Violet the Wonder Dog

After featuring Monkey a few days ago I have to give equal time (at the very least) to our other girl.

My hubby and I wanted a dog for a long time.  The son of close friends and his wife had two border collie/samoid sisters and one of them had puppies.  They weren’t too sure who the father was, as there were three male dogs hanging around.  But when the litter was born it became clear that the boxer had something to do with it.  There were three puppies who were alike – two males and a female, plus two all brown/black and one all white.  From pictures we decided to take one of the male boxer looking pups and gave him the name Rocco.  Our friends were going up north to see their family and were bringing our 8 week old puppy with them.  They phoned us saying that their son wanted to keep the female of the three but just couldn’t have three dogs.  They wanted to make sure she had a good home so we decided to take her instead.

Obviously we needed a new name – Rocco just wasn’t going to do.  That day I got a wrong number asking to speak to “Violet” and without even realizing the reference to my affinity for purple, I suggested it to my hubby.  He liked it so even before we met our little one, she was dubbed Violet.  Believe me, it truly fits her.

I say “little one” but at 8 weeks she was as big as the chihuahua terriers I grew up with.  Even then we could tell that Violet was going to be special. One of those special traits was that she does not do well in moving vehicles.  She threw up twice on the 6 hour drive in our friends’ prized Mustang convertible on the way to us. She loves going places like the off-leash park, the beach, the vet, she just doesn’t like getting there.  She doesn’t get sick anymore, but stands and shakes the whole time. …..yes, I did say Violet loves going to the vets.  It’s the people!

When Vi was six months old the vet took an x-ray of her hips when she spayed our pup.  She told us that Violet had hip displacia and we should spend $4,000 per back leg to have it rectified right away.  Well, we didn’t have that kind of money and my sister-in-law had dealt with this and told us no, it wasn’t necessary.  We put her on glucosamine right away and other medicines have been prescribed over the years.  A few years ago Violet got another x-ray done and the same vet was astonished.  The socket was worn away and the ball was completely jagged.  She dubbed her “Violet the Wonderdog” because she shouldn’t have been able to walk let alone run, jump and be as active as she was.  The muscles in her hips are what holds her up!

Now, at age 10 1/2, Violet is slowing down a bit, but not much.  She still would like to just go running free but unfortunately our townhome has a very small back yard.

She is still one of the most beautiful and sweetest dogs I know and I am not saying that (just) because I am biased.  Everyone tells us the same thing.  We knew she would be big and strong so we taught her to be gentle, and she is actually a wimp.

Violet does not really know she is a dog. She thinks she is a “people”.  When I am sad or sick or in pain she comes and lays down beside me with big soulful eyes.  If she has done something wrong and we call her, she knows why and comes with her head down in shame.  She can be very vocal when she wants something – food, treats, her walk, or just attention.

Another way she is like a human is her health.  She has arthritis like me, and food allergies like both my hubby and I.  We have to give her special food and make sure she takes all her medicine.

Two Christmas’s ago I picked up some dental chews from the vet’s office to put in her stocking.  It was a month’s supply and it was supposed to be a one-of thing.  Well I started giving them to her at 8 pm.  By the end of the month she was bugging me by 7:30 and it took me awhile to catch on, but I did.  I am still buying them and Violet starts in any time after 6 pm putting her head on my lap and staring at me, whining or growling, anything to get my attention.  Monkey just sits back out of the way, but when she sees me go to the treat cupboard she comes in for the kill to get her treats too.  Meanwhile Vi is still in the living room sitting and waiting for me to give her the prized treat!

I love my fur-kids.  They give me hours of joy and make the tough times so much easier to take.