Sunny on a Road Trip

This is Sunny Sunshine. She is our sweet Lhasa Apso / Terrier dog. We adopted her for only $40 in September 2008, a few months after we were married. I always say that it was the best $40 I ever spent!

We do not know the story of her life, but we do know that she was found on the streets of Corona, CA that summer. A San Diego foster mom for rescue dogs regularly made trips to Corona to adopt animals and find homes for them. She picked up (and named) Sunny and that’s how we were introduced.

At the time we adopted Sunny she had just been spayed and her coat was ratty and off-color from fleas she tried to bite off. But the worst part was that she had just had a litter of pups, and she was estimated to be around 8 years old! This greatly increased her chances of mammary tumors and cancer, and when we got her, she already had leaky tumors on her chest.

In 2011 we decided to do something about those tumors. We consulted with the excellent doctors at Sunset Cliffs Animal Hospital and after blood tests and x-rays they felt that Sunny was strong enough to undergo a bilateral mastectomy. Dr. Berg performed her surgery just before the long 4th of July weekend when we were able to be home and take care of her. We are so happy that she successfully made it through the surgery, later learning that those tumors were in fact cancerous. She brings so much joy to our home, we hope that she remains with our family for years to come!

As a non-sporting dog Sunny enjoys sleeping very much.  🙂  She also likes traveling with us on road trips and we’ve taken her on quite a few of them! When we don’t take her with us, she often stays with my co-worker who gives her plenty of hugs, attention, love, and affection!

Update as of August 2013:

This, was the wonderful story of Sunny. In the summer of 2013, we had to help Sunny cross the Rainbow Bridge. She was very sick and not getting better. We had a veterinarian come to our house and we were able to lay next to her on the living room floor, with peaceful music playing and calm energy surrounding her. It was one of the most painful emotions my husband and I experienced. We are so lucky to have had little Sunny in our lives. She’s been in so many of my dreams since! I hope all dogs go to heaven, they are truly God’s creatures.