How We Found our Fur-Babies

Dedicated to Delilah

It was a hot day and the broken window on Jacob’s black Rav4 made the heat unbearable. We were on our way to pick up some medicine nearby, but the blazing sun made this simple task difficult. Instead of finding a place to park, Jacob first dropped me off to make the walk to my office shorter. Then I saw them. They were the tiniest potatoes, such little balls of fluff, I wanted to squeeze them and hold them forever.

Jacob returned in his car and saw what I was cradling: two small, dark brown puppies. As he came closer, he quickly realized they were in bad shape. They had fleas crawling around their eyes and mouth, their tummies were bloated from worms, and they were overheated from walking in the sun. Obviously, I could not leave these little babies behind and convinced Jacob that it is absolutely necessary to take them and keep them forever.

One week later, the puppies were making themselves at home. The big and greedy one we named Izuba (sunshine in Kinyarwanda) because she was so loud and boisterous, we could see her everywhere we went. Our other puppy, sweet little Delilah, was small and weak and struggled to be healthy. Regardless of all their health problems, we started to love them just like family. Every day they played in the grass, followed us at our feet, and slept stacked like fuzzy bricks, one puppy always on top of the other. They were our perfect babies, our carefree rascals who loved cuddles and blankets and toys.

Soon after we got them I traveled back to the US, leaving Jacob alone to take care of them. Things took a turn for the worst. Little Delilah started getting sick, showing signs of parvo. Jacob rushed her to the veterinarian (who, by the way, is the only vet who treats dogs and cats in the entire country of Rwanda) where she received IVs and supportive formula to fight dehydration. A few days after Delilah arrived at the vet, Izuba started having the same symptoms, so she too was rushed to the vet. The days passed and I was desperately trying to keep track of the puppies’ health from across the world in California. As Izuba started to improve, Delilah’s health gradually deteriorated. She wasn’t able to eat on her own, could barely walk, and was losing weight quickly. Luckily, she had excellent vet care and was treated like a princess.

After a few weeks of missing Jacob and missing my puppies, I finally returned to Rwanda. Of course, the first thing we did was visit Izuba and Delilah at the vet’s clinic. When I walked into the main entrance at the vet’s office, I heard Izuba’s little paws scampering about in the other room. When she saw me, she started jumping up and down, running, and barking her little puppy bark. Sadly, Delilah didn’t seem to notice I was there. She was being fed through a syringe by one of the vet’s assistance. She looked at me with her small, expressionless eyes. Delilah needed a miracle to survive.
The next day when we returned, Izuba did her usual running around and barking while we searched for Delilah. After taking one look at her we knew it was her time. The virus she was fighting had affected her neurological system and her body was uncontrollably twitching. Jacob and I looked at each other with our teary eyes and looked towards the vet with the same expression. At that moment we all shared a silent agreement. The question didn’t need to be asked, decisions didn’t need to be made. The look shared between us said it all. We said our goodbyes to Delilah. Izuba gave her a big kiss on the head and waited anxiously for Delilah to get up and play. We know that Izuba will play with Delilah again, once she too has crossed the rainbow bridge.

Sometimes we wonder if Izuba remembers her sister. While we’re going on walks, she stops likes she’s missing something and looks around searching for it. We wonder if she smells something that reminds her of Delilah when we pass houses with dogs. We miss our little puppy every day, but we are grateful that she was given the chance to survive. Now, we spend our days running around with Izuba and playing fetch and stopping on the road so Izuba can sniff around for her sister.