I have two beautiful dogs, Buddha and Aquila.  They are brother and sister, 6 year old Bull Arabs.  Bull Arab is not really a breed, or is not recognized by the people who are concerned with such things.  I think they are an Aussie blend, bred for hunting.

In 2003 I was preparing to go to Weipa, a mining community near the tip of Cape York in Queensland, for work.  I was buzzing around town doing chores and sorting out things that needed doing before going away for a job that was expected to last about six months. 

I took a wrong turn and found myself outside my medical clinic so I hastily decided to call in and see a doctor.  I had been disturbed by the fatigue I was experiencing, but not enough to actually make an appointment to have it checked.   The doctor ran some blood tests and I went back the next day for the results.

Hep C was the diagnosis.  The rest is history.

I spent about six months in Weipa, and struggled the whole time.  It was hot up there and we worked long hours.  Before I got hep C I could handle that but by then it was extremely difficult.

I came home with a little more understanding of my disease.   In those days there wasn’t much info on the internet, and I had only just bought my first laptop so I didn’t have the skills I do now to do research. 

But the best thing I came home with was my dogs.  They were born in the back yard of the house where I lived, so I saw them from their first day.  Truth be told I saw their conception, but that’s another story.

There were many times when I was on treatment that I felt like giving up, but I didn’t, for my dogs.  They need their mummy and I’m here for them.  We’re a family.

You’d have to be a dog lover to understand.