Nvwati was the one pup that no one wanted. Everytime someone would come to pick one of the pups from the litter I would all but put him in their faces but they would smile and reach for one of his siblings, preferring one that looked more "wolfy".

Six weeks later his mother died suddenly of an undiagnosed brain tumour. Nvwati ( "Good Medicine" in Cherokee) adopted me as his mom.

A week later, I had to go out for an hour so I put him in the kennel in the sunroom. I had hung a feather mattress in the room earlier to air out.When I arrived home I couldn't find Nvwati or the kennel. He was totally buried under teeny weeny feathers! He had somehow managed to grab hold of one corner of the feather mattress and devoured it. I was still finding duck feathers a year later! Cost of feather mattress replacement: $ 300.00.

That Christmas I had my 35 # turkey defrosting in my sink overnight. The next morning it was gone! Nvwati was laying moaning on the floor a full frozen turkey chewed up and in his tummy. That trip to the Vet cost me $700.00.

Then I got dentures. By this time I had gotten a second dog to keep Nvwati company (thinking this would help). I spent 2 days on the couch after a stroke. I guess in my "fog" I took my dentures out of my mouth and placed them on the coffee table. When I became coherent again, I found my dentures in bits and pieces all over the floor. Both dogs pooped teeth for days! ... and I walked around looking like a bag lady without teeth for a year until I could afford new ones. Cost of new dentures: $1500.00.

I would gladly go through it all ( and more!) again as sadly, Nvwati passed away suddenly and unexpectedly of a massive heart attack on Sept. 28, 2007.