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My Massive Rottweiler That Was Scared Of Bubbles

But was still the goofiest, sweetest rottweiler in the world

By Mindsmatter.Published 3 years ago 5 min read
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My Massive Rottweiler That Was Scared Of Bubbles
Photo by Stephanie Cook on Unsplash

I have always been a dog person, mainly because since I was a child I was always surrounded by them. And I'm not just talking about poodles and beagles, I grew up among Pitbulls, Rottweilers and Dobermans, you know, the breeds that many people fear.

I never understood the judgments towards these breeds until I was older, because for me there were no “safe” dogs and “violent” dogs, for me there were only dogs. So I don't judge any dog ​​just by the fame of their races.

I don't think Pitbulls are locking jaw killing machines, because when I was 7 years old my dad took care of an adult pitbull with a deep wound on his hind leg. My father would tell me to stay away from him as he was unfamiliar and could be dangerous, but when no one was watching, I would go to the backyard to pet him. Even though he didn't know me and was in terrible pain from the wound he had, he never growled at me or showed his teeth.

Years passed, I am 16 years old and my dad comes home from work. We're all dining together as usual until he, stoic and stone-cold, decides to express an irrelevant piece of information:

“Oh, by the way, I adopted an adult Rottweiler today.”

He said it like he was letting us know we were out of mustard. He continued eating like nothing.

My mom and I were stumped, I was more excited than she was, I must say.

“Oh and she's pregnant.”

I can still hear the sound of our jaws hitting the table to this day.

The story as my father tells it is as follows: he was at the hardware store buying some things, and there were two guys talking. My dad was minding his own business but he couldn't help overhearing one of the guys say that he couldn't find a home for his Rottweiler, which he couldn't keep anymore, and that if he didn't find it he would just have to abandon it on the street.

My dad interrupted him and said simply: "don't abandon her, I'll adopt her!"

And suddenly we own a pregnant 2-year-old rottweiler that we've never seen.

He and I went to pick her up, all we knew was that she was living on a ranch with her old family and that the wife of the guy that my dad met didn't want to keep her anymore. Then we realized that she was not in the best care.

We arrived at this ranch a few minutes from the city, my dad and the guy got distracted talking about adult things and I am sitting on the front porch until a large black shadow crosses the door frame making me jump out of my seat.

That was the first time I saw Hayley.

By Shan A. Rajpoot on Unsplash

By the way, they never told us what her name was (if she ever had one), so I named her that because I was obsessed with Paramore and the singer Hayley Williams back then.

She had fleas, ticks and she looked a bit malnourished, even for being pregnant. She was completely calm as if our presence there didn't even care, we put her in the truck and took her to her new home.

We bathed her, used shampoo for ticks and fleas, and gave her medicine for parasites. She always stayed calm and slow, she wasn't used to being pet, but she didn't show resistance either. We didn't hear her barking until the next day. Evidently, she was not happy in her old home, we never heard anything from that family again or what things Hayley went through before we met.

Do you remember I told you that she was pregnant? Well, her former owner told us that it should be about 2 weeks before she gave birth. Well, his calculations were a bit wrong. On her second day at home, Hayley gave birth to 10 tiny Rottweilers, we were not remotely ready to have 11 dogs in the house.

We were running from one place to another, there were puppies everywhere, the first were born around noon and the last until 8 pm. The miracle of life has never been so chaotic.

Sadly, all of Hayley's puppies passed away 48 hours after birth, none survived.

We were very concerned and asked the vet to advance the appointment we had made. She checked her and took blood samples, the results came back a few days later.

The vet called us and told us Hayley had ehrlichiosis, a tick-borne disease. It affects the blood and the immune system and the mother transmits it on to her cubs. This disease has no cure, you can only treat the symptoms with time.

It was a very hard blow for everyone, especially for Hayley, but with time we were all able to heal. Her first days here were very dizzying, but slowly we began to get to know each other and we saw her true colors. She was running, wagging her tail and enjoying being pet more.

Although, as I told you, I never fear dogs because of their breed, you never know how they were raised. Coming from an abusive home, We thought we would have to deal with an anxious or aggressive dog.

Luckily for us, it was the exact opposite. Never in my life have I met a more sweet, loving and loyal dog than Hayley. He was a 40 kilos furball unable to kill a fly. I never heard her growl or be aggressive.

Her favorite hobbies were rolling around in the dirt, having her belly scratched, and walking in the park, even though she feared dogs half her size.

She was afraid of almost everything, really. Cushions, the vacuum cleaner, even the soap bubbles that were made when I bathed her.

When we were going for a walk, people would cross the street to avoid passing her. I get it, she was a big black dog and a bit scary. If only they knew that this dog runs away from butterflies.

Sadly Hayley lost the fight against her illness, we did everything we could. She was with us for 4 wonderful years, and although by telling this story I say that we rescued her from an abusive home, the truth is that I like to think that she saved us.

I miss you, Hayley. I hope there aren't a lot of soap bubbles in doggy heaven.

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About the Creator

Mindsmatter.

Mindsmatter is written by Bola Kwame, Jack Graves and Emma Buryd.

De-stigmatizing mental illness one day at a time.

Our socials: https://linktr.ee/Mindsmatter

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