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Coping with the Terminally Ill in Our Dogs ( A Personal Seiki Story)

Written by Salt Lake City Dog Trainers

Johanna's Personal Dog Stories

Comment(s): 6

August 28, 2015

Please support us in creating a happy life for Seiki.  Begin reading here and continue reading below.  Then if you are willing donate money to support his health.  Even $1 is helpful! Click here to donate.

Yes, the good news arrived, the blood tests were negative for my dog, Seiki.  This meant his parathyroid was functioning great. I also thought this meant that he didn’t have cancer.  We still had no diagnosis. Healing Hearts Vet Clinic ran an ultrasound and some x-rays.  When I received those results, a huge knife stabbed into my heart.

Hiking and dog training, Salt Lake City.

Hiking and dog training, Salt Lake City

The phone rang.  I picked it up. My vet spoke to me and told me that Seiki had lymphoma.  The cancer was lumped in his abdomen which was putting pressure on his spine.  As a result, his brain was having trouble communicating to his back legs.  Therefore, walking was no longer happening for him.  I hung up the phone numbed with shock.  It was time to drop my daughter off with her dad, and then drive to the vet clinic to talk about treatment.  Sadness filled every cell in my body, and I didn’t want to move.  I took a step forward and dropped my daughter off with her dad.  Seiki’s Salt Lake City dog training career had ended.

I drove to the clinic and called one of my close friends crying.  He reminded me to be present with my emotions and to enjoy the moments I still have left with Seiki.  He is one of my conscience friends so of course he reminded me that miracles happen every day.  Thank you friend.  I hung up the phone.  I sat in the parking lot at the clinic and breathed.  I felt my sadness and sent love to myself.

I walked into the vet clinic and was soon greeted by our wonderful vet.  She began explaining the results and I began to zone out a bit and started to cry.  Being very considerate she acknowledged how I felt. Therefore, I was easily able to be present as she moved forward to discuss treatment.  She stated that if we put Seiki on steroids and pain killers that he would then be able to walk again!!  I took in a deep breath and saw us hiking again.  I normally like natural methods better, and yet I knew this case was extremely serious.  I gave in.  The vet gave Seiki his first dose of steroids.

Then the miracles began to happen in our lives!  Seiki began walking again!  I felt so much joy to have more time to spend with him!  We are forever blessed to have this time again!  And so the next day we went on a walk through the neighborhood again.  The following day we took a trip to the mountains!  We drove up Millcreek in complete gratitude.  I loved watching Seiki and Iris walking up the mountain together.  I will never forget that day.  It felt like a complete miracle.  We can still perform Salt Lake City dog training tricks together!

This past week we have been spoiling our boy.  He has eaten raw grass-fed steak, homemade treats from Ma and Paws, and he is always getting extra treats in his meals.  We sure have been enjoying our neighborhood walks and mountain hikes.

Our Dog Training Salt Lake City companion, eating treats in a Kong.

Our Dog Training Salt Lake City companion, eating treats in a Kong.

Thank you!  Thank you universe for giving us more time together.  Everyday my hearts aches because I don’t know when the end will appear and I forget to be in the moment.  Universe please support me in being in the moment with my boy.

His ability to be in the now is profound.  His handsome smile warms my heart.  He so easily enjoys our bedtime snuggles and sleeping time.  I absolutely love the excitement he feels from receiving attention from new people on our outings.  He is so amazing at soaking in the goodness of the moment!

Seiki hiking and dog training, Salt Lake City

Seiki hiking and dog training, Salt Lake City

So he may have 1-3 more months before he cannot walk again, and it will be time for me to let him go to rainbow bridge. Throughout this time I will do my best to take advantage of this time with him in Salt Lake City. Dog training with Seiki is forever treasured in my heart!  Of course the hikes, walks, and cuddles are wonderful as well!

Your turn, and we look forward to your answer in a comment below!

How will you choose to see the joy in your dog?

Now if you are willing donate money to support Seiki’s health, click here. Even $1 is helpful! 

