⚠️ Content Warning: This email contains graphic images of a dog injury. If you're sensitive to blood or animal trauma, please proceed with caution.
I wasn’t sure if he was going to make it.
Have you ever sat in that gut-wrenching moment of uncertainty, knowing there’s nothing you can do? That was me, holding my puppy, Nigu, bleeding in my arms on the way to the emergency vet.
I had only had him for a little over a month before everything changed.
Nigu was the kind of puppy that loved everyone. He made fast friends with every dog he met, and I always made sure to check with owners before letting him play.
That day was no different.
A neighbor assured me his Labrador was good with puppies, so I let Nigu bound over to play.
What I didn’t know was that this guy had a shock collar on his dog—and decided to use it repeatedly while Nigu was near him. The big dog, confused and in pain, lashed out.
One second, they were playing. The next, Nigu’s face was in the Labrador’s jaws.
The bite tore through the corner of his eye, down into his mouth, knocking out teeth. Blood was everywhere. I scooped him up, jumped into the truck, and drove 45 minutes to the nearest vet, trying to keep him conscious.
I’ve never felt so helpless.
The clinic gave me a grim prognosis but said they would do their best. The vet tech started crying because I couldn’t stop crying.
Nigu made it. But he wasn’t the same.
That sweet, mellow puppy who never even barked now had to navigate life with trauma. And watching him struggle killed me.
The first morning after the bite, I took him outside, silent tears streaming down my face as I watched him wobble with his “cone of shame” and swollen, bloody face.
And then?
He wagged his tail.
Then, he went and smelled the freaking flowers in the driveway.
Like some Hallmark movie-level moment, he chose to find joy—even in the middle of pain.
In marketing and branding, we talk a lot about the Hero’s Journey—how transformation through challenge is what makes people connect to you.
We don’t resonate with perfect, polished brands. We resonate with real ones—those who have overcome something and show us what’s possible.
Nigu is the perfect example of this.
He still loves dogs. He even seeks them out more than before. He turned his greatest trauma into his biggest strength.
So what’s your story?
Your transformation is your greatest marketing tool. It’s how your audience sees themselves in you.
If you want to create marketing that connects, let’s make it happen—without sleazy bro-marketing tactics.
Take my free Biz Superpower Quiz and uncover how your unique story can magnetize your dream clients—without the sleazy sales tactics.
P.S. If you’re wondering—yes, Nigu is doing amazing today. And yes, he still stops to smell the flowers.
