The Start
The Original-The Queen, Dayzee Mae
So, I have decided I am going to start writing the story behind each of my dogs, how they came to be, how they have impacted my life, and more. The legacy of Dayzee Mae Boxers, and of course Balor's Bulldogges. We have to start with the Queen, the one that started it all and taught me the most (probably gave me the most headache LOL), Dayzee Mae. Do
gs have ALWAYS been a consistent in my life from a very young age, even before I could speak the word dog. I have owned, bred, trained, showed and have been honored to be the momma to many breeds throughout my life, both in purebred and through rescue. They have been the one thing, that gave unconditional love during some of the darkest and toughest moments in my life and were always there, when humans failed to be. Many years ago, my son at 4 months old passed away of SIDS. At his funeral, I passed out yellow daisies, my favorite flower, and my Grandma whom was like another mom to me (that passed away years before), and my oldest daughters middle name is May, thus where Dayzee Mae's name came from......but there is more to her story than just that. I had an uncle that had boxers, and loved them, so when getting a boxer was mentioned, I was all in. The day we decided to get Dayzee Mae, we found her breeder and setup a time to go meet. We discussed what we would name her, and choose the name Dayzee Mae because of the meaning mentioned above. . We arrived to meet the pups and running all around were many different puppies (all boxers) but fawns, males and females. Not really being as interactive as her siblings was this gorgeous brindle girl. I asked if this is the one we called on, and he said yes. She seemed a little shy, but was the most gorgeous boxer that I had ever saw and she started messing with my shoe strings. I picked her up and she seemed to speak to me. I think I was born part dog, or at least with a unique set of skills, that allow dogs and myself to be as one, like we truly understand each other, because she clearly said she wanted to come home with us, as odd as that may sound to some. We carried her into the house, and was going through the paperwork and the breeder mentioned that he had been calling her Daisy May but we could name her whatever we wanted and we just stopped him in his tracks and explained that we had already choose her name, and it was Dayzee Mae.....talk about fate! SHE was meant to be my girl! From the beginning this girl rocked our world and not always in a good way. We were sitting on our back deck and she drops and starts convulsing and this was a few days of having her. Rushed her to the Vet and she had really low blood sugar, so she was treated, we learned what to do if it happened again (which thankfully never did). I was going to conformation show her, and so we decided to have her ears cropped. BIG MISTAKE, she was allergic to the wrappings (which no one wouldve known ahead of time) and it destroyed her ears (if you notice NONE of our boxers have their ears done since). After thousands and thousands of dollars later, her ears were a mess, scarred, however somewhat repaired, but you know what......if you knew Dayzee Mae, it fit her, she was just an odd ball! But she quickly became one of the most expensive dogs I had ever owned in my life, still to date. As we also battled MANY MANY UTI's, allergies, and then ultimately cancer. (Don't worry her bloodline is not part of any of my breeding dogs, Dayzee Mae was spayed). Dayzee Mae went through training and was a star, when she wanted to be LOL. We probably went through hundreds and hundred of dollars, every weekend stopping and buying different kinds of treats, to get her to like something, to gain drive to train. Nothing worked, ever! It did not matter one bit, what kind of treat it was she would snub her nose at it and do absolutely NOTHING! So we started thinking outside the box. Lollipops! Dayzee Mae loved to lick the lollipops, well......for a bit anyways. Even Lollipops she started to get bored with. Everyone said try chicken. So I boiled some chicken, and nope, still not good enough for her. I would not feed her dinner, to try to increase her drive, but it did not work. She was the most stubborn, dog I had ever met in my life. One day, I cracked open a can of white chicken to make a quick chicken salad, and Dayzee Mae who was clear upstairs, came hauling down like a herd of elephants, to see what that smell was. I thought to myself, did I just find the "magic" food. Oh boy, did I ever! From that moment on, Dayzee Mae shined like the brightest star! She was so smart, that she would do about anything, and quickly to get a bite of her canned chicken. She became my rockstar in training! I took Dayzee Mae EVERYWHERE with me that she could go. She was the most well behaved, social butterfly, dog and everyone loved her. She looked scarey when she walked up to you, with those messed up ears, and she was a big girl, 98lbs. But she never met a stranger in her life! Her bean butt would start going as soon as you spoke to her. She just loved and loved. She was my best friend! If I was upset over anything, she was right in my face, making me smile. She would give me bite kisses, yell at me if I was gone to long, and get on my table to watch out the window, and pout if I left without her, but stood by my side when I needed her most, always letting me know it would be ok, and she was usually right. The day came that Dayzee Mae was not feeling well, went to Iowa State University Veternarian (after our normal vet's treatment was not working the week prior) and learned that day she had Lymphoma. CANCER!!!! This could not be happening I thought to myself, she is only 4 1/2 YEARS OLD!!! I was so angry and hurt! They told me, she was stage 4, all throughout her body, and honestly I was lucky she was still alive it was that bad. I left her there to start treatement, even though the vets said it was to bad, I did not care, I would spend thousands and thousands if it meant having more time with my girl!!! I drove all the way home, bawling of course, and pulled into my drive, and thought to myself, she would not do this to me. She would not want me to be sick, she would not leave me in some cold, sterile place without the people I love, just to by time. She would want to be with me. So I turned around, drove back, went in and told them, if I only have a short amount of time with my girl, then its going to be the best time together. They sent me home with prednisone, and told me I would be lucky to have until the end of the week. I went home, studied for hours on end about lyphoma, and put her on an all natural EXPENSIVE raw diet, high protein, NO GRAIN, high omega 3, dehydrated kelp, blueberries and more....and immediately saw a difference in her! And guess what? I got 5 EXCEPTIONAL Weeks with my girl. She did not act sick, not in pain, and she ate her food everyday and took her medication and was by my side the entire time. I told her to tell me when she was ready, because I would not let her suffer. The day came, she wouldn't eat, and the look on her face that day, told me it was time. You see, Dayzee Mae, I truly believe was here to teach me not only about the boxer, but more about life. About resilence, strength, compassion, love, and to keep going and moving forward and also not forget to stop and smell the Dayzee Mae's along the way. This is, why, when you get your "Dayzee Mae", it is not a sad day for me to see them go, It is the BEST DAYZEE MAE DAY EVER!!! The smiles you have on your face, the love in your heart, let me tell you, that means EVERYTHING to me! You give me that joy, time and time again, that I felt when I got my own Dayzee Mae all those years before and for that I am honored and thankful!!! I have hundreds of References in 20 years of breeding that I have will speak for themselves. I am also state licensed and veterinarian inspected!
