Losing Nietcha

Nietcha came to us when she was three. My family had decided to adopt a friend for Heidi, so we began a search. My husband's sister believed that a companion would help our sweet Heidi get over some irritating habits, such as gnawing at her nails.

I fell in love with Nietcha as soon as I laid eyes on her. Her family was in the middle of trying to sell their house, and with an infant, Nietcha was just "too much."

Heidi did not take too well to Nietcha. Sweet Heidi became super jealous Heidi--that came out of nowhere! After a week, Heidi realized Nietcha was here to stay and decided to join us in welcoming our new addition.

Immediately, Nietcha and I bonded, perhaps it was because of my "rescuing" her from the wrath of her new sister. That bond never weakened. Losing her broke my heart.

Heidi and Nietcha were both German Shepherds. We raised Heidi from a pup, but she was my son's dog. Nietcha was my dog. She wanted to be near me all the time, loving it when I scratched her ears in just the right place. I won't forget her sounds of surrender when I scratched just right.

Nietcha would have been a wonderful service dog. When my mother was visiting us shortly before her death, Nietcha would lay by her side. She was such a comfort to Mama. When I felt under the weather because of chemo, she was at my side. She had a sense that she was needed, so unlike Heidi. Nietcha always waited ahedad for me, as many German Shepherd's like to do, just to make sure everything was allright.

She loved to go for rides in the car, so she became a constant companion. It didn't matter how short or how long the drive, she never had too much of a good thing.

Nietcha had, over several months, gotten thin. I hadn't thought much about it because she was eating well and had no other symptoms. When a friend commented about her weight, I took her to the vet. After doing blood work , ultrasound and X-rays, the vet and I discussed possibilities. I decided to more carefully monitor her eating and pooping. Then the diarrhea started. We tried antibiotics and an anti-diarrheal medicine. In her last week, she seemed to rally, but then she stopped eating. We started giving her pancreatic enzymes to replace those that the pancreas was unable to produce. Apparently Endocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency in common in German Shepherds. But we were too late.

Niecha died on Wednesday, February 18, 2009. She was eight years old. The night before, she had made her way upstairs and had jumped on my bed. I don't know how she did it -- she was so weak. We had not been letting her into the house because of her diarrhea, but Tuesday evening I took the chance. She was so lonely. I'm so thankful that I did. I was able to scratch her ears and show her how much I loved her. She was able to jump on my bed to show me how much she wanted to be near me. As my husband drove Nietcha and I to the vet (I was still in my pjs and robe), she used her last bit of energy to crawl up in my lap so that I could ....rub her ears.