The Adventures of Little Yo

Be forewarned this story will affect you. It is a telling of the life, love and loss of a beloved family member. This is easily one of the hardest things I’ve ever written but I really wanted to share this with you all. I hope it helps you in some way.

Yolanda Tripp (2003 – 2010)

Her story starts in Greece. She and her siblings were born into the care of someone so vile they treated small pups like rubbish. Literally. On a fall day in 2003 a Greek goddess happened to be enjoying a stroll on her island when she heard some whimpering from a garbage compactor. The Goddess rescued four puppies and cared for them until homes could be found. Two of those dogs (Yolanda and Dmax) were able to obtain some European pet passports and booked international travel under the protection of the evil eye to their new home here in Philadelphia. (The goddess still keeps an eye out for helpless dogs in need of love and always manages to get them to wherever that love awaits.)

I met Yolanda when she and her brother Dmax visited a dog day care I worked at years ago. When I arrived for my shift one day I was informed to be cautious of them as she seemed quite nervous and her brother was very protective of her. I saw that they were just a bit overwhelmed (it was very busy that day) and decided to make friends with them. Yolanda took a while to get past her nerves to let me close, only finally investigating me fully once she saw that Dmax had approved. From there our relationship took off quite quickly. When they arrived  for their visits they often looked to me for guidance and slowly improved in the way they interacted with both the humans and the plethora of dogs they’d meet there. When I left that job to put my focus on my training and walking business it was bittersweet, knowing that it meant leaving them behind. Luckily going without them didn’t end up lasting very long.

It was only a few months later during a walk in West Philly with Zevalulu that I saw them again. They were walking with their owner, Matthew. I immediately had to interrupt his stroll to make sure it was really them. I had not only stumbled across them right in my own neighborhood but they remembered me and were so excited to see me. It was soon after that when they signed on with me as walking clients. During our walks we restrengthened our bond and worked on a few of the issues they shared, the worst of which was leash aggression and walking etiquette. It was after a few weeks of walks that I introduced them to our dog, G.O.D. When I returned them from that walk their parents were pleased to see they had accepted her into the walk so well and it became a regular part of their routine. Soon they began making themselves at home at our place whenever their family headed out of the city.

Fast forward to January 2007. Yolanda was having some severe digestive issues and started to get a bit bloated. Her family took her to the veterinarian and after many tests her diagnosis was Protein Losing Nephropathy. In laymen terms the kidneys are unable to properly process proteins, those proteins are passed through the urine and eventually kidney failure sets in. Yolanda’s treatment consisted of medications and diet intended to slow the damage to her system from the progression of her kidney disease. Soon enough the regime helped Yolanda regain her former vim and vigor.

One of the many symptoms Yolanda had even with treatment was hypertension which over time made an already nervous dog become quite jumpy. She began to respond badly to the everyday active life of a bustling family with small children. Yolanda was having accidents in the house and became a bit more easily startled and uneasy with all the hubbub. With heavy hearts her family asked if we’d take her in and we were all too happy to do so. Some months later, when the Tripps were making a big move and soon to find themselves traveling more often, Yolanda’s brother Dmax also came to stay with us permanently.

While Yolanda stayed active and in seemed to be in good shape on the outside, she would occasionally show symptoms of her ailment. She’d have spells of low energy and be disinterested in pack activities. Food issues like lack of appetite, nausea and diarrhea would also crop up from time to time.  Each time she seemed under the weather she was quick to recover and return to her usual bouncy self.

Her new pack and surrogate family seemed to also have a good impact on her nervous nature. Yolanda went from jumpy around house guests to making fast friendships with many of their laps, often with Dmax now following her lead.  She’d show her final approval of a visitor by vaulting into their lap. It was almost as if she had gained the ability of flight if only for a mere moment and then nailed the landing, ever so delicately touching down on her target. The recipient could never keep from smiling.

Yolanda also made very strong bonds with some dogs along the way. Her best friend by far was Monkey, a little chihuahua who visited us often during her family’s time here in Philadelphia. They were always quite comical to watch playing. Yolanda would basically sit still while Monkey would circle her and randomly “attack” in a snarling frenzy. Yolanda would evade the attacks with her own spastic spin, somehow completed while still in a sitting position. Finally she would allow Monkey to grab at her with these vicious lovey bites, all the while making a smiley snarl at her. Maybe to her it felt like a deep tissue massage? Once Yoyo had let Monkey wear herself out, they’d cuddle up together for hours. While Yolanda always looked forward to Monkey’s visits, she’d also visit Monkey and many other dogs with me as I cycled my way through my daily rounds.

