Written by Michelle Ferreira
Professional photography by Candice Araujo Photography
A rescued dog loves like no other
Let me tell you the story of a dog named Maximus.
I first saw him on a Facebook post from Brakpan SPCA on the 4th of February 2013. I emailed my husband (we already had three adopted babies, but this one spoke to me) and we went to meet him that same afternoon.
He was kept in front, like a little receptionist baby. He had long, messy hair, but to me he was absolutely spectacular. They guessed he was born around 2006.
Well, the next moment he was ours.
EASY INTRODUCTIONS
Maxi was the easiest introduction to our home that I’ve ever had. It was as if our other babies just knew he was special. He was old and abused – no one would know how he might have been abused, but we could see it. From the first moment he entered our home, he just wanted his mommy.
Sassy (our first born, a Border Collie cross from Wet Nose who’s now 15 years old), Daisy (our second, a Basenji cross from Sandton SPCA, also 15 years old now) and Ozzy (a 13-year-old wire-haired cross from Alberton SPCA) all loved him, but the little soul always preferred me.
We teased and called him Mr Stiffy, because from day one those four little legs wouldn’t bend, but he coped just fine. He’d sleep for much of the day, but that’s what he enjoyed the most.
A TOUGH TIME
Unfortunately, all good stories do come with some sad parts too. We thought we’d lost him in September 2021. His entire body gave in and he vomited yellow bile. With all speed I got him to our vet, where I was told there wasn’t much they could do. But I decided to try my luck and consulted a Johannesburg specialist vet to find out what could possibly be done. The problem was in his gallbladder wall, and the one thing that could help was to remove it.
Of course, we made the decision to do the operation. He made it – he showed us he wanted to make it.
After another two-and-a-half years our next scare came. The one moment he was fine, the next his back legs didn’t want to work. X-rays revealed that he had a possible spine problem, but surgery at his age and the recovery would be very difficult, so we decided to try the traditional approach of meds and cage rest. And guess what? Our little trooper decided he still wanted to be with us.
TURNING 18!
Maxi made his 18th year, and we couldn’t be happier and more blessed. Once again he’s fully recovered and we have our little man sleeping 20 hours a day, but he does know when it’s mealtime. We can only hope to be blessed with another month, or two, or even a year. Even though he’s very much a loner and very quiet, we couldn’t imagine our home without him.
I’m a strong believer in adopting and rescuing, and I can truly say that a rescued dog loves like no other.
