A Black Lab Named ‘Sophie’
Even at the ripe old age of 11, my childhood dog, Sophie, still acts like a puppy these days. I still remember picking her out of a litter of eight black lab females. Here she is all grown up…
Doesn’t she look spectacular? However, she was not doing well a few months ago.
My mom informed me that her skin irritation had gotten worse and she had rubbed the hair away from around her eyes and her nose in efforts to scratch an itch that just could not be satisfied. She had a number of systs on her body and she was having increasing difficulty with climbing the stairs. Her ears were also filled with blood so they were abnormally puffy. My father took her into the vet to see what could be done.
Apparently she looked so bad that day that my uncle said to my mother, “I can not believe you are going to put money into that dog. There is no way she will live another day.”
Well, $300 and a few bottles of pills later, Operation: Save Sophie had begun. The systs had to be removed and the blood drained from her ears. Some said she looked like the Dog of Frankenstein, with her face rubbed raw, puffy ears and stitches in her sides.
My mother vowed to keep Sophie indoors on a regular basis so the cold weather would not aid in the irritation of her skin. After a few weeks, my parents noticed Sophie’s decrease in urge to itch her face and could soon walk up the stairs without needing assistance.
Although my love is eternal for Cali, my heart will always belong to Sophie.
