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In awe of my senior girl

2K views 15 replies 9 participants last post by  Augustine 
#1 ·
I will apologize in advance, this will be a long post.

I lost my 12 year old GSD soulmate in November, our female who will be 12 in the fall was depressed after losing him. We knew we are a 2 dog family, and I had a lot of concerns bringing a puppy into the mix. My Mika is a dominant, no nonsense, queen bee sort of gal. She is also very leash reactive. She is the dog who has taught me so much about dog ownership and training. We completed advanced obedience together, and through a lot of hard work and dedication she is much better. She is a wonderful, smart, sweet girl. Since Maxx died she has been very bonded to me. I had a lot of questions and concerns before getting a pup. My breeder guided me to working with a senior and puppy and matched our pup perfectly. I was ready for whatever challenges were to come.

There have been NONE. Our pup is 15 weeks old and he is her baby. She never lets him out of her sight. She always lays at my feet and if he starts getting nippy and puppy crazy, she goes, gets a toy to distract him and plays with him. She loves playing tug and chase with him. If he gets too tired and fussy.....she nuzzles him until he goes to sleep. She never bonded to my Maxx like that. If Maxx looked at her sideways she would tear a strip off of him. Watching her patience with him, how she plays with him and teaches him has left me in such awe of her. Before we got the pup, Mika just wanted to sleep all day, wouldn't play, had kind of lost her spark. Baron has put a spring in her step, joy in her eyes (she is always smiling) and her appetite is back to normal.

I would have never dreamed this could have went so smoothly. I would have bet my next paycheque that I would have had to separate them much more. I'm in such awe of my good old girl. Maybe she needed to be a Mom all this time.
 
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#10 ·
That picture is my favourite too!

And hemangiosarcoma is the worst, my boy was just slightly off 2 days before he passed. Nothing pointed towards the fact he was dying. I work in critical care....I was at work when my husband called to get home. My poor sweet boy waited for me, and was hanging on by a thread when I got there. I felt so helpless. We sedate humans in that case, and I couldn't have gotten him to a vet quick enough to put him down, and there was nothing I could do but love him. The brain death killed me. My only solace was he was surrounded by so much love when he went. He was my one in a lifetime. Hemangio is the worst. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Hearing your beautiful story about your senior and new puppy brings tears of joy to my eyes. I was lucky enough to be in a very similar situation as you for a few months. I had a 16 year old rescued female GSD and got an 8 week old working line puppy and was worried at first they would not get along because my senior was just so old. They had no issues together, I made sure the puppy was crated when unsupervised so my senior could have her rest time. and just like with your senior, she had a huge appetite boost and instead of me dragging her outside for her daily walk, was anxiously waiting for me to take her and the puppy for a walk together everyday. Her eyes would light up and she'd have a big smile just watching the puppy play. I was blessed with having the two together for almost 4 months when I had to put my senior to sleep because she woke up one morning almost completely paralyzed and did not improve. That short time of having the puppy and senior together has to be one of the happiest times of my life, I am so glad that someone else is being blessed with the same. Take TONS of pictures, videos, (share them on here too!) and just cherish this extremely special time that you have with them.
 

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#14 ·
I wish there was a LOVE button for your post. Sounds like our stories are very similar. Funny how the old "Mama's" step up to the plate. I will give my old girl some love for you. From Maxx's death I've learned to cherish every moment. Today the furry crew is enjoying some pig's hide, marrow bones, a pool and lots of sunshine! Thank you for sharing your story!
 
#15 ·
Oh my goodness, such sweet (bittersweet) story. Old mama is doing an awesome job, she's taking her role to heart. Thanks so much for posting, especially those pictures. (my Dynamo had hemangiosarcomo too, I miss her, a tough nut when young, dignified lady when elder)
 
#16 ·
This reminds me so much of my own situation. Granted, it was with my cats, not my GSD. (thankfully she is still very young and healthy)

My senior lost her companion, whom she had been with since she was just a kitten. We've had other cats, but they never got along very well with Scamper. When we lost Lucky (her companion), she was beyond depressed. We ended up adopting 2 kittens, who, as it turns out, were the best thing to ever happen to her. They get along PERFECTLY and I have never, ever seen Scamper so happy. You'd never guess she just turned 10!

..Anyways, I'm happy for the three of you. After what happened, you both deserve lots of happiness in your lives. It's always great when you find the perfect pet, isn't it? The one that just clicks.
 
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