Uh-Oh, Do Border Collies Have More Than 9 Lives?

I set out to write a recap post for newer fans who’ve only known Lilly since her adverse rabies vaccine reaction happened (now some 19 months ago). Our canine heroine — long famous for dangerous medical scrapes — cheats death pretty often. Except, when I added up her many health scares, I realized we’re at #9 … and it made me worry.

Superstition flooded my veins. “You see,” I told myself, “it’s a sign. This really is our last stand.”

Unless, of course, border collies with magical abilities have many more lives than cats. While you ponder that gem, here is The List of things Lilly has already survived in her 9 years.

{Some of them link to blog posts from the time. Mouse over to see which ones are clickable.}

  1. Parvovirus at 6 months old
  2. Kennel cough that turned into pneumonia at 8 months old
  3. Fighting with / chasing off a coyote when she was  around a year old
  4. Getting trapped inside a trash bag (where she could have suffocated)
  5. Getting a cereal bag  stuck on her head (again, where she could have suffocated)
  6. Rattlesnake bite to the face #1 (Labor Day Weekend 2008)
  7. Rattlesnake bite to the face #2 (Summer 2010)
  8. Paintball poisoning (December 2010)
  9. Adverse rabies vaccine reaction (January 2012) that has forever changed Lilly’s brain and her life

Honestly.

(picture me shaking my head)

The blog began as a way to chronicle Lilly’s clinical-level fear and anxiety. We’ve gone public with our failures in agility and rally and herding. We’ve told our harrowing tales of medical miracles and worries.

And, now this long, complicated story of Lilly’s brain and that one doggone vaccine I wish with my whole heart I could take back. 

I cannot, and so we walk this road — knowing in our hearts where it leads.

I’ve always called Champion of My Heart a “real-time memoir.” Originally, I believed the story would be one of triumph (meaning success in competitive agility). Now, I know it’s more about how we remain standing amid a sea of various failures and how that … that resilience … that perseverance in the face of unrelenting challenge is the heart of our story.

It often isn’t pretty. We suffer low tides, and yet we remain.

Lilly under my desk as I write. Her ears tickling my bare legs in summer. Her chin snuggling with my slippered feed in winter. Her barks waking me FAR too early each day. Her smiles despite it all.

Thanks to all of you for witnessing our journey.