Namaste!
Johanna Teresi, Professional Trainer and Owner of Four Legged Scholars LLC Dog Training, Salt Lake City

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Four Legged Scholars LLC
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Britnie Sorensen
Britnie Sorensen
18:11 06 Apr 24
This is our second round of training with Johanna! Our Bullmastiff Abbi is different from our previous dogs, and we knew Johanna would be able to help us. We reached out and were in excellent hands! Johanna was able to redirect our training efforts, majority of sessions were held virtually and supported with videos of us training Abbi. We will keep using Johanna no matter where life takes us. Her love and compassion for our puppy, and us, come through in every interaction. We are in a much better place and understanding of Abbi after working with Johanna!
Roberta Bonnell
Roberta Bonnell
01:37 24 Mar 24
My Australian Shepard had moderate separation anxiety and Johanna was able to help me get him to a point where I can see him being able to be home alone before the end of the year! Very grateful for all of her training expertise.
Karen Mara
Karen Mara
21:19 21 Jan 24
I recently met with Johanna for help with my rambunctious teenager, Roger. We worked on coming when called, leash walking, and staying calm around other dogs when on leash. After two sessions, Roger made huge improvements, and he continues to improve as we practice on our own. Johanna really understands dogs and is very good at communicating with people. She knows how to make dog training fun. I've worked with other trainers, and Johanna is by far the best.
Wendy Nighswonger
Wendy Nighswonger
18:47 08 Jul 23
I have known Johanna for 13 years. She has helped me with several dogs, but she recently helped me train my new black lab puppy, Raven. I have moved to another state so all of my training with Raven was done online via Zoom. I believe that the one-on-one training I received through Zoom was more personalized and thorough, especially with the way Johanna placed every ounce of training and recommendation on a board through an app that I can refer back when I need. Johanna is very intuitive and knew when stress was on overload for me, therefore tailoring my training for that day around making Raven feel good while simultaneously taking my stress load down. Johanna has years of experience and while her knowledge is a gold mine, it is her gentle patience and love for her clients that make this training so perfect. I would hire her again and again. She is a true canine whisperer. Thank you Four Legged Scholars and thank you Johanna!Wendy N. ~ Oregon
Christina Richards
Christina Richards
18:13 10 Feb 23
Johanna at Four Legged Scholars is great. She tailored my program to fit my needs and was easy to work with. My puppy responded very well to what she taught us together over Zoom. She's patient and understanding. We're still utilizing the things we learned and he's a well-behaved puppy. Thank you!
Karyl Bennion
Karyl Bennion
19:49 05 Feb 23
I adopted Frida as a companion that I could travel, walk and hike with. She loves to hike and walk but pulled on the leash and jumped at distractions. I learned how to be calm and talk in a non threatening way to her. She responds to this much better than yelling at her. The click and treat method that I learned works so well in getting her attention as well as the "target" training. Frida has improved greatly with these methods. I will continue the knowledge I have learned with her. I did the live on-line training and it was very successful. I am so happy we signed up.
Rachel Giddings
Rachel Giddings
02:57 12 Dec 22
My dog was abused in his previous home and has always been afraid of strangers. I wanted to train him and help him to be more confident, but I didn't know how to do that if he was afraid of his trainer.Doing online training with Joanna was perfect for both of us! Joanna helped me learn how to read my dog and understand his triggers. We then worked together on BAT training, which taught him self-soothing behaviors and showed him how to confidently and safely handle difficult situations. I never thought I would have fun doing homework with my dog, but he and I benefited from it tremendously. Working with Joanna via Zoom was perfect for my dog and me.
Shawn McMillen
Shawn McMillen
02:09 24 Oct 22
My 2 year old doodle was struggling with people walking by the house, barking incessantly, tugging on walks, improving recall when off leash and , for me, how to be a better more engaging human for my buddy. The personalized, online sessions exceeded all my expectations. The review of video homework sessions was awesome. We saw improvement in each of the priority areas and I developed real, tangible, lasting skills/tools to be a better pet person. Thanks Johanna!
Courtney Daniels
Courtney Daniels
19:59 12 Sep 22
12 years ago I got a puppy and quickly realized I was in over my head. I wanted to have a good, well trained dog, but I was overwhelmed by methods and my puppies behavior.I joined the four legged scholars puppy training with my little 4 month old puppy Bowie, and saw immediate understanding with the clicker work. It gave us this incredibly ability to communicate and she excelled.We went on to take several courses that established general obedience, helped me turn a STRONG leash puller into a loose leash master (I took that course twice because it was a huge issue for us and I NEEDED help and reassurance from Johanna that I could do it) as well as skill class, that helped solidify a beautiful relationship between us. Learning clicker shaping allowed me to confidently teach complex and unique commands on my own as well, like waving hello and closing kitchen cabinets.My Bowie has climbed to the top of mountains for me staying right by my side never pulling on her leash. I've targeted her off trails to protect her from startling a mama moose and her baby. She's loved on my kids without jumping on them and knocking them over. She's allowed the neighbor girl who has always had a fear of dogs to walk her without pulling at whatever pace she was comfortable with. She shows off with all her fun little tricks Johanna gave me the tools to train my dog into an amazing companion.I feel so lucky to have found your training program and to have the relationship I do with my Bowie girl. These courses have a profound and lasting impact on the lives of families and their pups, thank you for that gift.
Megan Pond-Maxwell
Megan Pond-Maxwell
16:02 18 May 22
I am so grateful to have found Johanna. She was with us every step of the way as we tackled separation anxiety training and reactivity training with Daisy, my Mini Australian Shepherd. As a first time dog owner, I felt at a loss about how to manage my very vocal, scared, stressed, yet loveable dog. She had all of the typical puppy behavior, such as jumping, nipping/biting, leash pulling, as well as barking. On top of that, she was also not able to be alone without feeling terrified, as well as vocally and behaviorally reactive to other dogs, adults, and kids. I felt completely overwhelmed and Johanna created programs that felt manageable and doable. Each training session, I felt understood and empowered working with Johanna. Over the course of our programs, I felt that we accomplished the steps of the training process, strengthened the dog-human relationship, and increased my own awareness of my dog's emotional cues so that I could better work with her. My dog can now be on her own feeling relaxed and playful, her problematic puppy behaviors have significantly improved, she can walk on her leash loosely, listen to commands, and she can better tolerate other adults, dogs, and children as compared to where we first started. Our online experience was very positive. I look forward to continually implementing the tools and skills we have learned along the way to move forward in a positive direction that strengthens our human-animal bond and reduces distressing behaviors and emotional stress and overwhelm. Thank you Four Legged Scholars! I highly, highly recommend working with Johanna.
Emily Harward
Emily Harward
03:36 24 Apr 22
Our rescue dog is sweet and playful with us, but her behavior around other dogs and people could be unpredictable. She would act aggressively around adults (lunging and barking), and would sometimes be aggressive toward other dogs. We chose to do online training with Johanna. I was skeptical that online training would work, but it ended up being very effective. Johanna taught me the skills I needed to train my dog, and provided resources that I could use throughout the week as I worked on the assigned tasks. I was also able to send her videos of me working with my dog, so she could provide feedback and help me improve. Johanna personalized the program and made changes as needed to ensure that I could meet my goals. Since working with Four Legged Scholars, neighbors have commented on how much better behaved my dog is, and I don't have to worry about her lunging and barking at people or other dogs when we are out for a walk anymore. We still have a lot of work to do with our dog, and I feel like doing the personalized online sessions with Johanna has given me the knowledge, and resources to continue training my dog.
Angel Lanoy
Angel Lanoy
15:22 16 Jun 21
We have a large family, including three big dogs. So when our biggest dog Obi, the Rottweiler, started showing aggression we panicked. The vet suggested we put him down after an experience in the office. He then said we could also try training and gave us Johanna's business card. Just a phone call with her made us feel like there was hope. We signed up to do the online sessions with FourLeggedScholars. The process from the first contact to the last was well oiled and very helpful. Obi gets to stay with our family now and we feel like meting with her has given us the guidance and knowledge we need to keep our family, friends and him safe. I was a tad worried about doing the training online, but it really worked out great and we were able to fit such a big task into our busy schedules. I feel like she set us up for success from the very beginning. Thank you.
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6 Comments

