Dear Doris,
My name is Nancy and I am a 2 year old Heinz variety dog. I am a happy go lucky gal and I live in a good home where I sleep inside and I am loved and treated very well.
My humans got me for free from neighbours down the road as their female pooch (My mother I suppose you could call her) who is also Heinz variety but more of an outdoors type, was forever having puppies as she had lots of different male dog admirers !
Unlike you Doris I am not a pedigree dog and I have no papers to trace my family tree. However not knowing what my ancestry is, and there are nights when I lie awake thinking of nothing but my lineage, that’s the least of my problems these days and it’s not the reason why I am writing to you.
My problem is as follows Doris:
I recently overheard a few snippets of conversation when my two humans were having a lively discussion about organising a trip to that place where my friend Buddy was tricked into going to, and came back minus two of his prized possessions !!
The two young humans in the family protested against this little trip I was taking by saying “Ah let Nancy have some puppies it would be fun, puppies are sooo cute”. The older humans were adamant in saying no and said an adult decision had been made and they were making the right choice for the sake of Nancy and themselves as a family.
What choice were they talking about ??
This pending trip has something to do with a garden utensil…..A fork, no no that’s not it…a rake, nah, that doesn’t sound right either…oh yes a spade, or something close enough to that. A trip to that place where Buddy lost his bojangles and anything involving a garden instrument doesn’t sound like much fun to me, but it looks like the decision has been made.
They said both options would be looked at for my operation, especially the one with a key and a hole, whatever that is all about, it is all mumbo jumbo to me !
This up-coming visit is making me very nervous, I do not know what lies ahead of me.
Firstly what does this operation entail, I’m only small and those garden utensils look so BIG ! Will my lovely belly that the humans love to rub (not that I complain) be full of stitches and leave my tummy looking like something from a Frankenstein movie ??
Will I have to wear one of those big Lamp Shades that I have seen other pooches wearing, that I must say look totally ridiculous and do nothing for your image.
Will I be confined to my bed for days unable to play and run around in the secure garden that I love to dig in when I am playing outside
I have been worried as to why my humans do not want me to have puppies, is it maybe that I am not special enough. Everybody else seems to be doing it with no family discussions taking place..
Doris all of the above questions keep spinning around in my tiny head, and I don’t know the answers to any of them, and I am really hoping you can help me in some way.
Yours Truly
Nervous Nancy
Hello Nancy
Thanks for sharing your problems with me, that’s one of the reasons that I’m here for after all.
As I told Annie I may not be the most travelled, but my years allow me to offer what I consider to be expert advice in most matters canine.
Your particular worry is something that I have had firsthand experience with, as although I am single by choice, many years ago I too was facing the same predicament.
Let me first start by saying that you seem to be in the group of canines that are experiencing life the way we were meant to. Sharing your life as part of a loving family. Not all of us are that lucky.
Having no papers is nothing to be ashamed of, as even by your own description you state you are a Heinz Variety. Us pedigrees on the other hand, should always be able to prove where we came from, and the registration number that goes with the same can tell a human an awful lot about us. For instance if my mother was a bit of a dirty stop out and had litters of pups at every possible occasion, this paperwork and registration number would alert humans to the same, and even though it may not have been her fault, (of course humans are to blame here again), people might do well to stay far away from the likes.
Me and my humans made the decision to go down the road that you and yours are making right now. I too was worried at the time, but take it from me, it’s not as scary as you think. There were no large garden utensils used, and that’s back when I was a young one, and I know for a fact that there have been massive developments in this whole area since then.
Now back in the old days, at the start of this millennium, when I went through this procedure there was only one option available to me. That was Spaying or to use the technical term ovaro-hysterectomy. Now although that sounds quite scary, there wasn’t really that much too it. I remember the trip to the place similar to the one that Buddy lost his crown jewels, and meeting this human that liked to dress in what looked like fancy dress or something, but not long after being left alone with these people, I don’t remember too much. OK I’m not going to lie to you, when I woke up I did feel a bit drowsy and my stitching was a bit tickly, but thankfully I didn’t have to wear one of those ridiculous lamp shades, as I promised to leave the stitches well alone.
I haven’t had the opportunity to date to inform my readers that the house I share with my humans, I also share with 3 other Dachshunds. An English girl, who is only related to me through breed, and a niece & nephew. Donna the English girl, and Daisy my niece have also been down the same road, although Donna did have one brief well planned liaison before hand, of which Daisy & her brother Danno were part of the result.
When I say they went down the same road, taking the same route in the car was about as far as it went into comparing their procedure and mine. They had what is called Laparoscopic spaying or again to use the technical term Ovariectomy. This is what I think you are referring to as an operation with a key and a hole, as it’s performed using keyhole surgery. This is far less invasive than what I had to endure, even though as I advised mine wasn’t that bad, but Donna & Daisy don’t know how lucky they were to be able to avail of this type of surgery. I couldn’t believe my eyes (& that’s even before they started to fail) as to how fast they recovered from it. They were up and at it the same day they made that fateful trip. Based on my personal experience I at least thought I’d get a few days break from them !!
As regards having a belly like an extra from a cheap horror movie, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. I still get to wear my bikini when the sun shines, and that’s after being operated on using the older method. In regards to Donna & Daisy, only for I knew that they had this operation, even if you examined their bellies up close, which I did, you would never have known they had been to a place similar to the one that Buddy now shivers at when passing by.
Regardless of which route you and your humans opt for, the main thing is that they are acting responsibly on your behalf.
In my very first response as an agony aunt I advised Bundy that not all dogs go on to produce offspring, and realistically it should only be the cream of the crop that should be paired together to ensure that the resulting offspring are healthy & fit for function.
That’s where the old family tree and history comes into play. Some of the ailments that affect us canines are hereditary, and some are breed specific. Us pedigree dogs are usually checked for these, and if found to be a carrier of any of these, should not be allowed to sow our oats as the fella calls it.
Due to your lineage Nancy, there is no way of knowing what lies beneath and what checks should be made so therefore, in my opinion, it’s best not to take any chances.
Besides there are lots of dogs way less fortunate than you that have been abandoned by their human family through no fault of their own, waiting for a chance to become part of a family again. You are making a sacrifice so that some of these dogs might take the place that your pups might well have landed in, so in that regard, I high four you, and wag my tail for your humans for making the right decision.
Remember that good health & good sense are two of life’s greatest blessings !
I remain at your disposal
Doris Dachshund
Email:[email protected]
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