We currently have two German Shepherds, brother and sister

by Michelle Thomas

Hello,

The picture I have included is of our boy Sarge. My husband and I currently have two German Shepherds, brother and sister, named Samantha and Sarge. They were both born on July 4th, 2008 in Oklahoma. We originally got them when they were 8 weeks old and they have rarely been apart.

When Sarge was a pup, we noticed his coat was not as it should be, he had rashes on his skin, and you could just tell he was not healthy. We were in and out of the vet trying to figure out what was going on. The only thing diagnosed for a long time was Coccidia and low iron.

We gave him daily iron supplements, omega pills for the coat and tried all kinds of dog food. It wasn’t until late one Sunday evening he came up with a bloody nose that we finally got our answer. He was in stage three or the chronic phase of Ehrlichia and the outlook was very poor.

My husband and I handed him over to the vet and just asked that he please save our baby. We were not to the point of blood transfusions, but we could not see him for the fear that he would get too excited and cause himself to hemorrhage again. The next 24-48 hours were very critical and his sister Samantha was a mess without him (they had never been apart up to this point).

After a week at the vet he started to really turn around with the help of steroids and doxycycline. We were able to bring him home the next week!

I am happy to say that through all of that and a few other minor bumps in the road, he is a very happy, healthy, and handsome boy, as I hope you can tell from this photo. My husband and I very much so believe that the 4 of us are a pack and Sarge definitely has his place.

Sarge follows me around at hands length everywhere I go, even the bathroom. He always wants to ensure that I am ok. When we are not all together he does not rest. I know he will be as loving and protective when we have children and I very much so look forward to them building that relationship.

We have also trained both of our Shepherds in German and hand signals and hope to one day find the time to train them to be therapy dogs or dogs that can visit people in hospitals. They really enjoy going for walks and bringing joy to others.

Thank you for your time and this wonderful contest.