A Little Blue Donut

Anyone that knows me well, knows that my partner, Drake, is allergic to the universe. It sounds dramatic but it's not untrue. Cats? Yes. Dogs? Yes. Peanuts? Yes. Chickpeas? Yes. The list goes on. 

So, when we decided we wanted to get a pet, it had to be “hypoallergenic” or as close to it as we could get. Would we have loved to wander through the rescue centers and bring home a little ragamuffin who needed a good home? Absolutely. But we were terrified that we'd get a pet home and then be those people that had to return them. Maybe you're thinking, “well, just spend some time with the animal in the facility to make sure.” Doesn't work that way. The centers are so permeated with dander that Drake can barely set foot in them. When you're allergic to the whole building, it's not a good test for a specific animal.

Instead, we turned towards specialty breeders. We spent an afternoon with a litter of Bengal cats before quickly ruling them out (Drake sneezed the whole time). Drake has family members with doodles and knew that he could likely make one of those work. However, we were still nervous that the cross wouldn't be hypoallergenic enough. So we focused on terrier breeds. Drake absolutely adores Airedale terriers. However, finding a breeder locally was a problem. Same with Cairn terriers. Eventually, we found someone with miniature Schnauzer puppies for sale. 

In 2017, we brought home Gus. A salt and pepper miniature Schnauzer with a docked tail (He came that way. We didn't request it). Gus is such a good boi. He loves people so much that he has a tendency of peeing on the floor in excitement when we get home. The only thing he loves more than people is treats. He's not much for fetch, but he's excellent at cuddles and demanding belly rubs. He's definitely a barker and lets everyone know his true feelings. He grew to a thick and sturdy 25lbs.

In 2019, we brought home Dash. The runt of the litter, he was teeny tiny. When we met him, he was pitch black with a white chin and white toes. Now, he sort of resembles a potato that rolled under the fridge and was forgotten about. We love him anyway. He has a long tail. (Between 2017 and 2019, the practice of docking Schnauzer tails ended). Dash is also 100% certified good boi. He loves cuddles and a good chew. When we get home, he beelines for a toy to bring to us (usually while howling, so he comes with his own muffler). We joke that he's more cat than dog. He likes chase (no take, only throw) and has a great memory for where he's left his toys. I call him my “perma-puppy” because he topped out at a whopping 12lbs. 

If you were thinking about getting a second dog in hopes that it'll play with your first, it doesn't always work out. Don't get me wrong, Gus and Dash are best buds, but they don't really play together. They're more like step brothers. Dash consistently joins Gus for cuddles and they are always near each other at doggie daycare. Gus tolerates his nearness, but doesn't initiate it.

Dashie is highly anxious and an extreme "velcro dog." Maybe because he's never been an only dog/child? In the summer of 2025, he started having vomiting episodes. Schnauzers have notoriously sensitive tummies and are prone to disorders like pancreatitis. They need specific diets and are not the type that can handle a pup cup…like ever. So initially, we weren't super concerned about Dash's vomiting (Gus is the master of a puke and rally). It also coincided with us moving into a new house, a first time experience for Dash. So we initially attributed it to anxiety. 

However, when it kept happening, we started getting worried. He was getting thin and didn't seem like himself. We'd been trying a vet in our new neighborhood, but they didn't seem to have the same sense of urgency that we did. We asked them to run tests specifically for pancreatitis. They assured us they did and that they were negative. We learned later after going to a different vet, getting referred to an emergency veterinary clinic, and having the results forwarded, that the metrics they'd run, did not in fact test for pancreatitis. Le sigh. 

On November 6, Dash spent a full day getting checked out at the emergency vet clinic. Drake picked him up after work. I was getting ready to go to choir. When he got home, he met me on the stairs and promptly burst into tears. While Gus and Dash are both “our doggies,” Gus is a tiny bit more Drake's and Dash is a tiny bit more mine. Poor Drake. He'd had a hard conversation with the vet. Then spent his entire drive home agonizing over how he was going to tell his wife that her precious little doggie was ill (while Dash scream cried in the backseat. He does not like car rides).

Two potential diagnoses:

1) Intestinal cancer.

2) Severe irritable bowel syndrome.

Something was blocking his system and not allowing food to pass through. Which caused him to vomit it back up.

Two treatment options:

1) Surgery to remove the affected tissue.

2) Do nothing knowing that he'd likely bleed internally, be in pain, and continue to vomit.

They wouldn't be able to tell which diagnosis it was without surgery. I was completely taken aback. I generally consider myself a fairly intelligent individual, but I had never even considered cancer as an option. I, too, immediately burst into tears (and did not make it to choir that night). 

When deliberating treatment options, I maintained that whatever we chose had to be the best for Dashie. I wouldn't subject him to extremes for my benefit. Anything we did to him had to drastically improve his quality of life for a significant amount of time. If the surgery was only going to get him a few more months, it wouldn't be worth it. If it got him a few more years, then absolutely yes. He's only 6.  After a phone consult with the surgeon, we decided to move forward.

Dash went in for surgery Nov 27. Maybe it's because I grew up on a farm and my dad was the person everyone called when an animal needed to be put down, but I was adamant that if something went wrong with the surgery, I didn't want extreme measures to be taken. Dash is 12lbs. CPR is incredibly intense, especially for someone so tiny. I didn't want them to try to save his life only to make it much worse accidentally.

Fortunately, things went very smoothly. The surgeon removed 10cm of, in his words, “gnarly tissue” and sewed him back together. He stayed at the clinic overnight and came home the next day with a tummy full of staples. Even more fortunately, one of our closest friends, Kim, is a tech at the same clinic and she kept very close eyes on Dashie for us, even though he wasn't in her department. Drake and I got “designer hypoallergenic doggies” intentionally and agreed to assume the costs of it. Therefore, we got pet insurance for both doggies. Our portion of a $8500 surgery was roughly $1200. Worth it. 

When Dash was fixed, the hard cone irritated him endlessly. So we got an inflatable one. We did the same this time too; however, this one was colored like a donut with blue icing and sprinkles. (Drake's pick). Overall, Dash healed well. He seemed to enjoy being carried up and down the stairs for two weeks and handled all his medications like a champ. Although, he was not a fan of having his staples removed. 

Dashie has a new, very expensive diet of food with hydrolyzed protein that's easier for him to digest. He also gets a daily B12 supplement. Much to our vet team's surprise, Dash's tissue sample came back negative for cancer. He has extreme doggie irritable bowel syndrome. We don't know how long he had it or how long it could take to become that bad again. But we're hopeful. He went for a check up recently. His bloodwork is good, he's gaining weight, has more energy, and most importantly, no longer has vomiting episodes. He just turned 7 and I am so very grateful I didn't have to say goodbye to my little turd.

If you have pets, give them an extra cuddle or treat for us.

Best,

Laura