Rescuing Brandie

My two brothers, my mom, and I visited a local convenience store where we met a beautiful auburn-colored dog when I was turning 12. She looked to be a lab and shepherd mix, who was rather large with big beautiful brown eyes.

The dog was very friendly and well mannered, so I played with her for a moment while everyone else went into the store. She seemed to be sick and her skeleton was showing, due to being underweight.

Our hearts went out to her and we all cried, because we couldn't just up and leave her in this condition to go home to forget her. Immediately, my brothers and I begged my mother to let us help the dog. However, at first she said we wouldn't be able to keep her.

My mom decided to buy some can dog food for her and the woman behind the counter gave us a cup of water. We watched her eat and drink up all we had given her, but she still seemed hungry and the dog climbed in our car.

My mom went back into the store and bought her some more food, while my brothers and I asked everyone if they knew who the dog had belonged too. After an hour with this sweet dog, my mom let us bring her home and we made posters to let her owners know that we had her.

We placed the posters out all over the community and we mowed lawns the next day, in order to earn enough to take her to the local vet. We took her to the vet on the following day, after we had earned enough to afford the visit and we learned that she was very sick with heartworms. My two brothers and I cried, because we wanted to save her, but the treatment was so expensive.

The vet asked us, "What we wanted to name her?"

My little brother stated, "Brandie...because of her color!"

So, we made payment arrangements with the vet and he agreed to help us save her life. However, he warned us that the treatment could fail or kill her. We paid a certain amount each week from our earnings, but we knew she had to have the treatment in order to live.

It was touch and go during the treatment, but she fought hard and finally seemed to be getting better. After a couple of weeks, she was playing with us and fattening up on good food. We knew we did the right thing every time we played with her, because she was one of the best dogs I ever met.

She became our best friend from the night we met her at the local store, but we never imagine we'd spend over ten more years playing with her. Our angel Brandie protected us, as we worked hard to take care of her and keep her healthy. Honestly, I have no doubt that we saved her life, but in time she became our miracle as well.