Sebastian
In a cozy home in Balch Springs TX lives a dog who is more than just a pet. His name is Sebastian, and he is a beacon of joy and laughter. He is the heart of our household. He has a quirky sense of humor that brightens my day. He always puts a smile on my face. He brightens even the darkest days.
One of Sebastian's favorite past time is playing with balls. He loves to get on top of the stairs and throw his ball down so that we can throw it back to him. He like to chase the ball, and he brings it back but will not give it back to us. He loves to go for walks even though he can't go to far, but but he still loves it. He will walk in front and keep looking back to see if we are still walking behind him. He loves to play tug-a-war with his ropes.
Sebastian celebrated his 5th birthday this weekend. Everyone that knows me knows how much I love this doggy. They all showed up to celebrate, and he loves it so much. He likes to pop the balloons and open his gifts and when we sing happy birthday to him he sits there and stares at all of us like he understands.
I love children but was never able to have a child. I tried everything, including fertility treatments, and all failed. I love animals, especially dogs, so I decided to fill my empty home and heart with a pet. I have always had dogs throughout my life but have always wanted an English bulldog. I was looking through pictures of the dogs that Petland had, and I came upon Sebastians picture. Right away I fell in love with him. I told my husband I wanted to see him so the following day we went to visit Sebastian. When we arrived there, he was wrestling with his sister and seemed to be full of energy. They brought him out to me so that I could see him and instantly fell in love with the little baby. We played with him for a while. He was so full of energy and played the entire time he was with us. I decided I would take him home with us. Well, I still had to go to work so my sister stepped in to help me by watching him for me while I worked. Every day I would come home to pick him up and he had learned something new like fetch, sit, high five and peace out lol. Even though he is very rough, at times he is the gentlest baby.
He loves children. His small light brown eyes light up when he sees my 6-year-old nephew coming. Sebastian is very smart; he knows my entire family's names and who they are. He loves his grandma, and all my family loves him. When my sister Lala had to go to work, my nephew and sister Alma stepped in to help watch him. Well, at this time he was in his terrible two's: he would get into everything and loved to chew whatever he could get a hold of, like the TV remotes, shoes, and anything we dropped he would grab and run with it. Every day when I would come home from work to pick him up my family had a story for me about him. Sebastian would sit in the middle of everyone and listen as they told me all the mischiefs he did. He would just look at every person as they were telling on him. He would get so mad at them and he would begin barking at each one lol like 'you're lying that's not true.'
As time passed Sebastian grew more attached to me. I have bad anxiety. I noticed when I would get an attack, he would run to me, look worried, put his chin on my leg and press down hard. I could see his cute squishy face and would begin to calm down and pet him. He would not leave my side until he knew I felt better. Sebastian is my world. He is the baby I never had, and he acts like a baby also lol. Some of my coworkers gave him a pacifier when he was a puppy and to right now, he still has it and runs around with it.
One day I came home from work and noticed Sebastian didn't look too well and his lymph nodes were swollen on his neck. I rushed him to the Urgent Care and they told me he was getting pneumonia. They gave him an injection and some antibiotics. I moved his bed beside my bed and watched him all night. I turned on a humidifier for him. After a few days he was better. I still took him in and they continued to give him antibiotics and kept an eye on him. After a few months he continued to get sick. That is when the vet told me he might have cancer. My heart broke. I started to cry. I could not believe what I was hearing. I thought the new vet just did not care. I was really upset.
He was referred to an oncologist at Animal Diagnostic Clinic. I signed him up for a Lymphoma clinical trial. I did not know what to do. This was a first for me. I did not want him to die or suffer. That is when I met Dr Wright. He is the best; he explained everything to me. I decided not to do the trial and try the chemo. I noticed he started to get better and felt happy with my decision. 'He is getting better' I said to my husband and my family. His last treatment was in October 2024, and I was so happy until I noticed again in January his lymph nodes were swollen. I could not believe I was going to go through this again and how was I going to be able to afford his treatment again. I was already drowning in bills. One of the sweet nurses told me about your organization, so I decided to try it. When I was called and was told that Sebastian had gotten the grant, I felt so happy I started to cry. I called my husband and my family and told them. We were all so happy. I am grateful to Jehovah God for placing you in my life. Meeting you feels like a Devine blessing, thank you so much. You just do not know how grateful I am and how much joy I pray everything turns out well for Sebastian. Thank you again.
-Marisela S.