After realizing that she fit perfectly into my messenger bag and taking her for a couple of test rides Yolanda became an avid cyclist. Whenever I would open the bag a certain way she knew I was prepping it for her and would get so excited. She really enjoyed the vantage point back there while riding along. She was packed into the bag in a seated position, but would occasionally change her posture to take in all the various distractions or lay her head on my shoulder. Drivers couldn’t help but take notice of her sporting her bright pink bike helmet and it always made for some interesting looks from people on the street.

In late 2009 we took Yolanda for her check up a few weeks early due to some persistent digestive symptoms she was having.  Her doctor was new to her case and was amazed at her longevity. She told us most dogs with her disease don’t last long after diagnosis and definitely don’t show her level of energy. That was the good news. Her test results gave us the bad news, her condition was taking quicker strides in damaging her system. Some minor adjustments were made to her medications and we got some tips on combating her lack of appetite and nausea. Over the following weeks Yolanda became even more reluctant to participate in mealtime and her energy level was lower than we had seen before. She’d have what seemed like good days where she was more spry and meals would be happily eaten, but then the nausea would take hold and all that good nutrition would be lost. The way she was losing weight and suddenly looking as ill as she truly was, we knew her fight would soon be coming to an end.

One of the great joys of Yolanda’s day was when my wife Addie would arrive home from work. Like most dogs Little Yo had some sort of internal timekeeping device and would know Addie’s entry was imminent. She worked herself into a frenzy of happy feet. Her nails would tap dance along the floor as she spun and galloped her excitement away. Beginning the week of 18 January 2010 Yolanda stopped dancing. Instead, she only got up and walked to the door slowly and then Yolanda would no longer get up to greet her “mumma”. She’d look up with the interest in her eyes but seemed to know she wasn’t capable of welcoming Addie home the way she once did.

As the week went on it was clear Yolanda was no longer herself. She hadn’t been eating meals and even rejected her favorite treats. She had little interest even in drinking water and was outputting far more than what went in. When she ate a hearty breakfast that Wednesday we thought Yolanda had some more fight left in her. I even made plans to bring her along to work the next day but she was unable to keep down the food. She made a few other small attempts at eating that day with the same results.

The only thing that seemed to perk Yolanda up slightly over the next couple of days was some occasional cuddling with Dmax. By Friday she seemed to be tender to the touch, her muscle tone was now almost completely slack and her haw (nictitating membrane) wasn’t working quite right. On Saturday Yolanda showed no interest in all the key words like out, treat, bike ride, mumma and even her own name. She also had to be carried to go outside couldn’t stand herself up steady very well. Hard as it was to admit, we knew it was time to lend her a hand with ending things.

On Saturday evening we bundled Yolanda in her favourite sweater and gave all the dogs a few moments together before taking her to UPENN Ryan Hospital. I propped her up on the car ride and rolled down the window so she could feel the wind in her face one last time. It seemed to put a little pep in her step. When we parked she got out of the car on her own and walked around the grounds for a few minutes. She was actually taking the time to sniff and had a little wag in her tail for us. The Ryan Hospital had a very simple check in for us and within moments we had a private room and Yolanda was given an IV to allow her to be more comfortable. Emily was our student doctor and came in to let us know how things would be done and they left us for our final time with Yolanda. We took our time calming her, petting her and telling her how badass she was for fighting so hard for so long.  When Emily returned she recapped what would occur and then she gave the sedative injection. She had been so restless those last few weeks, never seeming to get very comfortable. Her sleep was preceded by the most gentle but intense calming look on her face. I for one like to think that she had recapped the adventures of her life from that day she was found in garbage to the cool breeze in her face on that last car ride and had already begun to pleasantly dream of times gone by.

Yolanda Tripp passed away on Saturday 23 January 2010 at approximately 8:03pm. She is survived by her packmates God and Kilroy and her brother Dmax. She will always be cherished by the humans who were lucky enough to know her and share a piece of their lap with her.

Farewell Little Yo.

To the Tripps: I hope I got all the details correct. Please let me know any corrections or additional information in the comments here and I’ll update her story. Thank you for everything, we will always treasure our time with her.

Thanks to our friend Albert for helping us capture happy images of our family on a very sad day and to our good friend Shana for helping us through the end with Yoyo. Words can’t be thanks enough for both of you.