnosed with an intra (hepatic) liver shunt. At this point I should add an additional point, my previously emotionally unavailable 14 year old son (aren't they all at that age) had adopted TJ from his younger brother, TJ had become his constant companion, his excuse to be 14 yet emotionally connected. We were in a catch 22, TJ needed two operations to have any chance to survive but because it had taken so long to diagnose him, none of the Dr's. were confident he would survive the anesthesia not even considering the actual operation. We had to get him strengthened up if they had even a slight chance to save him. They were doubtful the shunt was operable due to it being so far in his liver but we wanted to try. He went on a ultra low protein diet, took antibiotics, ammonia & proteins were his enemy. He had a IV in his arm through which Valium could be administered in case of convulsion and we cared for him, the best we could.

TJ put up a good fight but one Sunday afternoon we could not get him to stop convulsing, he was in pain. I took him to the regional hospital where they rushed him in, they knew his situation from our previous visits. Finally the Vet came into the room where I was holding him after they had sedated him and told me the cold hard truth, they didn't know what to do next, how to proceed unless he got stronger. I called home to talk to my 14 year old son who wasn't home when I had to take TJ to the vet. I told him the situation and explained what the next steps were, to come home and continue to try and get TJ strong enough for surgery. What came next has been my proudest moment as a parent. He said "Dad no, he's suffered enough for us, don't let him suffer anymore" That day, I held TJ as he took his last breath, it was an honor.

The happy aftermath, Sophie as queen.
As you might imagine after the loss of TJ our family was devastated my 14 year old son in particular. I guess the outcome should have been expected, Sophie became the most loved dog in the world. I no longer had to remind the boys to walk her, doors to rooms previously closed were open and her crate went unused, she had beds to sleep in now! She's spoiled rotten to be sure but still a great dog, obeys completely, walks on heel of lead, responds to hand commands without verbal needed but ultra attached. If I go out of town for work, she does not eat properly. If my voice changes in the slightest she knows and sulks. Minor stuff and not unexpected after our spoiling of her.

How this relates to you.

I'm sure the long winded e-mails with question after question must get overwhelming sometimes, especially when many never decide to get one of your puppies. As you read them just remember that some are like people like our family. We are cautious and a little scared, we know that despite all the joy a new dog can bring, it too can potentially break your heart. We ask about price not because we don't respect and appreciate your efforts but because despite it not being the first consideration, for a family like ours the addition of a new puppy means the boys voted to forgo any vacation this year when given the choice between a new dog and a trip to Florida.

Credit where credit is due:

The real reason I wrote this message is to get to this point. There is a member of this forum who I've been corresponding with during my search for our next family member and wanted to thank. If this person is reading this post once I mentioned the name of my girl Sophie, she may recognize me as the multi e-mail guy. I never told her the first part of this story, only the part about how Sophie is now and asked questions about the right temperament of the puppy we bring into our home. And while I may or may not (timing, cost, size, color, temperament) ultimately end up bringing home a puppy from this person who has been extremely caring and helpful AND I wanted to say thank you.

The thing this personsaid in the closing of each of her e-mails to me which made me want to write this post;

"Please call if i can help you in anyway wheither you buy a pup from me or not I'm here to help"

Thank you, sincerely

Bill

Sorry for the long winded first post...but it's been 6 years coming.

Edit: The 14 year old is 20 now and in his second year of college. The collar I removed from TJ that last Sunday hangs from his backpack, as it has every backpack for the last 6 years.



PS: editing done by a moderator/site admin BUT at same time
BILL i'll tell you this person is reading your post and you have touched their heart deeply as well as many of us members

[Doodlesville]

Bill
Wow,, You never know who or how you can bless someone,,
Im thankful
I am in Tears, Your Poor family,,Poor Sophie
Now i understand completly,

I went thru that ,, and its soo very hard

Thank you for the Acknowlegemenat here, this means the world to me

and I do mean it,, I am here to help anyone, in anyway i can
I truly want to make sure everyone makes the right decision that blesses puppy as well as family
our top concern is right placement for our puppies, as you already know,,
I truly want it to be the perfect fit as best as i can

Blessings my friend and thank you again
Nancy

[lindamarie]

BILL! OMGOSH!!
I had to read your story out loud to my husband. We were BOTH so very touched.
What an incredible story! Not only that, but just before we got Bogart, we had to put Casey, OUR black/white English Springer Spaniel to sleep.

If I go out of town for work, she does not eat properly. If my voice changes in the slightest she knows and sulks. Minor stuff and not unexpected after our spoiling of her.

This was sooooooo like our Casey!! GOD! I loved that dog!!

Nancy.........you are going to be making one family so happy! AND! You just KNOW that little pup will be in the best of hands and care!

[Doodlesville]

LINDA you are so right, Bill is just the person and home I and other breeders always try to look for our pups.

[SilverLoka]

Oh what a sad story, can't stop crying (but then again, I cried when I read an e-mail from a, very hopeful looking, potential puppy buyer today = sentimenatl? Yup).

