Steve's Story - How Frankie and Arrow saved his life!

Hi all,

Approximately 3 years ago I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was given 3-6 months to live, so I decided to have an operation to have part of my pancreas removed, unfortunately when they opened me up they discovered things inside were worse than first thought so they removed the entire pancreas plus my gall bladder and bile duct and half my liver. 

I was in Peter Mac hospital for almost 6 weeks and I often  felt like giving up. My saviour was having my two favourite photos of my boys on the window ledge beside my bed. Whenever I had a low moment I would look at these photos and somehow things didn't seem so bad, I would smile internally.  

Both my boys, Frankie and Arrow were rescues and now they were here trying to rescuing me.

The day Chris took me home from hospital and I managed with her help to get to my front door, there they were, bouncing around in excitement waiting for me to come inside.

 I opened the door and fell to the floor on all fours as they licked me all over I was a mess of tears and they were crazily welcoming me home. 

There is nothing to compare with the unconditional love of a dog. Surely the whippet is the most loving of all breeds the affection they show is second to none.

We are very fortunate to have them in our lives, no doubt they also know how much they are loved and spoilt rotten, and how fortunate they were to be rescued by us.

We first rescued Frankie the blue and white boy when he was approx.. 18mths old. We needed a dog around to keep our Maltese , Axel company while we were away at work. Both boys got along famously until 12mths later Axel had serious heart issues and on his last visit to the Vet he didn't come home.

 Frankie was absolutely lost, he would spend his time going to all the spots that Axel would sleep,  he pined and cried and even vomited over the loss of his mate. It was heartbreaking to see.

There was nothing we could do but look for another mate for him so naturally we went back to the Jenni at whippet rescue association.  She was sensational. We were very lucky that another boy was available,  Arrow the brindle.

I drove up to Albury with a mate of mine to meet Arrow and his current owner. She said she could not handle him any more as he was a jumper. I said that wasn't an issue as I had new 2m high fences plus fence extensions for the extra privacy so he would be safe..aaahhh silly me.

Anyway we drove home in my Nissan pathfinder and with all seats laid down so there was ample room for Arrow and I to lie down beside each other.  He crawled up beside me hunkering in as close as possible for the 4 hours trip home. It was an enormous bonding session.

 As we neared home I started wondering if both boys would get along. Arrow was approx.. 18 months old so younger than Frankie but he was and still is a “whoppit”, approx.. 8kilos heavier and much taller.

My fears were not warranted the instant both boys met each other and sniffed each other all over they have gotten along fantastically. Frankie stopped pining for Axel and stopped vomiting and was his old self again which was beautiful to see. Now they have been best mates for about 6yrs.

Oh and Arrow is still a jumper but not fences as I wrongly thought.  Every visitor that comes here he wants to jump up and lick them all. We almost get him to stop and calm down and then my 30 yr old son visits and he encourages Arrow to jump all over him. Funny how Arrow recognises Shane's car when he arrives and gets extra excited to see him. 

 Well our life together now :---

It's a bonus that we have a king size bed because that's where we all sleep together,  winter time is perfect with the 4 legged hot water bottles. Not so good when they hear a possum way down the backyard, there is a frantic panic as they both at the same instantly jump up and try to get up and outside to chase that possum away from their domain. 

The usual daily routine for them is get out of bed with Chris and go have a small bowl of dry food for breakfast then come racing back to jump on me and dive under the covers, until I decide it’s time for me to get out of bed and get ready and go have my breakfast. 

While I am having my breakfast they are sitting beside me with the saddest begging eyes waiting for their usual treat.  

We slice chicken breast into strips then place them into the dehydrator to dry out. So each morning they have 3 strip's each. If they don't get it as quickly as possible Frankie will paw at my leg to remind me they need their chicken. Bloody spoilt. They love the strips.

After my breakfast I have my only coffee for the day and go down the yard to my shed. I will say "come on down the shed" and they race off charging through the doggy door,  if I am not quick enough they will be standing there barking at me to hurry up, they are impatient and not afraid to tell me to hurry up. The cause of this impatience is because that’s when I give them 3 halves each of one of those doggy bone shaped biscuits. 

I grab my chair and sit there looking out onto the yard enjoying my coffee,  watching as they race off to chase any brave bird that dares to land on the lawn area. Some days Chris or I will take them for a 40 min walk. 

Then after all this frantic exercise Arrow will go back inside and into our bed while Frankie will hop onto one of the beds available in my shed.  If it's a rainy day they will stay in the shed with me on one of the dog beds and in front of the heater. I am usually doing a small project or watching YouTube, learning how to fix or make something, I did say they are spoiled.

Usually I can stay mobile for about 4-5 hours then I will go inside for my lunch,  yes they come racing up to me again. They usually have a snack from whatever I am having after lunch I am exhausted and will retire to my recliner to watch TV and nod off for an hour or two. One of them will sleep between my legs while the other will be on a couch. 

At about 5:45 - 6pm both boys get excited and start doing their zoomies around the house usually bringing in a squeaky toy to tell us it's time for their dinner. Chris will have cooked up a variety of different meals for them, it’s all top quality food, I am sure it's better than whatever she prepares for me. Hahaha They really DO eat healthy food.

Night time we all gather around in the lounge watching TV. Chris will be sitting in centre of couch with a boy on either side of her until she decides to go to bed earlier than me. The boys stay with me until I call bedtime, the they do a mad race to the doggy door heading out to the yard where the three of us empty our bladders together under the moon. Afterwards it's "come on boys into bed" then it's inside were go.  Arrow will go around to Chris's side lick her in the ear and she lifts the covers so he can get under.  Frankie will jump up on the bed and wait until I have gotten ready and when I get in he will walk up to the pillow I will lift the covers and he crawls down to beside my knees and scrunch up close. 

In the morning it starts all over again.

I never knew life with a dog could be filled with so much love and affection and fun and excitement.

Thank you if you have stayed to read our story. 

Cheers Steve, Chris, Frankie and Arrow.

PS from Chris: Hi Rae, yes, Steve wrote the whole thing himself, straight from his heart, something he is very passionate about.

The boys really are therapy dogs, they read everything, amazing.

Funny thing too, Frankie follows Steve everywhere, I mean everywhere!. Whenever he goes to the loo, there is Frankie following, checking.

Arrow is my sleep buddy, he sprawls full length on the outer side of me, glued, and yes, I admit if he isn’t there for me to cuddle I don’t sleep well !!...think I must be 5 years old again with my teddy, not born in the year 1955. LOL..