A bright-eyed Corgi smile!
I figure it’s time to introduce you to my Corgi, Sera. Since she is joined to me at the hip, she’s usually somewhere close by.
Sera is a multi-talented Pembroke diva with short legs. She loves to travel, loves St Augustine, loves shopping, and enjoys helping me with my saddle work. At the moment, she isn’t digging blogging all that much but it’s just taking her some time to figure it out.
In 2001 I said to my uncle, “I think I want another Corgi.” My first Corgi, Poppy, passed away in 1971 and I hadn’t had one since. But my uncle raises them on an extremely limited basis and he planned a litter that year. On July 21, Sera and her sister Sophie were born. Interestingly, Poppy died and Sera was born on the same day of the same month, thirty years apart.
Sera came to live with me at 12 weeks. We adjusted to each other fairly quickly and started having fun together almost from Day One. She quickly figured out the Jeep: wheels = how you get to fun places. I took her to St Augustine with me several times, and in 2003 a friend asked us to housesit and manage her art gallery while she took a much-needed month-long vacation. Sera and I had a great time. Sera did most of the work in the gallery. All I did was unlock the door (she’s too short to reach the lock) and run the cash register. In the evenings we walked along St George Street or went to the Paw Park near our house, which she loved.
Napping - Sera's 2nd favorite thing.
In 2007, Sera was diagnosed with canine Addison’s disease. Her symptoms were so vague that it took some time before her vets realized what her problem was. We caught it just in time to avoid an Addisonian crisis, but I was devastated. I didn’t want a vet to tell me my dog had anything that ended in “-Disease.”
However, as with most “crises,” education and knowledge are your best weapons. I hit Yahoo and immediately found two excellent groups: AddisonDogs and k9Addison’s. I lurked and learned so much about managing Sera’s condition. I am forever grateful to the kind souls who soothed my fears and taught me how to live with my dog’s disease even though they didn’t know it.
I give Sera her Percorten shots every 28 days at home, to treat her Addison’s. She’s doing great on her meds, and even reminds me on the day her shot is due. Seriously – she comes to me and bugs me, and then goes to the kitchen and lies down in front of the cupboard where we keep her meds. She gets excited when she sees me peel off the syringe and pull up her Percorten. Yup. My little canine druggie.
These days she goes on saddle fit calls with me if it’s not too hot. She watches Will & Grace and Frazier with me at night and shares my popcorn. She helps feed horses some mornings, and loves going to the feed store. She amazes me with her opinions and the way she does things. When I can I take her on trips with me but when I can’t, I always bring her a stuffed toy in my suitcase. She loves helping me unpack and finding her present!
I look at her and wonder how I made it through all those years with no Corgi in my life. Her smile makes the sun shine for me every day, no matter what it’s like outside.
