WOW PET Angel

Faithful Faith Cannings

On June of 2011, we were going to Home Depot in St.Catharines and the PetSmart had the dogs that were there for adoption. We decided to make a quick stop and take a walk around.

I was over looking at the really big dogs that I had set in my head not to get attached to because we already had 3 cats, two budgies and a cockatiel that was the boss and flew around the house all day. It would have been crazy to add a new dog into that mix.

My husband calls me over to look at a medium size beige dog with a pink bandana. I did not want to look but he insisted. She ran over to me and when I bent down to it, she put her paws over my shoulders giving me a hug. Darn it! She had me. This was not what I was intending to bring home from Home Depot.

After signing the adoption papers, we took her home to introduce her to the family. All the cats were fine with her and so was the cockatiel. He flew over to check her out and she never batted an eye. They all got along like this right from the start.

What do we call her? Faith was the name they gave her, so we decided it suited her.

Faith was the smartest, most intuitive dog ever. I swear she knew what we were thinking without saying a word. I don't know if being a rescue dog she was just so very thankful to be taken in, but she was the best.

They had found her as a runaway and never found the owners. She was very well trained but terrified of the broom or sudden movement, We never knew how her first 3 years were before she found us.

Faith would sleep on the bed with 3 cats and a bird every night. We never had a problem with her. We loved her and so did everyone that met her. She was with me all the time.

In January of 2020, I noticed that she was drinking her water funny. I looked at her tongue and I could see what I thought was a cut on the side. I thought that she may have bit her tongue or something. The next couple of days, we noticed that she was getting worse.

Faith would not let me touch her mouth, so we took her to the vet thinking that she needed some antibiotics. She had a tumour that spread right through the middle of her tongue. The vet tried to cut it out, but it came back within a month but larger this time. There was nothing more that could be done.

The hardest day was having to make that call for the appointment. Faith was very quiet and would not leave my side. I'm sure she knew what was about to happen.

I miss my girl but we got to spend almost 10 years with an absolutely wonderful dog that came to us because of a trip the Home Depot.

Contributed by Mom Joanne Cannings

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