Our Sweet Camo
This is actually the Blog from 2020-06-13. I can't improve what Denali wrote.
2020-06-13 ... Our Sweet Pup
With all the crazy in the world these days, I wasn't going blog about our dog. But reading Denali's post to the Large Munsterlander Club on Facebook changed my mind. Down the road (I'm 66), Alex and Denali will be doing more and more of the WeatherWool work, and I view this as Denali's first WeatherWool blog entry:
Camo was, like many dogs, the best dog in the world. My family adopted her when she was 7 weeks old, and had the incredible honor of enjoying her company for 19 years. On the first night that we brought her home, when we went to sleep, she set herself on my chest, directly on top of my heart.
She was smart, strong, gentle, and absolutely perfect. Being a Large Munsterlander, she knew what she wanted to do; she wanted to hunt, to swim, to protect her home, and enjoy her family. She had a purpose in her life, and you could see the spark in her eyes every time that sense of purpose had been fulfilled.
It was about a year into having her that she began having seizures. We were told to expect a shorter than normal life span for our girl. The average life span of a Large Munsterlander is 12-13 years, so at 19, her doctors say she lived two lifetimes. Besides being born with epilepsy, she overcame so much: two types of cancer, Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, pyometra, poisoning, mast cell tumors, heart disease, and more... all of that is to say, “here’s to the underdog”, to pups with a disadvantage, because these precious animals have so much to offer, so much love to give, if you just give them a chance.
In July of 2019, Camo was defying all expectations, and living a beautiful, active, healthy life, but the previously small and unremarkable tumor on her hind leg had grown in her unexpected longevity to the point where it required removal. At 18, surgery was not ideal, but it was the right thing to do. Camo pulled through the surgery, but 24 hours post-op, she was far from out of the woods. We were allowed to visit her for a few minutes as she lay unconscious in the critical ICU bed connected to more tubes and wires than I expected. The doctor explained that she was holding on, but that she had lost a lot of blood in surgery, and her vitals were not good. Reaching down to give her a gentle touch behind her ears, and a kiss on her head, she woke up, and to her doctors amazement, her vitals became stronger that very moment. Her connection to us gave her strength as she improved each time we came to see her. In a few days-time, she was back at home.
I’m so humbled and grateful to have had such a strong bond with Camo, to give her every treat imaginable, and share endless love as her days with us would come to an end. She was the best friend that we could have asked for, so being there for her when she needed us most was the least we could do.
There is no love like that of a dog, especially a dog with special needs. A lot of people might have written Camo off for having a few health issues, but they’d have missed out on a dog with impeccable table manners, who loved pistachios and drew admiration from people around the world.
We don’t get to keep our friends forever, but if you’re lucky, you might find yourself a pup, maybe even a pup with special needs, who fills your heart with love, has the softest ears you’ve ever touched, and, if you’re really lucky, one who lives two lifetimes.
Thank you to the Argiero Family, were it not for your love of these dogs, Camo would never have come to be, and thank you to everyone who has shown their love of our precious Camo over the years. It has been such a gift to share her with all of you.
Camo DiMeo / Rainey River's Carmella
04/21/2001 - 05/29/2020
