11/20/2023
Our story:
Delilah is our giant schnauzer who we met when she was 3 days old. We instantly fell in love. Giant Schnauzers are mighty, strong willed, and filled with personality. Our girl is exactly that. She is sassy, talks back, and so smart. She is a big baby that takes up the whole bed at night, and refuses to come inside until you throw her ball at least once.
Our first heart break was our first vet visit. We were told she had a grade 5 heart murmur at 3 months old. The vet sent us to Purdue Animal Hospital to do a full cardio workup. Once we were there, they told us Delilah was too young for us to know the full extent of her heart condition, but her heart valves were not fully connected. They did not expect her to live longer than a year. We were given medication and told to limit her physical activity.
Determined to give her the best life we could, we ignored the vet. We give her daily medications for her heart, but do not limit anything. We play ball, go for car rides, visit the local pet stores, and get ice cream.
At a year old, we went back to Purdue for another cardio work-up. This time, we were given her diagnosis of subaortic stenosis and mitral valve dysplasia. Although her diagnosis is severe, she didn't show any signs of it bothering her.
Fast forward to 3 years later. She still has a severe heart condition, but we are monitoring it. She is living her best life. She has a gang of two standard poodles that we adopted along the way. Sammi and Hopper.
When we bought our house, we made sure it had a huge fenced-in yard for the girls.
The only thing it was missing was an area for them to spend their days while we were at work. I designed and made a built-in dog house. It is 12 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 40 inches high. It is massive, but perfect for my girls. They love it.
This is how Delilah's DogHouses started.
