Our not-so-new 60 pound lapdog

We had the sad experience of losing 2 dogs to different forms of cancer in 2023.  First we lost Bandit, an 80 pound lab shepherd husky pit mix we had loved for 10 years, to bone cancer which had spread to his lungs. We lasted 3 weeks before the house became unbearably quiet and we adopted Greta, a sweet 50 pound pit bull.  We lost her to lymphoma after having her for only 7 months.  This time to prevent the empty nest syndrome, we immediately adopted Kya, a 60 pound pit bull, who has kept us busy ever since.

 

A mere 3 days after we adopted Kya, she gave us a scare by getting very sick.  She stopped eating and drinking due to a severe gastrointestinal bug of some sort.   We had to drop her off at the vet where they kept her overnight to administer IV antibiotics and fluids.  When we picked her up the next day, we had to sit on the floor with her to coax her to eat and drink before the vet would let us take Kya home.  The picture above is from Thanksgiving at my mother's house which was 4 days after we brought her home.  She still wasn't feeling 100% when this picture was taken.

She was suffering from FAS (Fear, Anxiety, Stress) syndrome when we adopted her.  I think that's probably because she had been in the shelter twice before we adopted her.  She has relaxed quite a bit in the past 2 years but she can still be a bit reactive at times.

After she recovered from her GI issue, we discovered that at 3 years old, Kya had a lot of energy and is quite athletic.  She gets 1 or 2 long walks per day as well as several play sessions on long leash while playing catch.

 

We've had Kya for a little more than 2 years now and she continues to be an absolute joy. She's affectionate, protective, and very enthusiastic. It never gets old having her rush up the stairs to check on me when she gets home from her morning walk and I never get tired of seeing her antics when I take her out for multiple daily play sessions which makes us both happy.

As you can see from the picture below, she's got me totally wrapped around her paw.  She also has us convinced that at 60 pounds, she's not too large to be a lap dog.  She turned 5 in December.  We're hoping to have another 10 years with her because she makes every day better.