On July 20, 2014 we took a drive to Bozeman to pick up our new little puppy. We had been eager for a puppy and couldn't wait to get there. The road to that day had been filled with anticipation, sadness, joy, anticipation again, then excitement all in that order. We had applied to have her 6 weeks before we picked her up. She was two weeks old when we found the listing for "GSD/Husky (or Gerbarian Shepski as we learned people were calling them)" puppies that needed homes, and wasted no time getting in our application. We waited almost a month to hear from the rescue. I couldn't contain my excitement. We then learned that of the 40+ applicants we were not going to have one, we applied for another puppy here at a local shelter. A few days went by and we received a call from our local shelter telling us we had been second in line, and if the first family didn't want him, he was ours. About two hours later I received an email asking if we were still interested in the first puppy we applied for.
We spent the rest of the day trying to figure out the best route to go. We eventually decided that we wanted the puppy we originally wanted and that we would pass on the second. They allowed us first pick because we preferred a female. We chose solely by photos and nothing more. A few more weeks and we were on the road.
When we arrived at Petsmart in Bozeman we saw a tiny corral with 5 puppies. We were encouraged to find the one we though was ours. We approached the little corral and one puppy in particular was very excited to see us. Like she knew she was the one we wanted. We filled out paperwork, got our coupons, found her a harness and we were headed home but not before Ethan had to chase her around the store.
Her tummy had been pretty upset and she had some stinky puppy farts. I still don't know how we didn't have a mess. We stopped in Helena to visit a friend and have some lunch, but we were eager to get her home and settled in. She slept most of the car ride home. Taking turns snuggling each of us depending on who was driving.
We brought her home on a Sunday. That was the worst Sunday of my life...actually the worst week. We had decided to crate train her and she spent the whole night howling and whining. We disciplined and disciplined and disciplined again. Neither of us got any sleep that night. I distinctly remember having that following Thursday off. I had been up with her practically all night that week (while Ethan slept through it) with her whining and was getting pretty tired. I can remember sitting in the parking lot of Petco with Ethan, crying and asking him if he wanted to return her. Then I cried because of how much of a monster I sounded when the thought actually came out of my mouth. We spent the next week hating ourselves for getting her when we were feeling like we weren't ready... It got easier and her personality came out.
She has been one of the easiest dogs to train, and is so spoiled. We absolutely love this puppy. We have had her about a month and a half. I have done all the research on food and potty training and crate training. She goes almost everywhere with us. That being said, this is where the "Destiny" comes in.
On August 4, 2014 we took her in for her first vet visit with us. We went to a vet recommended by the people that I work with. He seemed okay to me and alerted us to her having a heart murmur. He didn't tell us what it meant, how bad, or what could be done and not done. He just gave her the shots she was due and sent us on our way.
On September 3, 2014 we took her to the same vet again. He gave her the shots due and was ready to send us on our way. Ethan had to ask him to check her heart. When he did so, he informed Ethan that her heart murmur was bad and that if she were human she would be in surgery. I immediately called my mom for advice and my sister for a recommended vet. We were getting a second opinion.
On September 4, 2014 She was diagnosed with a grade 4 heart murmur on a scale of 1-6. Due the the way it sounded he was able to guess that there is a hole somewhere between her left and right atrium's. He went on to explain what that meant, how it puts more strain on her heart and what we could expect. Bottom line was that there was nothing to do. She could live 2 years, she could live 15 and die of cancer, there is really no way of telling.
We are supposed to love her, and give her the best and healthiest possible life. This is something that I feel we were meant to do. Someone skipped out on these puppies so we could have one, we picked the one that would need the most love, and she picked us knowing she would make us stronger. We were meant to have her and we were meant to have the one with the heart problem because we would love her even more because she might not get it for so long...we were meant to have her because someone else might have given her back... it's difficult to deal with the thought of losing her at any time, we have come to really bond with her and care about her. We hope she lives to 17 at least but will take what we can get. We plan on lots of walks and dog parks, HER BEST FRIEND KIWI, good food, minimal treats, and lots of spoiling. She won't fit so well on the bed in 40 more pounds, but we will still get her up there. And she already owns the couch if she wants it.
When you think you couldn't love anything more than your childhood dog(sorry Moxie), raise one, all on your own, teach it how to behave, and it will teach you how to love more, how to forgive when it isn't easy. But most importantly it will teach you how to enjoy the little things.
We love you Zyera, we hope you stay forever. ❤
