Four months after my husband and I tied the knot, we welcomed our very first furbaby into our lives. At 8 weeks old, our beautiful blue Great Dane, Ziggy Stardust arrived on a plane from Johannesburg, and our family was complete. With big blue eyes and a beautiful soul, she stole our hearts immediately.
The first few moments with her were bliss and she quickly turned our house into a home. It was 24 hours later, and our first hurdle as parents began. With a few worrying signs, we took her to the vet, and she was administered to hospital. It was roughly two weeks she spent there, with countless tests, drips and medication, but no diagnosis. She was losing a lot of blood, and we thought we might lose her. After more tests and various doctors, she was finally diagnosed with an itussueception, and we were faced with the biggest decision of our lives. Either undergo a high risk surgery, with a very low rate of survival, or let her go. Devastated and with broken hearts, we rolled the dice and gave her every chance of survival. Our little girl then had a full blood transfusion that lasted 3 hours, followed by an intense 3 hour surgery. Waiting by the phone was the hardest 6 hours of our lives, but my husband and I leaned on each other, and everything paid off when we finally got the phone call to say she had survived. Our miracle was alive, and we couldn’t have been happier.
What began as a very rough start, turned into the most beautiful journey, and it has been an honour watching her grow. Our little love quickly grew into a little pony, the queen of the house and the queen of our hearts. She is the most entertaining pup, climbs onto every surface imaginable and swims in any body of water she can find. She has a great fear of all citrus fruits and has a constant battle with the lemons in our garden. She is a high energy, all-love, bundle of absolute joy.
Fast forward to Ziggy at 8 months old, and we’re met with another speed bump. 2 lumps and another surgery later, our Ziggy gives us another miracle. Against all odds, the lumps are not malignant, and we have finally gotten our happily ever after.
Throughout the ups and the downs, this whirlwind has brought us even closer together as a family. We are so honoured to be her parents and are immensely stronger for overcoming the obstacles together. Now it’s finally time for us to enjoy a beautiful and long life together, with a strong and healthy girl.
Ziggy Stardust, forever our miracle.
- Daniela Canny of @danielacanny