Hi, my name is Audi. I was born on February 21, 2012, in the San Fernando Valley. I am a Siberian Husky/White German Shepherd mix. On March 30, 2012, I was visited by my best friend Enrique, after he had seen a listing on Craigslist of me being sold for $400. When he arrived, as a small puppy, I immediately ran toward his Converse shoes and started to bite on his shoelaces. He picked me up and carried me—little did I know, I was being taken to a permanent home.

Before getting home, we stopped at PetSmart to get all my essentials: food, toys, treats, and pee pads (that I never used, because the tile floor was a better option to pee on). I went home and met my entire family—everyone loved me.

As months went by, I was a bit of a troublemaker. I made a hole in my grandparents’ mattress, I ripped the living room leather sofas, tore TV remote controllers—I was destructive. But no matter how much damage I caused, my family never got mad at me, and they always loved me.

I love being outside. I would go on walks around the neighborhood, but I would get too excited with people, birds, and cats, so I would always want to run on my daily walks around my neighborhood. I would play wrestling with my dad, I would play fetch, I played football—“blue-42, set… hut” was my signal to go and fetch the football. I was athletic and energetic, like any husky is.

In September 2018, I started to get discomfort in my spine that made it difficult for me to lay down. I was taken to my vet and was given pain medication and sent home. The next morning, Enrique called me because my breakfast was ready and I needed to take my pain medication. I woke up from my sleep and dragged my rear legs and tail from the bedroom to the kitchen, where Enrique was waiting for me. Once Enrique saw me, he quickly ran toward me and attempted to pick me up so I could put weight on my rear legs—but I couldn’t. I was paralyzed from my rear legs and tail.

That same day, I was rushed to another vet to get X-rays. The X-rays were negative, so it meant the problem was neurological. My vet said, “The neurologist is waiting for you—go now. If you wait any longer, Audi may be permanently paralyzed.” I was immediately rushed to the neurologist for an emergency MRI and emergency surgery.

I had an overnight surgery that lasted multiple hours. The surgery was a success, and I was transferred to a large crate for a couple of days at the pet hospital to recover. Every morning, my neurologist would visit me and pinch my rear legs to see if I had any feeling. I didn’t…

After the fifth day, I began feeling the pinch. My neurologist informed my family that the chances of me not being paralyzed and getting up and walking again were getting better, but only time would tell.

When I was ready to go home, my family went to pick me up at the pet hospital. As I hadn’t seen them in days (since they avoided visiting me at the hospital to prevent any excitement that could cause me to hurt myself), my neurologist told Enrique that I was “a lion to be reckoned with,” referring to my resilient strength. Even though I was paralyzed from my rear legs and tail, I would still move around as if I hadn’t had surgery.

Once I was at home, I was greeted with so much love from my family. But we still weren’t 100% sure if I was going to regain feeling in my rear legs, tail, or be able to get up and walk again. Enrique, every night, would tickle my rear feet for hours to see if I would physically react to the tickle.

Slowly but surely, I started to regain more and more physical feeling in my rear legs and tail. I was able to get up on my own two months post-surgery, and then, within a week, I was able to walk on my own. I recovered quickly. My neurologist and family were surprised and thrilled with my progress.

Although I couldn’t be the same athletic husky, I didn’t care. I was happy, and I would still try my best to be that athletic husky I’ve always been—but my family would stop me to prevent any injuries. I would slip and fall here and there, but I never let my condition stop me from being myself.

My family had to make adjustments in our home for my new living conditions. Since before, I would sleep on everyone’s bed, all the bed mattresses were lowered to the ground for me so I wouldn’t have to jump, and I could easily get up on the bed mattress and lay on it. My family also got me a low queen-size mattress as my bed in the living room. Since there were times I couldn’t get up and needed someone to help me, my uncle Eduardo would sleep with me every night on my queen-size bed in case I needed help getting up, going to the bathroom, or drinking water.

Just when I thought my toughest challenge was behind me…

In November 2022, I started to lose my appetite. I was taken to my vet for testing and was cleared, but my appetite didn’t improve. I quickly started to feel weak and began to lose weight. Then, my gums became pale. I was taken to another vet for a second opinion. I was dropped off for blood work and an ultrasound. My vet said I was probably just anemic from flea season, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

Later that night, I was diagnosed with a silent, deadly cancerous tumor that was described as the size of a sponge. It had attached itself to my liver and was absorbing all my blood, growing bigger—and the tumor was at the point of rupturing at any moment. Unfortunately, it was too late for me. My vet suggested that it was best for me to go to doggy heaven…

I didn’t know what was going on—I would just see my entire family crying and crying, but I didn’t know why. That same night, I had to say goodbye to my beloved family. Every one of my family members said goodbye to me.

Enrique’s last words to me were, “Don’t worry, boy. This isn’t a goodbye. I promise you—we will meet again. I love you with all my heart. Thank you for all the beautiful memories. I promise I will never forget you.”

I took my last breath in the arms of a loved one…

– Audi