Stetsonne came to us when he was only five weeks old. He was a Christmas present to me from my mom.
I named him Stetsonne, not after the hat, but because it is German for ‘bright sun’, and that is what he was to me–a bright shaft of sunlight that came to live in my heart and remains there to this day. He was known by all who loved him (and that was all that knew him!)
as the big, lovable “Pooh Bear”.
He was the gentlest, most intelligent dog, I know everyone says that about a beloved dog, but he truly was! Even before his ‘formal’ schooling, he would do things I’d only ever seen “Lassie” on tv do. For instance, he decided, from the time he was about 3 months old, that it was his job to guard our shelties and us, and
he did a very excellent job of it!
He had an AKC ‘companion dog’ title, was certified a ‘canine good citizen’ and was a therapy dog as well as being fully trained
as a search and rescue dog.
Unfortunately, when we had him x-rayed for his physical before he actually went into the field to do the SAR, we discovered he was horribly dysplastic! So he was never able to persue his love
of finding lost people.
The vet said that because he had always been so active and was so well muscled, the muscles were actully what was holding his hips together, not the joints. He did not feel that surgery should be done until he got to be very painful, and/or was having difficulty getting up and down and walking–which he wasn’t at the time.
He still ran and jumped like a puppy.
He was given RIMADYL, and as a result, developed liver cancer. We didn’t know then the effects of rimadyl, or we never would have allowed it to be given to him!!!!! When we did discover what it does to some dogs (many, in fact) it was too late for my sweet Stetsonne–he already had cancer and there was no hope of survival. I promised him when he was diagnosed that if the day ever came that he could not play (he loved to play, and to him anything and everything could be made into a toy!) I would let him go, even though I knew it would break my heart.
That day came when he was 5 years, 6 months and 4 days old–way too young!! My mom and I took him to the vet and I sat in the back of our car with his beautiful, precious head on my lap while the vet injected him. My sun set that day as my beautiful, precious boy died in my arms.
It saddens me to see the anti-rottweiler sentiment that has become so popular!! It breaks my heart further to think that if my Pooh Bear were here today he would be hated, feared, and in some places banned and killed!! Rottweilers are naturally very LOVING and HAPPY dogs–it is the exception, rather than the rule, when they are not good dogs. If a rottie is not good, look at the owner, most likely you will find abuse, lack of training, lack of socialization, or–worst of all–a person who has deliberately made it aggressive
through abusive training and fighting!!!!!
Until we meet again my sweet poonie,
| Shantels Shadow Rider, CD, CGC |
| Serena Marshall |