Saving Wu

I have a nine-year-old pit bull named Wu. She is the best friend anyone could ever ask for and the goodest girl. Wu is dying of a brain tumor. She was diagnosed about eighteen months ago, and there is not much we can do other than keep her comfortable and give her the best life for however long she has left. We are coming to the end of her expected time left, and it won’t be too much longer before we need to make some tough decisions. Although the day will come sooner rather than later, we aren’t there yet. For now, we are loving on her and laughing at her antics. So in celebration of my goodest girl, Wu, I will regal you with my favorite memory; how she came to live with me.

December 4, 2013, and the coldest night of the year, it was six degrees with a bitter Kansas wind making the “feels like” temperature negative six degrees. We walked into Charles Koch Arena to watch our beloved Wichita State Shockers play basketball. We had made it through the metal detectors and were in the process of getting our tickets scanned when a little puppy came running into the building from the frigid outdoors. Being the dog lover I am, I went straight to the dog, along with every other dog lover in the near vicinity, to check on her. I was the person she came to. Out of the crowd, she chose me. It took exactly one look into her pale blue eyes to know she was mine. She licked my hand and nuzzled right into me. Some cheerleaders who were out greeting people came over to see the dog. I had told them that I would take the dog home with me and put out flyers to see if anyone had lost a dog, and if I couldn’t find her owner, then I was willing to keep her. An injured cheerleader who wasn’t performing that night was ready to take Wu to the locker room and play with her while I watched the game, and we would meet after the game and take Wu home.

After the game, I met the cheerleaders and Wu at our designated meeting place. I can still remember vividly how many cheerleaders came out to say goodbye to Wu. They were in the locker room playing with Wu when they weren’t cheering. In two hours, Wu had won the hearts of the entire squad and even the coach, who wasn’t thrilled with Wu being in the locker room in the first place. Before I left with her to go home, the cheerleaders insisted on taking pictures. Wu was so good-natured and enjoyed the attention she was receiving.

Finally, it was time to go home. When we got to the car, little Miss was exhausted from all her social activities. She went over to me and curled up in my lap, all tuckered out. The following day we put an ad out on Craigslist about a found dog. Several blue-eyed pitbull puppies, just like Wu, had been found within about a 2-mile radius of where Wu was found. We believe that she and her other litter mates were dumped in the same area. When I realized she didn’t have a home, it was quickly decided that she would be mine, as she had already chosen me as her human. We named her Wu in honor of the Wichita State mascot, the WuShock.

She chose me as her person on night one. She has continued to choose me as her person every night since. She is the best-natured dog I have ever had. She has never met a stranger and loves everybody she meets. She has given me so many smiles and laughs in the last nine years she has been in my life, and she truly is my best friend.