08/17/2025
𝙄 𝙆𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙈𝙮 𝘿𝙤𝙜
16 years ago, Brandie became my dog and I became her person.
I later got a letter from my HOA telling me to get rid of one of my dogs. I kept my dogs.
I moved... so I could keep my dogs.
Brandie was unsocialized and reactive to strangers. I kept my dogs.
I shut down my company and lost my job. I kept my dogs.
I had financial trouble. I kept my dogs.
I got divorced. I kept my dogs.
I started a new job with long hours away from home. I kept my dogs.
I had medical problems and surgeries. I kept my dogs.
I got remarried and she had her own dogs. I kept my dogs.
Other dogs came along. I kept my dogs.
Brandie got sick and had medical problems. I kept my dogs.
Dogs are not disposable, to be discarded when things are no longer convenient. They are family members.
𝘽𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙚’𝙨 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮
Brandie was a 6 month old puppy at Animal Care & Protective Services in Jacksonville, when they were still in the old shelter.
Brandie's first night home from the shelter, she cried and cried in her crate. I got her out and sat with her in my lap in my recliner until she fell asleep on my chest. Every night after that, she climbed into my lap, nosed my laptop aside, and got her cuddle time. That was her routine.
I had three dogs at the time, and Brandie was the youngest. I took them to work with me every day, and she always put her head on my shoulder while I drove, as if to encourage me. Or maybe to supervise me.
In 2009, I already had two dogs, Download and Ranger, and Brandie was number three. Several neighbors had three and four dogs so it never occurred to me to check my HOA rules. A few months later, I got a letter from my HOA demanding I get rid of one of my dogs.
I had already fought with my HOA when they put a lien on me for the previous owner’s dues they failed to collect. I knew there was no chance they would approve a variance.
I started walking my dogs at midnight while I looked for a place to live. I bought a property in St Augustine and built a house. When I moved, I rented my original house to 5 college students… and I kept my dogs.
The years went by and my life drastically changed, but she was my constant companion. Every time I was hurt or sick, Brandie was there to give me kisses.
When I later got dog number four, Bella, they got into a major fight the first week. Bella tried counter-surfing, and Brandie corrected her. Bella thought it was an attack, and there was blood everywhere. I had to work through it and get them comfortable with one another, but I kept my dogs.
When I started fostering, Brandie would bark and bark when a new foster came in. By the second day, she was giving them kisses through the gate. As other dogs joined the pack, Brandie became the mama dog who never had puppies. She would groom them, keep them in line, and sometimes correct them when they weren't doing anything.
𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙉𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘿𝙪𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝘿𝙤𝙜
For 16 years, through good times and bad, Brandie and I stayed together. It wasn't always easy, but I kept my dog. That doesn't make me a great person. It makes me a normal person. Dogs are family members. They’re not objects to be discarded when they are no longer convenient.
It's time to stop normalizing dumping your dog, making excuses like "I'm moving" or "I'm going back to the office" or "I'm getting divorced" or "my work schedule changed." Been there, done that. All of the above and then some. I kept my dogs.
For those people who say "I can't give them the attention they deserve," consider this. Dogs sleep around 16 hours a day. I guarantee your dog would much rather take a nap at home while you work than sit in a lonely kennel in a scary shelter wondering what they did wrong and hoping against hope you'll come back.
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As the years went by, Brandie started getting old and creaky, like her Daddy. Her face was frosted and her eyes were cloudy, but she was the same sweet, happy girl. She still supervised me when I drove, and she gave kisses when anyone was hurt or sick.
Two years ago, Brandie started hyperventilating, and she was diagnosed with Cushings and sundowners. She got anxious at night. Sometimes she had panic attacks that wouldn’t quit, so I cuddled with her in the middle of the night. She was a little unsteady and I didn't want her to use the steps, so I lifted her in and out of the bed. She was still full of love and affection, and she still gave me lots of kisses.
I knew our time together was drawing short, but Brandie was still the same sweet, happy, affectionate girl at 16 1/2 that she was at 6 months.
She went to see Dr. Mack at Palm Valley Veterinary Center in May and her bloodwork looked good, but she was losing weight. A couple weeks ago, she stopped eating. This time her bloodwork showed kidney failure and heart failure. We started special diets and supplements, but she lost more weight, and her thyroid and cortisol were out of whack.
Then she stopped drinking, and I knew it was time. We went back to Palm Valley. Dr. Mack was out, but Dr. Wolff ran her bloodwork again. Despite the special diet and medications, everything was skyrocketing in the wrong direction. I knew it was time. I didn’t want her to suffer, and I didn’t want her to die alone or in pain. Even though I knew it was the right decision, it was still devastating.
After 16 years together, I said goodbye to Brandie on her gotcha day. This sweet, happy girl drifted off to sleep in my arms, knowing that she was loved. I know she’s having a rally point at the Rainbow Bridge with Download, Ranger, Bella and Tango. And Fergie, Coco and Frisco. And Maci, River, Annie, Trooper, Abby-girl, Ellie Mae and Elliana.
I thank God for bringing this sweet dog into my life. She was always there for me, and she trusted that I would always be there for her. Through thick and thin, in good times and bad, I kept my dog. I wouldn't have it any other way.
Credit
Mike Merrill
