Dottie'sStory

My Dotty

Dottie was born on 27 of August 2000,
her mum Florence was the first bully I had ever met, I
first saw Dottie at 4 weeks old I sat down with all the babies and she waddled over to me like a little guinea pig.
I took o/h back that night and told him I'd already been chosen but wanted to see who chose him yep you guessed Dottie waddled to him as well, he picked her up and she went to sleep all wrapped up in his jacket love at first sight for all of us.

paid the deposit there and then, once Dottie reached 6 weeks I was asked to go back everyday to spend sometime with her (luckily lived only 10 mile away) think Florence wanted to make sure I was suitable to adopt her baby !!
finally got her home at 8 weeks seemed for ever before she moved in.

hadn't told son she was coming wanted her to be a surprise bad move he walked in and she was on sofa hiding under a cushion he saw her face and said "arr what's THAT " it's a bully said I "oh thought it was a pig" said son most disappointed.

Dottie soon grew to be dare I say the biggest bloody nuisance out nothing was safe
she even took the ornament's into her cage to chew,
have to say it was most probably my fault i was completely besotted with her and she could do no wrong,
there was no discipline in the house and she did and went just where she wanted, yes she did sleep with us on the bed
yes she did make a nuisance of her self when peeps came round wouldn't leave anybody alone had to dive on their knee's and head !!!
but she got away with it because she was so funny and there wasn't an ounce of nastiness in her body, she loved everybody and everything,

it was a nightmare walking her she would never come back if I let her off the lead just ran off to the kid's or other dog's, luckily for me lived in a small village where everybody knew us,

so kind dog owners would CALL for us to walk coz she would always come back with another dog.
everybody loved her and pleased to say she did load's of good for the breed changed everybody's opinion about their temperament and supposed dog aggression.

started to work 4 hours a day in a shop, so her 2 cousins Holly the Airedale and Ella the jr x called for her everyday to go and play, came home to this note the first day which still makes me laugh
Di..... Dottie is fine SOFA'S NOT......

i was known as the mad dog woman at work coz was always telling customers about her and forcing them to look at pic's all the time, they used to pop in just to ask after her...

then i discovered shock horror gasp I was pregnant, course then people started to say oh you will have to get rid of the DOG she won't except a baby she'll be jealous.... EXCUSE me but DOG has a name and there is NO WAY DOTTIE is going any where thank you, she will be fine if not baby can always be adopted (joke I think)
Dottie knew I was pregnant she used to lie with her head on my tummy looking and listening with that funny look on her face.

Ethan was born 29/8/01 Dottie was 1yr and 2 day's old came home from the hosp and even o/h was worried, so walked in put baby on table and took Dottie out for a run, came back when she was calmer ha ha
introduced her to baby let her sniff then put him on the floor with her she gently sniffed him and licked him all over,
she was a natural mum far better than I was
my most treasured pic of her is 1 that taken when Ethan was having his first breast feed at home and Dottie is lying across the pillow on my knee her head next to his head while he's feeding and she is fast asleep with not a care in the world.

They grew up together and she was the perfect playmate I trusted her 1000% I just knew she would never ever hurt him.

Dottie had never been a big bully and i was always worried about her weight and she was a finicky eater every time we went the vet's she was weighed but vet said she was fine, happy and alert, she had always had a funny drinking habit as well would only drink if you were there. Last June she started to lose weight and act strange she wouldn't leave me alone always lying with her head on my boob's and went right off her food eating 1 day not the next, I discovered a lump at the end of June and in the July was told it was breast cancer, I know it sound's stupid now but we were that close I thought she knew and that was why she was so upset. I had so many conversations with her about having to be mum full time if anything happened to me, that i thought I was upsetting her that much that she couldn't eat.
told o/h she had to go to vet's for a check up but understandable he was more worried about me, so went in hosp for op and came out next day with a drain in and not feeling to well at all. Dottie was thrilled to see me but noticed she was starting to shiver and still not eating,
rang Linda (vet) told her about Dottie and me did she think it was stress related, said it could be knew how potty we were over each other !!! Over the course of the next few day's she seemed to pick up and started eating again, but then her breath was smelling strange, so thought that's it off to the vet's for you my girl. Tuesday morning we went in her gum's were very sore and plaque on her teeth, Linda couldn't see anything major wrong temp and heart were fine so booked her in for the Friday to have teeth cleaned see if that helped, and gave her antibiotics for her gum's, Friday morn came friend dropped Dottie off with Linda while I went to to doc's to have my drain taken out (OUCH) got back to phone call done a blood test before op and it showed massive kidney failure, Dottie was on a drip and I was told she may have a few months left at best, I remember screaming and screaming,neighbours had to ring o/h to come home, and we went to see Linda, prognosis was not good not good at all. Picked Dottie up Saturday morning looked loads better after being on drip for 24 hours so armed with special diet prayed and prayed for Linda to be wrong,by Sunday she was being sick as sick, Linda came out to look at her we were having to syringe water down her throat to try and stop her being too dehydrated, Monday she was even worse, Linda came again but I didn't want to give up on her, I wanted her so bad to have a fighting chance she was so brave,
Monday night I knew she was losing the battle and it wasn't fair, Tuesday morn she wouldn't come out from under the chair I had to lift it off her her eyes told me everything, she wanted to go to the Rainbow Bridge, she couldn't hold on not even for me.

I fetched other half home from work and Linda came at 11.30 on august 5th 2003 we lost the best friend any of us had ever had.
Dottie was 3 weeks short of her third birthday

Sorry this was so long but it's Dottie's story and I want it to be told,
if it makes just one breeder stop and think about not testing all the tears I've just cried writing it will be worth it

thank you for taking the time to read this

Di

(Dottie's loving human Mum)

Di was reunited with her Dottie in January 2007 after sadly losing her brave battle against cancer. A truly great woman who will be very sadly missed by many.