Once in a while, someone or something will come into our lives and make an impact on us, so profound, that that impact will be felt for the rest of our lives. For some of us it’s a person, others an event of some proportion and the rest, a furry family member.
I have had a few of these already, people, events and furries. For me, it’s the latter that would most likely put both a smile on my face or a tear in my eye. Tears of joy of course with a tot of longing to those days they were still with me.
Todays story is about one of those subjects. More specifically, furry family friends, etching their way into a couples hearts in a way that cannot be forgot.
This is their Helberg family story.
They got LuluBelle when Zané was in high school so that her other fur baby Jodi had a friend.
Jodi saw Lulu as her baby and was very motherly over her. Jan and Zané got married and Lulu was always the baby of the house (which she loved) even when she started getting a bit older. Unfortunately Jodi had some complications and sadly passed away. Lulu isn’t aggressive towards other dogs but she is very protective over her family and space, So Jan and Zané knew getting her a sister or brother might be a challenging time.
On the Kempton Park SPCA Facebook page Jan and Zané saw a photo of a cute Jack Russell. They instantly fell in love, but were worried that Lulu with her strong personality would dominate him. They took the chance and had a meet and greet. Lulu was not impressed with this imposter trying to get affection from her parents but ’said’ “let’s try”, so the adoption went on.
At first Lulu told him that she is the boss, and this was her space, but as time went on she started to tolerate him more, and then toleration turned into acceptance, and eventually Jack and Lulu become best friends. Jack was likely very badly abused, we guess by a man, because he never liked Jan or his grandpa’s. However, when lock-down hit and Jan was home everyday, he started to love it, even joining in some important meetings in exchange for treats. During the first lock-down Lulu got a lump and the Vet said maybe cancer or tumour, Jan and Zané decided to have it removed. She was fine for a year then after that she started getting more lumps, they were also cut out but after another few months more lumps showed up. The vet did scans and the results weren’t good. She had a growth on her Heart. Jan and Zané were devastated. They went to a specialist vet where he gave the heartbreaking diagnoses, Lulu has aggressive cancer, and also an enlarged heart and lung problems. Due to her age, her enlarged heart and lungs she doesn’t qualify for chemotherapy and she might not survive an operation. So here they are taking their baby at least once a week to the vets for wound cleaning and also for some pain medication. They are just very grateful to have had the opportunity to do the photo shoot with her.
Throughout her life, she was always a loving pup, kisses and affection for anyone who wanted them, Chasing birds and eating treats are her favourite pastime.
Her impact will surely be felt for a long time.