Today our final chapter
in rottweiler rescue officially closed with the loss
of Candy, the 'pack mom' in our rescue.
Candy came to us as a owner surrender
of sorts. Her owner had become unexpectedly pregnant
and her boyfriend was afraid a female rottweiler would
be too protective of the baby, so he told her she had
to have Candy put to sleep. Candy was an amazing dog;
she was a great ambassador to her breed, what a well
trained and socialized rottie should be.. She took
her to the vet and spoke with a tech there about her
situation. Candy had always been a favorite in the
office, so they agreed to find a place for her and
tell the boyfriend she'd been put down.
We got the call while
we lived in Florida and were still a rottweiler breed
specific rescue. We had three dogs that weekend to
pick up. One we were adopting and two were entering
the rescue. We brought home Baron (ours), Tyson and
Candy (fosters).
We never found an
adoptive home for Candy, so when we moved from Florida
to Tennessee, all three of the rotties came along with
the rest of the family. As we became more and more
involved in rescue I noticed how well Candy did with
the foster dogs. They'd come in scared and insecure
and she'd greet them in her gentle, loving way.
She always made every dog feel at ease and at home.
While the dogs played
outside, Candy watched over them. If the play got too
rough, she'd break it up and get them to settle
down.. If we had a foster that was too mouthy and we
were unable to break the habit we could put them in
the yard with Candy and by day's end, they'd be a
different job. She had an amazing maternal instinct
that made my life with the fosters so much easier.
In the early part of
May we noticed Candy seemed to be favoring one leg.
We took her to the vet and found out she had advanced
hip dysplasia and arthritis. Because of her age and
the advanced state of the disease in her body, surgery
wasn't an option. Candy was still her happy self, and
still ran the backyard as always..
Over the last couple
weeks Candy began dragging one back leg. She no
longer wanted to be outside watching over the pack. I
gladly 'retired' her and allowed her to just hang
where she wanted and relax. She was on large doses of
medication to keep her from being in pain. However,
she was progressing rapidly and we knew it was just a
short matter of time before her quality of life was
gone.
John came home
yesterday to find her laying down in a puddle of her
own urine. She was in too much pain to even go
outside. To us, that was the final sign. Her quality
of life was no longer there.. He and the girls got
her cleaned up and back into her bed. He made an
appointment to have her put down.
On July 8, 2009 at
11AM, Candy officially passed over to the Rainbow
Bridge. She was our last rottie. She was one of my
best friends. She was my work partner. She'll be
missed more than she could ever imagine.
Rest in peace my sweet
angel. You've more than earned your wings baby girl.
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"I am
sending you on a journey to a land free from pain.not
because I didn't love you but because I loved you too
much to force you to stay."
God
Speed our faithful, loving companions. Until we meet
again.
We were never able to find a
home for Tyson, and when we moved from Florida to
Tennessee and no other Rottweiler rescue groups had
room, we just brought him along and he became part of
the family.
Shortly after our move to TN, we had a chimney repair
man come out. When he found out we had 3 rotties he
stepped quickly back from the door and said he was
afraid of them. We assured them that he was in more
danger from the 25 pound rat terrier than from all
three rotties combined. He hesitantly entered and
went about his business. By the time he left we had a
photo of him laying on the hearth with his head up the
chimney, and all three rotties with their heads wedged
up there trying to ‘help’. He left with a new found
respect and admiration for this breed.
This is the true nature of the Rottweiler. Once their
master has allowed someone into their home and shows
no signs of concern, they are very accepting. They
usually are a bit stand offish, preferring to keep a
distance and watch what’s going on around them. They
can quickly turn from laid back and easy going to the
guard dog they were bred to be if they feel any of
their pack is in danger. Tyson, Candy and Baron all
displayed this type of personality. I’ve never had
anyone meet them and fail to be impressed with their
temperament and the breed in general.
In
November 2008 Tyson began limping on one of his front
legs. We assumed he’d pulled a muscle or twisted
something while playing with the other dogs out back.
When there was no improvement in a few days we took
him to see his doctor, Dr Sam Young from Sparta Road
Vet. Dr Young gave us the news that no pet owner ever
wants to hear. Tyson had bone cancer in that leg. We
had the option of amputating the leg if we so chose.
We decided that wasn’t fair to Tyson. He was in the
later stages of his life and had other medical
problems including hip dysplasia. Amputating the leg
would have left him with even more weight on his back
legs and hips than he already had and would have
caused him more pain. We decided the fair thing for
Tyson was to let this run it’s course while
controlling the pain and when he felt his time was up
he would let us know. Dr Young gave him 6 weeks
before he felt the cancer would be so far spread that
letting him go would be the only humane option.
I’m
writing this on Friday, February 13, 2009. Tyson is
ready. The last couple weeks we’ve seen him go up and
down hill. Get worse and then rally. But as of late,
his bad days seem to be longer and more intense and
his good days fewer and farther between. He now
approaches us for his medication, willingly chewing it
up when it’s time to be dosed. He’s had an
increasingly difficult time going up and down the
stairs to go outside, most of the time with us having
to assist him. Yesterday he couldn’t make it out
before bed, his legs collapsing under him. We sat
with him, gave him time and comfort and helped him
back to bed.
At this
stage, keeping him alive is solely for our own selfish
benefit. His quality of life has deteriorated to the
point that he can no longer enjoy more than half his
day or half the week. This weekend or perhaps early
next week, we will take Tyson on his final trip to see
Dr Young. With us sitting by his side we will allow
him to pass on to a much better place, a place where
one day we will be together again.
When we lost our last rottie, Baron, I had a friend
send me this quote. I don’t know who it’s from, but
it really sums up the way we feel about losing Tyson.
It’s dedicated to him and Baron and all those that
have gone before them, and to all of you out there who
have also lost your best friend.
Ronnie
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