The Girl With Gastroparesis Got A New Puppy

A lot has gone on in my world recently. I am a new parent!! Wait! Put your eyes back in your head...haha...my baby has four legs, a tail, barks and fur! He's ADORABLE and I know you're jealous!! He's a 7 week old German Shepherd (all black) named Major Legend--but I just call him Legend. I brought him home on Sunday and my life has not been the same. 

Last year on February 1st I had to put my Germam Shepherd, Eden to sleep (she was 11 years old and had cancer). I was absolutely DEVISTATED and didn't think I would ever want another dog. I don't believe Legend is REPLACING Eden...it's more like changing of the guard. Eden was EXTREMELY special to me--she was a Per Therapy Dog--had a fantastic personality, chances bricks, always had to touch me, and was always smiling. With Legend, only time will tell, he's still just a little Peanut. 

Having Gastroparesis has slowed me down a bit, anyone who knew me prior to getting sick can tell you as much. I am hoping that by getting Legend I will have an increase in energy--or, at the very least, he'll be able to take my mind off of a flare-up. It been well documented over the years about the healing effects of pet ownership. Dogs, in particular, seem to have a special affinity for those with special needs and illnesses. There are dogs that alert peope to when they are going to have a seizure, others who seem to be able to sniff out various kinds of cancer, and still others that can detect diabetic complications. [http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/the-healing-power-of-dogs/?_r=0] 

One recent steady discovered that by interacting with a pet increases a person's oxytocin level, the hormone that not only causes us to become more happy and trusting, but, in the long-run, prompts healing in the human body. [http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/03/09/146583986/pet-therapy-how-animals-and-humans-heal-each-other] Who doesn't feel better after hugging a fluffy bunny or cute dog?! 

I can personally attest to visiting people in the hospital and seeing the faces of sick people light up as they would pet Eden and talk about pets they had at home or War Veterans talked about German Shephers they had just like her as partners. Petting a dog does AMAZING things for people. As a patient in a hospital myself who received a visit from a Pet Therapy Dog, it really does brighten your day and make you feel SO much better. 

While I don't intend to turn Legend into a Pet Therapy Dog for the masses like I did Eden, I will use him for myself. Maybe he will learn to detect migraines or Gastroparesis flares. He's SO smart already, so I wouldn't doubt it. Don't EVER turn down the opportunity to have a pet visit if you see one coming. They are VERY worth it!!

My Dog Eden

A year ago today my best friend went to Doggy Heaven. Putting Eden to sleep has been, by far, the hardest thing that I have ever had to do and keeping my act together today has not been easy. Sure, Eden was only a dog...but she wasn't JUST a dog. She was probably the best dog you would ever meet. She was my Baby Eden.

 

I picked her out when she was just a mere two days old, visited her as often as I could, and took her home on Christmas Eve. She was unique in that, she ALWAYS had to touch me when she was riding in the car--she was a Mama's Girl, tried to save me from drowning in the pool--even though I wasn't, and protected me from vicious people at the vet--it was an old lady, but who's keeping tabs?! She was my Baby Eden. 

Eden was a German Shepherd. Big, beautiful, intimidating looking...she thought she was a chihuahua, but we won't hold that against her.  She wanted to play fetch with her ball...or her brick--she wasn't picky--with anyone who would play with her. I trained her to become a Pet Therapy Dog, so we spent weekends at the Veterans Hospital and convalescent hospitals for the first 4-5 years of her life. She loved to make others happy, even if all that meant was climbing up into their hospital bed with them. She was my Baby Eden. 

Once I became sick, she became MY therapy dog. Her job became to make ME feel better. To make ME happy...and she did. Though I couldn't do much more than sit in my dad's shop on the ground, she would bring me her rock to throw and I would hide it in a box. She would entertain herself--and me--by trying to find it. She would see I got tired easily, so she just sat with me. She was my Baby Eden. 

As I grew strong, she would go on walks with me and follow me into the nearby hills by our house. She followed me around our property, never wanting me out of her sight. She was always at the gate watching me leave for work and always waiting there when I came back. She was my Baby Eden. 

It's hard to believe that it's been a year since I had to take Eden in to be put down. And it's hard to believe that I even had to make that decision in the first place. But I had 11 years with her that were AWESOME! She made me smile and laugh SO much. She put up with so much...being dressed up, cried on, squeezed, teased, and never once got grouchy about it. She was the perfect dog. Goodbye, my Baby Eden.