Sometimes The Universe Gives You The Dog That Needs You

On August 11, 2011, I was determined to bring home a puppy for my birthday. After finding an ad on Craig’s List, I ventured to an Amish farm in Indiana that had eight week old German Shepherd mix puppies for sale.

In the litter of puppies, there were tan ones, black ones, and tan and black ones, all with speckles of white on them. While I wasn’t incredibly picky about the color, I knew I wanted a male. I picked up the first boy that caught my eye. As I held him, another little puppy ran up to me and pawed me, asking attention. I put down the first puppy and picked that one up. He had interesting eyebrows, and what stuck out to me the most was that he looked like a Rottweiler puppy – a breed of dog I grew up with. I decided that he was the one. That puppy is now nine years old; his name is Caesar and he is my best friend.

Sometimes I wonder how life would be different had I picked the first puppy. I don’t wonder where that puppy is or how he is doing, but I do wonder where Caesar would be and if he would have found a human who vowed to take care of him like I do.

While I only paid $60 for Caesar as a tiny pup, he’s proven to be a very expensive “cheap” mutt. In the last year, I’ve spent around $4,000 on him between removing a chipped tooth, reoccurring urinary tract infections, diagnosing him with Cushing’s Disease, and expensive ongoing bloodwork and medicine for treatment. Most recently, a lump on his leg has grown to the point where it needs removed. I got the bill Friday – another $700.

Sometimes in life, you get really cheap dogs like Jeter and sometimes you get problem children like Caesar.

Jeter, now eight years old, goes to the vet once a year for his annual shots. I can feed him anything and he thrives. His bowel movements are always normal and he eats at exactly the same time every single day. Aside from some separation anxiety, he is a very healthy baby bear who never even gets a scratch on him when he’s running around.

Caesar, on the other hand, constantly has something going on. A clogged tear duct, a chipped tooth, a UTI, a bladder infection, a kidney infection, a lump on his leg, a cyst that burst, an ankle sprang, Cushing’s Disease, flakey skin, loose stool, picky eater… it’s never ending with him.

After a bit of joking about how I need a rewards card at the vet Friday, the tech handed me the bill and I was a little shocked. It’s not that it was priced more or less than I expected, it’s just that having another issue with Caesar felt so overwhelming after the last month of dealing with Carl’s situation. This just felt like the “cherry on top” of the never-ending mountain of problems. After a bit of silence, the vet tech said, “Is everything okay? Do you want to do the surgery?” And I said, “Yeah, of course.”

$70, $700, or $7,000… I’ll find a way to pay it for my best friend.

When I got into the car after the appointment, I laughed hysterically (because why cry when you can laugh instead?), and told Caesar, “I love you too, buddy” after he gave me a big lick across the face.

On the way home I gave him a stern talking to. I told him I needed to get another job and said, “You’re so lucky you have me.” I thought about what would happen if he didn’t. What if I brought home the first puppy and Caesar went home with someone else. Would he go on vacations to the Smokey Mountains or to Cuyahoga Valley? Would he stay in hotel rooms and eat the nicest, healthiest food and treats? Would someone brush his teeth every night? Would someone take him to the vet every single time he had something new going on? Would someone care about and monitor his weight? Would someone be able to afford him? Would he still be alive?

I know that not everyone would do for their dog like I do for mine. I would hope that if Caesar had brothers and sisters that are going through the same things he is going through that they are being loved and cared for, but I also recognize that my commitment to my dogs may seem extreme to some people (or so I’ve been told).

I realized a long time ago that dogs like Jeter, who have behavior problems, end up in shelters when their family can’t handle them. I know that if Jeter were with another family, he would likely be dead by now. A shelter or a family would have euthanized him when he tried to kill another family pet. But Jeter wound up with me, and I don’t give up. Despite him trying to kill Caesar, I made it work. I did something that almost no one else is willing to do. I live with two large dogs in a small house where they can never be together.

But it was only recently that I began to think about what would have happened to Caesar if he were with another family.

Whenever I have to take Caesar to the vet or whenever he needs some new special thing, I always remind Caesar how lucky he is to have me, but the truth is, I am constantly reminded by his presence how lucky I am to have him. I truly believe that the universe brought us together and that someone out there knew that Caesar would be in good hands with me. While Caesar’s health problems constantly stretch my funds, I always find a way, and I always make sure he is taken care of. Maybe the universe just knew. Something on August 11, 2011, made me put down another puppy I was interested in and pick him up instead.

I can’t help up think about fate when I think about Caesar and Jeter coming into my life. I am not a religious person but I believe in the power of the universe. It’s the same with Carl’s situation. If that happened to another dog in the county – a dog that I didn’t know – would there be this much outrage and push for a change? I have a loud voice and I fight viciously for animals, especially dogs. So it’s hard for me to deny that some cosmic energy nine years ago pulled Caesar and I together and eight years ago pulled Jeter and I together and just knew that I would be the right humane for them both. It makes me emotional to think about.

Sometimes I ask “Why does this happen to me?” I asked that with Carl, I asked that when I learned that Caesar and Jeter couldn’t be together, and I ask that with Caesar’s health. But I think I know. It’s because the universe knows that I am built for it, that I can handle it, and that I have the courage, the strength, and the passion to do what’s right for animals.

When you get a puppy, you never know what you are going to get as an adult or senior dog. You may get something cost-effective like Jeter or you may get a money vacuum like Caesar. You may also think you’re getting your dog a best friend and then they end up hating each other. All I know is that when I brought both of them home, I vowed to always love them, always take care of them, and always make sure they are as healthy as can be.

I know I am the right person for my dogs, and I think the universe knew that too.