  1. Susan Steinwand
    Susan Steinwand on August 28, 2015 at 11:46 pm

    I am so glad to hear his quality of life will be prolonged a while more! I’m sure he will cherish his time with you as much as you will. Best wishes.

    • fourleggedscholars
      fourleggedscholars on August 28, 2015 at 11:50 pm

      It is wonderful to see you on here Susan!! I am blessed to have had much support to prolong his life in a happy and meaningful manner. There will be many more stories and posts on this in the upcoming weeks I am sure!

  2. Rich Teresi, Garrettsville, Ohio
    Rich Teresi, Garrettsville, Ohio on August 29, 2015 at 1:16 am

    As you discuss your pain and decision to take advantage of the extra time science has provided I think of my Dad who left without a word. At times I feel so alone, so fearful, so exposed without him nearby never more. I am so happy you can enjoy Seiki for a little while longer.

    • fourleggedscholars
      fourleggedscholars on September 4, 2015 at 4:00 pm

      Dad, Death is a difficult experience for many of us. I am sorry for the pain that you are feeling at this moment and hoping that you will find peace in admist the pain. I honor where you are at and have ultimate compassion. I am grateful for more time with Seiki! I sure wish we could have one last moment with Papa and yet the past is the past and all we have is the now. See you soon! Love you!

  3. ling wong
    ling wong on September 1, 2015 at 4:25 pm

    Thank you so much for sharing your journey, it’s wonderful that he has you.

    • fourleggedscholars
      fourleggedscholars on September 4, 2015 at 4:00 pm

      Thank you! I appreciate your kind words!