Fina came into our lives for a purpose.  I suffer from quite a few ailments that range from migraines to irritable bowel syndrome to rheumatoid arthritis to diabetes and hypothyroid.  In July of 2006, my husband decided it would be good for us to have a puppy since Fluffy was getting older and maybe a puppy would perk her and me up all at the same time.  We never had a pure breed always getting dogs from shelters so we did not know the proper way to look for a pure breed.  But we had decided on the Rottweiler because of its great loyalty to its owner and we called around to local pet shops.  My younger daughter, Nicole, found one at a Petland in Pembroke Pines.  We drove down the same day and found our Fina all the way in the back, alone in her kennel.  She looked too big at 8 weeks to be in the little kennel.  We told the clerk we wanted to see her and immediately fell in love with her.  She followed me all over the place.  Fina is smart and loving. 

As she got older, we noticed she was limping.  At about 3 months old, we took her to the vet and he took some x-rays and confirmed she had hip dysplasia.  My poor baby was broken just like I was and this made our bond even greater.  When Fina was 2, we decided to get a male as a companion to Fina.  We spayed and neutered them, so it was not for breeding.  We found Rico by what I consider luck.  He was already five months old but the wife of the current owner did not like him and they needed to get rid of him.  The owners had put an ad in the local newspaper and my older daughter happened to come across it.  We went to see Rico and found him to be just lovable if not rambunchus.  When we brought Rico home, it actually helped Fina.  Since Fluffy is old, it was hard to exercise Fina with her, but with Rico, Fina received all the exercise both of them needed.  It was love at first sight with Fina and Rico.

To the present time, right before Christmas we noticed Fina’s appetite was not like it usually was.  We monitored her, but thought maybe she was just tired of the food.  I changed her food, but her appetite problem continued.  Then I noticed she would not even chew her biscuits.  I looked at her gums and saw some redness.  My husband and I took her to the vet and it was thought she had a gum infection.  Fina was given injections of penicillin and anti-inflammatory.  Unfortunately she did not improve and then the vomiting started.  Fina went back to the vet and he gave her the same injections again.  The vomiting continued.  I gave her some Pepto-Bismol and the vomiting stopped but she still was not eating.  I decided to force feed her.  So I bought baby food and baby cereal and my daughter and I force feed her baby food meat and bottle feed her baby cereal in milk.  Let me tell you it is not easy to force feed a big dog, but the vomiting stopped and she got use to it.  But this is obviously a temporary fix because the night before we took her to the emergency hospital, her hind legs gave out on her and we realized there had to be something else going on. 

At Hollywood Animal Hospital, Dr. Romano took care of Fina and gave us the diagnosis of Addison’s disease.  She was amazed that Fina was not in full crisis.  Maybe the force feeding helped, I don’t know.  When we picked up Fina the next day, Dr. Romano informed us of the treatment and the costs.  Having my own medical problems, I feel lost and confused and did not know how I could keep my trusty companion on her medications, one of which is almost $200 per month.  The next day I started doing research on the internet and came across the Brown Dog Foundation via the Canine Addisons Info Website.  I filled out a short form and received an application from Brown Dog Foundation the same day.  I will be eternally grateful to Brown Dog Foundation for helping Fina with her medications.  There are miracles found everyday and I am happy I received one of those miracles.