Good luck with any future dog(s) if it's a doodle or not

[SophiesChoice]

Thank you all very much for the warm responses. I told myself I was writing to say thank you but in reality the post ended up being as much for me, 6 years is a long time to suppress those feelings. It's funny, the search for a new puppy really opened our eyes to the feelings we had about loosing TJ. At the time we were just able to focus our love on Sophie and I'm not sure we ever really dealt with his loss until now. My wife even asked, "your not trying to replace Sophie are you?" We had a strange growth scare with Sophie 2 weeks ago, had a needle sample and biopsy taken, it's not cancer but was scary all the same.

I guess my other point was that I know we potential adopters can sometimes drive you crazy with questions but at least in our case it really does come from a place of wanting to make the right decision for the next 12-15 years (longer than the average marriage in the US)

We are currently at a temporary impasse, I want larger (60lbs+), my wife wants smaller (45-50bls). I don't care about color, she loves dark rich colors. I want gregarious and outgoing a troublemaker, she wants calm docile. After 20years of being married, we will work those "little" details out without issue.

Brings Mars/Venus to mind.

The good news is we are talking about which dog to get instead of if we should get a dog.

A little story; I work in the restaurant industry and one day a server came to me to complain about how rude a guest was being to her. I went over to talk to the table and after our 15 minute conversation came away with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. The gathering was to celebrate the passing of their mother, a dinner before everyone went home from the funeral.

It was that day I learned how much context matters.

Thanks again and don't be sad, we aren't, we are excited!

[lindamarie]

It was that day I learned how much context matters.

ABSOLUTELY!!
And I/we are so honored to have someone as loving and compassionate as you to join our doodle family!
We are here for you and love being of help in your decisions and heart/soul discussions.

[Doodlesville]

Bill you are such a blessing to the world and your story makes me appreciate you more.

If you are considering doodles (labradoodles, goldendoodles, aussiedoodles) they are are great dogs that are very people oriented, intelligent, easy to train , great temperament , very loving and quite comical too while have great temperaments.

[MaxandMe]

BIll........ I am sitting here trying to think of what to say and it's like i am speechless. YOUR story touched my heart deeply.
You are the kind of person with a family that give dogs a very loving and good life. I am sorry about your loss yet you gave
TJ the best care and love that some would have given up on.......i have to say you are probably one of the most sincerest people
i've met and i dont' know you but your story conveys so much at the same time. Your realistic and positive view in life
is what people need to hear/read. Your 14yr old, i have 3 kids finally ages 18 thru 22yrs old BUT your 14yr old really is very
empathetic and mature while caring and loving to have said what you wrote. TJ he will never be forgotten and sometimes
things happen for a reason .........I am glad you found a breeder that befriended you and at same time helped you through
a very rough time.

Bill........forget about size. OR maybe i should say this. I have MAX a labradoodle the puppy no one wanted cause he was
too easy going and on quiet side but ever so sweet AND his tail never grew , it's stumpy 4in tail
Somehow my words of i'll never get another dog.....well my fiance that i told: OK let's go look and get it out of your system
andmy kids. Just remember, we're not coming home with a dog" 6 hours later we went to the breeders and well
MAX came home with us. HE"s the type of dog with a temperament i looked for my whole life and just this past fall
guess what?
HE SAVED my life! he's a natural born MEDIC ALERT DOG. I stopped breathing in my sleep and well MAX somehow grew
to 100lbs and 26in tall and was standing on me while my goldendoodle (who was a runt too) was body slamming me

THESE dogs my loving doodles .........they kept at me till they got me to breathe while my fiance was 900 ft away
heard MAX Barking in a different way came running and helped the dogs to get me up and going again.

Why am I telling you this? Peanut the runt of the litter, well she has some problems but hers are due to my stopping
an anaphylaxtic reaction going full blown and has unknown allergies. I do my best to help her out. SHE was tiny
now she's nicknamed TANK-A-Doodle due to her broad build ....she's only 22.5in tall but is 65lbs.


SIZE..... max is big but walks like a poodle and you cannot feel him getting up on my bed if i invite him up
HE also helped me as i had a major spinal cord surgery with very extensive nerve repair. He pickedup things i dropped,
got me up and down stairs, always aided me when i wa off balance and much much more. Peanut, when i had
migraines from the myelogram dyes going into my head she somehow would put her head against mine and got
me for 15 min at a time to relax ..........it's like she knew the pain i was in.

IF i got sick and ran a high fever of 102.5 Peanut would wake me up and Max would help.


So what i am saying............I am in tears of TJ but at same time YOUR LIFE was blessed and perhaps
we all have a better appreciation of life of both humans and dogs.

BILL , personally i'd say DOODLE is just the right kind of dog for you and your family.....OH many members here have had or do
have the same spaniels you do. DOODLES are similar : easy to train, intelligent, extremely LOVING but love to be by your side
get along with almost any dog and the kindest sweetest yet comical dog at the same time.


BILL.......i'll PM you as we don't mention breeders but i can vouch that the breeder does have good dogs and other members
have sung high praises about this person's dogs.

OH .....i stuck to my word about NOT having another dog------ i got 2 DOGS instead (not one)

[LabyLabradoodle]

Bill you are filled with blessings from God. Good luck with your life. Your story inspired me. Thank you for inspiring me.