A Dog’s death that changed a life purpose.
For some people the sole idea of an animal’s existence impacting so hard someone’s life is just absurd, but only a pet owner can understand the connection an animal can have with a human.
When you experience for first time that pure love, life can change drastically and so it did to a young lady called Andrea when she got for first time her own dog, this is the story.
There was a cute little Pug that appeared in this young lady’s life in the worst of her moments and depressions. She wasn’t an out-going person and precisely she was dealing with self-esteem issues plus a chain of heartbroken situations.
With no one to open up about her emotions she came to a realization: she forgets about her problems when she pets the neighbor’s dog, dogs have always made her smile but sadly she never had one that she could call “hers” before. It was decided! she was going to have her own dog and maybe the new family member can get her mind distracted from all the pain and confusion she was dealing with. She asked with all her strength to her parents if they could allow a dog in the house, she was already an adult woman but staying in her parents house means rules, it had to be respected.
While she focused on her studies and time passed by she kept insisting and insisting about the idea of having a dog around, “Should it be male or female” “what names are better?” “what food brand should I use?” Owning a Dog became her new topic for starting conversations with her family.
Her Mother noticed her mood changes to worse and both parents stopped thinking that it was just a whim, they looked at the idea of having a dog more seriously. Dad always wanted a dog anyway.
“She normally doesn’t insist in stuff, she’s not a demanding person, nor in food, activities, anything, she adapts easily to situations, but, when I see her determination about doing a drastic change in her life it REALLY means she’s dealing with something big and it’s her way to set free. It was like that time when she insisted me so much in switching schools. Well, she was dealing with bullying and it started to become unbearable, so I DID listened to her and I did as how she asked me, it felt like her soul was screaming for help!, and Thank God I did what I did!! her new high school experience was the healthiest a mother can ask for their child and she was always grateful with me about supporting her in that moment! This time… felt similar.”
— Andrea’s Mother
After a long time of crying every night before sleep and after wishing for a faster tomorrow at mornings finally Andrea saw this little bread bun appeared in her life, but everything wasn’t as expected, This little boy was practically rescued from a neglectful dog breeder, He was covered in ticks all over his body and sick with anemia.
He was so weak that in less than a week the family spent more than the dog’s price itself in medicines and supplements. With a lot of effort the family could keep the treatment until finally he recovered from his illness.
He was named Dali, Like the surrealist painter Salvador Dali. He had these “creative” vibes.
Then Something within the young lady awakened. A maternal feeling she never experienced before maybe due to her age or lack of experience. It was the first time this feeling appeared in her chest, it made her focus instantly on this new small innocent creature that needed protection, she left her sad days slowly behind and in that moment she created a new life goal. “I want you to grow healthy and strong” She declared it to a puppy that could fit in one palm.
All her attention was on him, She played with him every moment she could, He was her new best friend!! and finally she could witness how strong and well-behaved a dog could be, Dali was full of love for his new Grandparents and Mama.
He was so spoiled and loved that she thought maybe he could feel alone sometimes, maybe a partner would be amazing for him. Then Rosa, a super healthy female pug appeared in his life, He wasn’t interested in playing with her at first but at the end he got used to her sassiness and games.
Everything seemed to be perfect, but sadly Dali’s story is full of struggles.
The young lady had never experienced such stress that would make her throw up, an anxiety that would take her breath away and a pain that after a year still lingers in her heart. Everything started with a veterinary diagnosis.
One day, she felt a lump on his neck, he got a skin benign mass surgery before so maybe she thought it was something similar, but in the moment she saw that even with creams it became bigger and suddenly there was another on the other side of his neck, she went immediately to the veterinarian. After the biopsy, what she feared the most came to be: “Your dog has Lymphoma T-Cell, this has no cure, Dali has approximately 1 to 2 weeks left.” The veterinarian said.
This… was like the world falling apart for her, he was only 4 years old and she not only felt powerless, she felt guilt.
But she didn’t want to give up that easily, “there must be a way!…?” she asked… “There is a treatment, Dogs with lymphoma really respond good at chemo, as I said there’s no cure, BUT, with a treatment your dog’s life can be extended to months, even there’s cases where they could live a year or two more” -vet said… it was still devastating for her… “maybe months or a year for you it’s not that much but for dogs, it’s long enough to have good experiences, remember that their time is different to ours”- the vet continued. This really motivated her to try, Even if.. they said there was no cure, she always had hope. “he would lose hair? or be in pain like humans does?” she asked the vet “No, no, even if they use the same medicine like ours, the secondary effects aren’t as strong in them as how they are in humans, if we take care of the secondary effects, he wouldn’t even notice” And it was exactly like that, he never got stomach issues, only vomited once, never got diarrhea. She was very careful in supplementing him so he wouldn’t suffer secondary effects and he did amazing as if nothing happened, he was such a brave dog and could live a ton of new experiences. But her sin was to keep hoping…
The first animal that she felt maternal feelings towards was diagnosed with Lymphoma, at 4 years old, she always wondered how he would look with gray hair all over his face, sadly she could never see his old ages.
Even if she spent all her income and created debts on her credit cards for paying his chemo, importing the meds because they were sold out in town, treating the cancer’s side effects, even when she could keep him happy, full of new experiences, energetic and eating “like a tiger”, The day that everyone feared arrived.
He started not accepting food, even his favorite treats and started shaking, Dali had to be taken with emergency to the vet, he was day by day improving, but suddenly a night all his blood cells dropped and even with blood transfusion he couldn’t make it… All his treatment was a rollercoaster of emotions, One day his organs had hives, the other they were intact like nothing happened and suddenly… this… his life had to end that day, and it did…
“I was asleep then the notification sound of my cellphone woke me up with a gasp and a “Dali!!” half-asleep scream… yes, it was the veterinarian, “Dali se nos murió” he wrote.” — Andrea
Dali left this world at 5 years old at the vet’s cold table at 3 am. She always regretted to not be there in that moment holding his paw, with her forehead on his, giving him strength.
She is an artist, she always thought about maybe work for a studio, or maybe work in a movie or a tv show. But after his death… Her goals changed to honor his memory and make awareness about cancer in dogs.
She created Dali Pug the character, A character that she wants to develop with her engineer friend and co-founder David Padilla, their goal with their new studio Andorah’s box is to establish a brand full of books and animated shorts full of the same cuteness and happiness that Dali shared when he was alive, and they WON’T stop until Dali Pug is known worldwide.
The brand started with an NFT project:
“I loved him so much and I decided to design Dali PUGtibles when I knew he was diagnosed with cancer, he always inspired me to do projects about him anyway, these… were the most special ones. When he passed away I had to pause the PUGtibles development and all my work contracts during the mourning and pain, I still miss him so much… Then, determined, I decided to continue the project and Finally I could launch Dali Pugtibles the 9th of January of 2022!
The meaning behind of this project is not only show how cute Dali was to my eyes, but how cute dogs in general can be, how important they are and how they can inspire and make an amazing impact in our lives.
Money is a really stressing topic that sometimes is a taboo to talk about, I support people seek for not struggle about it and I’ll be really happy if these PUGtibles help you with your finances. Somehow Dali indirectly helped too ❤ .
I appreciate all the support we have been receiving in our project, Thank you so much to our holders and community. We´re going to reach our goals together!“
Andrea A. Leon — Andorah
(Co-Founder, Director and Art Development)
Thank you so much for reading!
Visit Dali Pugtibles webpage for more information!
