Brandy (July 13,1999-October 10,2008)

I was shocked to come home tonight and find my dog Brandy dead on the floor. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, there was something wrong as Brand had been having diarrhea the past 2 weeks. At first I thought it was because I changed the dogs diet a couple weeks ago. But I changed her food back but she was still having problems. I had it in the back of my mind to take a stool sample to the vet next week. I certainly wasn't expecting this.


The sad thing about a dog dying is nobody except you knows what the dog meant. There won't be any funeral, no monuments or prizes to remember the life by. But Brandy was an angel in fur. Her life started out hard. In 1999 I wanted another German Shepherd and saw this ad in the paper. I went down and saw Brandy and her brothers and sisters by the river. They were in dirty surroundings so I had second thoughts.

I kept thinking about Brandy so after a week went by I called the guy and he said he still had her. So I picked her up and brought her home. She was covered in ticks and vomited roundworms, but after that recovered and was on her way.

Brandy was sweet as pie but always a little shy around strangers. I remember once I enrolled her in an obedience class and she was shaking like a leaf the first day. By the end of the class though, she was doing great. They had these contests and she won the "sit" contest. I feel silly but I was very proud of her.

When I got Brandy I had a male German Shepherd named Sam who was a couple of years older. Sam and Brandy were always the best of friends, throughout Sam's life until he died last year. They kind of reminded me of an old couple.

Brandy, like most dogs-had two favorite pasttimes-walking and chasing balls. Brandy loved chasing balls, and she loved hiking in the mountains. I have owned lots of dogs and I have to say without a doubt Brandy loved going out in the mountains more than any other dog.

The past few weeks I guess it was obvious something was wrong, but I never would have imagined it was life threatening. I will feel guilty the rest of my life for not having done something soon enough.

Pay attention to the health of your dog. Today might be their last day on earth.