The Story of Nala

Nala came to us a little 7 week old puppy. A friend of mine had gotten her from a relative. My friend lived with her father and after having the puppy for 4 days, my friend and her dad got into a huge fight and the dad said the puppy had to go. My friend shows up at my house at 11 pm one night in tears asking me to take the puppy. At the time I had 3 dogs and didn't think a 4th one was a good idea. We called a friend a few houses down because we knew he was looking for a puppy. He didn't want it. I was standing at my friends car talking to her and trying to figure out what to do. Not only did I not want a 4th dog, this puppy was a pit bull and there was no way I wanted a pit bull. So we were brainstorming trying to figure out what to do with this puppy when all of a sudden my husband walks over and asks to hold the puppy. I literally turned around and threw my hands in the air. I knew it was over. I had specifically not held the puppy or even looked at it very much because I knew what would happen. So we had a puppy.

This was November 1997.

The first thing I said was that if we were going to own a pit bull she was going to be the sweetest, friendliest, most loving pit anyone had ever seen. Up until this point I was like most people and only had horrible news stories to base my opinion of pits on. Luckily I knew dogs enough to know that with lots of love and proper training you can make just about any dog a love sponge. So that was my goal for Nala. I wanted her to be an ambassador of her breed.

One of the first things I did was enroll her in puppy class as soon as she was old enough. She really enjoyed it and made some great doggie friends. We ended up doing obedience for a couple of years. She enjoyed it a lot. She liked getting out with the other dogs. This was long before there were any dog parks on Oahu and this was about the best way to keep her socialized.

We went through some rough spots with her. When she was about 9 months old she went into her first heat and had a false pregnancy. This made her a little aggressive with our other dogs. I learned that this is common in pits and this is why fighting dogs aren't fixed. There is like a switch that goes off in their heads when they reach sexual maturity. With Nala we had some pretty brutal fights. For a time I was really afraid that I would come home and find another dog dead. I contacted everyone I could think of, behaviorists, all kinds of trainers, everyone. She was such a sweet heart there was some thought in my head of breeding her. This behavior quickly changed my mind and we got her fixed. Luckily that seemed to take care of the problem. She went back to being her sweet, loving self.

Around the time she was 18 months I noticed her having problems with the sit. She wouldn't sit straight down like other dogs. She would sit slightly to one side and she sat very, very slowly. This was the first time the thought of hip dysplasia crossed my mind. But, I took her to the vet and we discovered that her knee cap on her right leg wasn't tracking well. She had surgery and they took a ligament from another area and used it to anchor her knee cap. The vet said the left one was off a little too but that one didn't seem to be giving her much problems. We decided to wait on the surgery on the left side for a while. Fixing the right knee seemed to take care of most of her problems. She always sat slowly and always a little off center, but she seemed to not be in pain and she could run and jump and play like crazy. I figured everything was fine and we moved on with our lives.

The years passed. During this time we lived on the beach and this was doggie heaven. Almost everyday they spent time running, digging, and playing in the sand. When it was warm enough they would go swimming all by themselves. It was a great life for a dog. We lived across the street from a working cattle ranch and at night we would walk them over there. They got to bark at horses and cattle and eat poop and roll in horse urine. What fun. Everything seemed great. During this time one of our dogs passed away and we were down to three.

In April, 2006 we moved here. The dogs were no longer on the beach but they had a huge yard. Also, we weren't far from the beach and would take them every weekend. We hadn't been here 2 months when Nala started limping. A trip to the orthopedic vet and a series of x-rays later we found that Nala had hip dysplasia, and had all her life, that both hip joints and the left knee were riddled with arthritis. The only joint that did not have arthritis was the right knee that had surgery so many years ago. So now Nala was essentially a one legged dog. That was okay, she's a pit. She's strong. She still ran around and played and carried one. Life was still good. It was around this time that we found the acupuncturist too and started taking her there. She still goes and it definitely helps her.

Then in September of last year (2008), Nala started having seizures. Initially they came fast and furious (or so it seemed anyway) until we got her medication stabilized. A round of tests eliminated other causes and a diagnosis of brain cancer was given. At that point we had no idea how fast or slow this may go. We had her on medication and all seemed well for a while.

A few weeks ago she started to go downhill. Her activity level got even lower then it was, if that's possible, and the life seemed to leave her eyes. Her rear leg started to swell (the one she doesn't use) and if you look into her eyes sometimes it looks like she's in real pain. On April 1st we went to the vet for the leg. Turns out her lymph nodes were swollen too. I had one lymph aspirated and the results came back lymphoma. There was always the option of agressive treatment but if the cancer was in her lymph system chances are it had spread all over her body. We decided to do nothing. Her quality of life has gone downhill so much in the last few weeks I realized we were at the end.For the last week we've struggled with the decision. Watching her litereally waste away before our eyes. Her quality of life was almost non-existent. I had no right to keep her here just because I don't want to say good-bye. Losing her is the hardest thing I've ever been through. She turned out to be the most amazing dog I've ever owned. I will absolutely have more pit bulls. They are the best dogs ever and Nala was the best of the best.

NALA 1997-2009

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....