Ella

My name is Crystal and I want to tell you about my girl, Ella. Ella is an apple head chihuahua that I got when I was 18 years old. To give you a bit of background, I’m physically disabled with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2 (SMA2)and I’m also chronically ill. The years prior to Ella were my hell, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)when I was 13 you old. I was the first person in the world with SMA2 and ALL, I also had to start my 2 and a half year chemotherapy treatment plan which we weren’t even sure would work for me.

When I went back to school, I was SEVERELY bullied.

Two years into my chemotherapy, I got pneumonia (a regular occurrence for me) but this time I went into respiratory failure and the doctors had resuscitate me. After that, I had a Trach put in and was place on a ventilator, this was just after my 16th birthday. I spent 14 months in Children’s Hospital recovering while my mom took her training to bring me home.

When I finally got to go home, I was almost 18 years old and I transferred to a different school. I had no friends and I was dealing with depression issues so, my parents decided to get me a dog. It had to be small enough to cuddle with me though and they found Ella.

Ella was this little, warm, shakey ball of fur that fit in my dads hands. And I loved her the second I saw her, she curled up in the side of my neck and would not move. For days we stayed in my bed bonding, she was a baby and in a new home so she was nervous and adjusting. I even had to take the wet puppy food out of the bowl and put it on my chest BUT...it had to be on my skin or she would refuse to eat. The things we do for our fur babies lol.

Once Ella settled in, she quickly became one spoiled pup. We bought her clothes, toys, she even had a pink, pearl necklace and Ella went everywhere with me by riding on the back of my chair. She also quickly earned the nickname Ellamoo due to her black cow prints.

Ella was even allowed to go to school with me, my principal Mr Heska at Sisler High School was extremely supportive about my mental health. Ella really became a vital member of my support system, a very important member of my family and my best friend. Having her with me eased my anxiety and she even helped me socially because people wanted to interact with her.

The night that really solidified the feeling that Ella was intune with me and more than a furry companion, was the night she saved my life. Ella always slept with me, in fact, she was rarely ever away from me. And as I mentioned earlier, I’m severely disabled and I’m on a ventilator to breathe. At night I wear a pulse ox monitor, it’s a clip I wear on my toe while I sleep and it alarms if my oxygen goes too low. It also alarms if my heart rate goes below 60 and above 125 beats per minute. That night, my oxygen went too low and my alarm started going off, my mom reacts fast but Ella reacted faster that night. When my mom got in my room, Ella was on top of me licking my face and pawing at me to wake me up.

After this, we told my psychologist what happened and she wrote a letter stating that Ella was my Personal Support Animal. Ella also started picking up on things, if my ventilator popped off - she would bark like a maniac. She became very protective of me, especially if she knew I was getting sick.

We went everywhere together but Ella’s favourite place to go...was school. Albeit, not my favourite place haha but she had learned which teachers had a stash of dog treats for her when she visited them. She also LOVED my friend Andi who would always share her blueberry muffin with Ella during psychology class. Andi had cancer and I think Ella could tell she was sick because she adored Andi. When we found out Andi was terminal, I had gotten a tattoo for her and wheeled my butt to the hospital as my leg bled into my shoe with Ella riding on my back. Ella sat in bed with Andi, cuddling while eating chicken nuggets.

During my spares where I had no classes, I’d let Ella off of her leash and she’d roam the halls visiting her favourite teachers. She became extremely well known in my school which had 2000+ students and I became the “the girl with the dog”. When I graduated, they allowed Ella to be in my photos and at the grad ceremony, she even walked on the stage with me.

When I starred doing school presentations about my condition, living with a disability and anti bullying, I really wanted to teach how animals have a profound effect on mental health. So Ella became a huge part of my presentations and she stole the show each time lol.

At home, I have two other dogs, they’re bigger but Ella was the boss and she made it known. My mom also spoiled her, anything Ella wanted, Ella got. They even shared cereal at bed time. When it was her birthday, we even got Ella a birthday cake that was twice the size of her...and of course she got gifts.

As she got older, Ella earned the name Moocifer because she started being, in the words of my best friend, a crotchety old lady. If Ella didn’t like you, YOU KNEW. She would sleep all day, usually on top of me lol, unless we were going out because she wanted to be anywhere I was. Even when I thought the putting would be too much for Ella, like if it was really cold (I’m in Manitoba and we can hit -50 Celsius in winter) and I knew my doctor appointment would only be an hour or so, she was NOT happy with me.

I had 11 beautiful years with Ella and I have hundreds of precious memories with her. Unfortunately, in December 2018 on the 23rd, we noticed a large lump on her back. My sister runs an animal rescue, Tails Of Freedom Rescue Inc, and she helped me get Ella into the vet. On December 24th, 2018 I found out that my Ellamoo had a tumour on her liver that was pressing on her spine and causing the lump, worse? The cancer had spread to her glands and there was nothing I could do but keep her comfortable for as long as possible.

We spent our final Christmas together, taking pictures and spoiling her with all the food she wanted. I spent $2000 on trying a palliative program to keep her comfortable for as long as I could but on December 30th, she let me know that she was no longer comfortable. Due to my disability, my mom and sister pulled some strings and a vet offered to come to our home and help Ella cross over to rainbow bridge. I also contacted a good friend of mine to come do a tasteful photoshoot with Ella before she was put to rest (she was sedated though), we stamped her paw print which I’ll be getting tattooed eventually and the vet gave me clippings of her fur which I now wear in a necklace at all times. Another friend also made Ella’s first collar into a bracelet that I never take off. As Ella drifted towards rainbow bridge, I whispered to her to find Andi and I will meet her there.

Ella changed my life in so many ways, she changed me. And my life is not the same without her, no other will ever replace my girl but when I am ready, I’ll love another fur baby that needs a home because Ella would want me to. When I was reaching out for a hand to hold, I found a paw and I will forever wear the paw prints on my heart.