Canine Connections Found on Facebook!

by Liz Holzemer
photo by Liz Holzemer

We all know what a great re ­connecting social network tool Facebook is"”from re ­uniting with high school classmates you thought you'd seen the last of, to spying on your ex to confirm you did make the right decision some two decades ago.

But who knew Facebook could lead to long-lost canine connections as well? In fact, it was the encouragement of one of my very own Facebook friends that led me to enter a Facebook canine contest describing my dog's inner self in 100 words or less, with an accompanying picture, for a chance to win a compli ­mentary photo session. I was actually on a writing deadline for this magazine, but hey, what did I have to lose? After all, I've penned many a thought about my ten-and-a-half-year-old yellow lab, Koufax. I've been taking more photos of him than usual ever since his diabetes diagnosis earlier this year to capture, well, the obvious. So enter away I did.

"Koufax is my ten-and-a-half-year-old, first born, lipoma-laden yellow lab. He's crazy (in a good way!), quirky, but most important he's been my crutch ever since I was diagnosed with a baseball-size brain tumor I thankfully survived 10 years ago. As a puppy, he used to rest on the right side of my head. He in ­stinctively knew before the MRI results revealed the location of my tumor. Now it's my turn to be his crutch after he was recently diagnosed with diabetes. We're second-chance survivors and sun, snow, and swim lovers!"

Jaime Rowe, a professional photo ­grapher and the contest's sponsor, fol ­lowed up with an email noting how she was a lab mom as well, and the uncanny resemblance of her dog, The Doctor, to Koufax. Of course, hers was also ten ­and-a-half and wow, wouldn't that be weird if her Doc and my Koufax were from the same breeder? Nah. What would be the chances? Well, that led to a flurry of emails inquiring about the exact location of breeder, Doc's and Koufax's birthdates, the tennis ball both would one day need surgically ex ­tricated from their mouths, and shared health ailments including lipomas and an arthritic gait.

I sensed a huge discovery just moments away from being revealed. I was giddy with excitement over the prospect that Koufax had a long-lost sister he could reunite with. We both unearthed the long-stashed-away-and-yellowed pedi ­gree paper trail we'd held on to all these years. The flurry of back-and-forth emails continued.

"Your dog, no your dog is the spitting im ­age of mine!" Would you believe, they both shared the same breeder? Mismatched mother's names though. Jaime emailed back, "Sorry, so close." Wait. Hold on. Sire's name? Rascal's Big Deal. A playing-the-field busy rascal indeed. BINGO! We had a half-sibling match. Days later, we hosted a heart ­warming reunion with Koufax and The Doctor. While Jaime and I gushed over their similar, soulful, brown eyes, hap ­pily panting faces, and nearly identical black birthmarks on their tongues, Kou ­fax and Doc relished a sibling reunion
over what else"”fetch.

Indeed, a canine connection courtesy of Facebook and a contest honorable mention to boot.