Dogs are wonderful characters. Their amazingly positive attitude can light up a room, make us smile, and transform our entire lives. Love is pure in dogs. With love from a human in return, they can do great things.
Kardi is one such dog who has made miracles happen with the love she has been given. Though her life began with tragedy, it was when she met Kelsey that she flourished. The French Bulldog experienced real love for the first time at that point, and her life changed forever.
Kardi entered her life on 10/11/2012. A breeder discarded her at two years old. Kelsey spayed her at that time. Her first two years of life had been spent in a cage.
At first, Kardi was apprehensive and shy but soon warmed up to her new life and her new human
The two went everywhere together. And, since Kelsey was a college student, they made a lot of friends. Having the silliest personality, she makes people smile all the time. Toys are one of her favorite things and she rarely leaves the house without one in her mouth.
Napping is one of her favorite activities when she’s not playing with her toys. Also, she and her human mother are very attached.
In college, a friend’s brother passed away unexpectedly, and the loss was devastating to him. Kardi knew his struggle and supported him throughout the difficult time.
To try to make his day brighter, Kardi sat with him for hours and brought him toys. She knew he was going through a difficult time. And she naturally came to be his therapy dog.
Kelsey recognized Kardi’s natural aptitude for therapy work, and the two became a registered therapy team in 2015.
Her specialty was the care of Alzheimer’s patients. Kardi would nudge their hands to encourage them to pet her. When she visited nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, hospitals, classrooms, and summer camps many people smiled.
In that year, however, Kelsey and Kardi faced their own hardship.
Intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) paralyzed Kardi in 2015 at the age of 4. In this condition, the spine’s discs prematurely age and grow hard, resulting in them rupturing into the spinal column.
Sadly, Kardi’s discs ruptured in her lumbar spine and she was not able to have surgery due to other medical issues. In addition to losing her ability to use her hind legs, Kardi became incontinent in her urinary system and bowels.
Despite Kardi struggling without the use of her legs and lost bowel control, she remained upbeat, according to Kelsey. After Kardi’s paralysis, the vet clinic Kelsey worked at established a secret fund. They gave Kardi a pink Walkin’ Wheels wheelchair.
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The moment Kardi was strapped into the wheelchair, she took off running. Since then, she has not stopped. Whenever she is outside she uses her wheelchair.
She prefers to scoot around the house. Kardi practiced going down a couple of steps, lying down, turning wide turns to avoid hitting things, and backing up in her wheelchair.
As a wheelchair speed machine, Kardi has become a sort of celebrity!
She has been a Walkin’ Pets calendar girl multiple times. And in 2019, she won a Halloween costume contest as a Budweiser Clydesdale.
While Kardi adapted to her new situation and set of wheels, more bad news followed.
Kardi has unfortunately suffered from many health issues from poor breeding over the years. An ultrasound diagnosed Kardi with transitional cell carcinoma (TCC/bladder cancer) in March 2020.
The ultrasound revealed that she had bladder cancer after she had a urinary tract infection and blood in her urine that didn’t respond to antibiotics.
The specialist discussed many treatment options with Kardi, but none of them seemed to be a good solution due to the adverse interactions between her other medications.
Kelsey was crushed when she got told that Kardi had 3-6 months to live. Having become engaged in September 2020, she set a date for her wedding in February 2021. The dream had always been for Kardi to attend her wedding.
Throughout everything, Kardi has been with her and she wouldn’t want to imagine not having her by her side on the most important day of her life.
The diagnosis given to Kardi was difficult. But Kelsey wasn’t going to let Kardi fight alone after all they’d been through together. As long as she could, Kardi would have the best life possible, a happy one.
Since being diagnosed, Kardi had ups and downs, and making it to February wasn’t certain.
“Kardi has been with me through everything; the good, the bad, and the ugly. It was never a question in my mind that she wouldn’t be next to me at my wedding. My husband loves her as much as I do and also wanted her to be present at our wedding,” Kelsey said.
Kardi and Kelsey together proved to be a more tenacious and resilient team than expected by their specialist. The following February, almost a year after being told she hadn’t long to live, Kardi watched her best friend get married. Not only was she present at the wedding, but according to Kelsey, she was the star of the night!
The photographer captured so many special moments between Kardi and her human in their bridal pictures.
Both Kardi and her Boston Terrier sister Bonnie Rose, who has special needs, were flower girls and were wheeled down the aisle by a flower-filled wagon.
Kardi then followed the human couple out to their vehicle in her wheelchair, pulling cans behind her with a sign that read, “Just married.”
“It was such a special day and I’m so glad she was such a huge part of it. Kardi is now 16 months post-diagnosis and doing amazing,” according to Kelsey.
Dogs are amazing creatures. The example of Kardi shows that no human should underestimate dogs. The girl was born unknown, unloved, kept in a cage, and used. Before Kelsey saw her, no one paid any attention to her.
The support that Kardi has received from someone she truly loves has helped her overcome so many things that would have brought a human to their knees. Now she has an amazing story, adoring fans, and a family who loves her unconditionally. She lives a life so big out of a little cage.
You can follow Kardi on Facebook and Instagram – let her know that your love and well wishes will be with her during this time.
Thanks to iHeartDogs for the special story and to Kartin Kardi/Facebook for the images.
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