Amanda loved Kandy

Cody said at one point that I should make a post about Amanda and her dog Kandy. This is that post, and it comes at a time when loss is being piled on top of loss for us, as Kandy was a huge part of our family for 10 years.

Amanda had been asking her mom for quite some time for an inside dog. Amanda wanted, needed a puppy she could love and raise and call her own. We could think of a multitude of reason for not wanting a dog in the house. Living in the country made us fearful of fleas. Puppies are messy and destructive. On and on. As usual though, Amanda prevailed. On November 1, 2001 we all piled in the old pickup truck (me on crutches from knee surgery) and headed to San Antonio to "look at" a couple of pups a lady had. That is when Kandy came into our lives. She was this dirty, scruffy, flea infested half rat terrier half Bichon puppy, would spent most of her days in the ladies back yard. She'd been born in July, so she was a few months old. We feel in love with her. All five of us. Amanda named her Kandy because she was this little puff ball that looked like cotton candy.

We brought her home that night. Veronica cleaned her up, and she was beautiful. Her potty training went very smooth. She tore up a few flip flops along the way, but proved to be an amazingly intelligent, fast learning part of the family. So much so that she traveled with us to see dear friends in Roswell, NM later that month, without incident. She became a major member of our family. Her legal name is Kandy Warnock (as the vet knows her).

Kandy was quite playful and loved to fetch tennis balls. I could throw her ball from one end of the house to the other and she would fetch it and bring it back to me and have me play for long measures of time. It never got old for her.

Amanda taught Kandy to do amazing tricks, and Kandy would get tired of those and "talk" back to Amanda, or whoever was making her perform for them.

Kandy loved her people and hated being separated from any of us. If there was a closed door with one of her people on the other side, she would whine until we gave in to her. She was also a very vocal dog, and would let out a scream almost, when ever any of us would return home from being away for even a short time.

When Amanda was away from home during one of her many hospitalizations, Kandy would sleep on the floor, halfway between the front door and Amanda's bedroom. That was the only time she would not sleep with Amanda or under Veronica and my bed. If she started a night under our bed, she would end up in Amanda's bed before the morning. She instinctively knew when Amanda was in the hospital. She was such a smart, amazing dog.

Amanda told Veronica that she wanted her to have Kandy. It seems that won't happen. Cody's parents promised to bring her back from Washington to be with her real family, but now they have decided to keep Kandy. We ask that you pray that we will get Kandy back, as Amanda wanted.