a little background on my earlier post

[Gracie Dean]

http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=230318




Back in late Jan, hubby wanted to get a puppy. Our daughter had left home and took her dog that we have had for 15 years with her. Hubby wanted a dog. I did not. When he showed me the boxer he wanted to get, I said okay. He wanted to crop the ears, I did not. We decided to not get the dog, then the next day hubby relented and said if I would let him get the pup he wouldn't crop the ears. We got him that day.

From the start, I figured (me not being a dog person) I would just tolorate the little guy and help feed and keep things clean. Max, tho had other ideas. The minute we got home, Max jumped into my lap and licked my face and I fell in love. We worked with him and got him trained and he had learned some tricks. We have a huge back yard and an 8 foot tall fence. We never worried about him getting loose.

More importantly, when I had my rounds of Chemo, he would lay on the floor right next to me and rest his chin on the couch as if to will me better. Sometimes I would lay on the floor beside him and he would just put a front paw on my arm ever so gently.

We took him to our home town of Eureka this last weekend as we wanted him with us. Friday night, he actually got to sleep uncrated for the first time and he did really well. Slept next to hubby all night and did not tear up anything and did not potty in the house. Saturday morning, hubby put him on his chain (not something he was used to) to do his morning thing. Hubby went to take a quick shower. Got back less than 15 minutes and the chain was broke and Max was missing. We and about 1/2 the town looked for a better part of 8 hours. It is a small town, we covered every street, every alleyway but could not find him. About dusk we went to hubby's mom's house uneasy but okay with the fact it is a small town and we knew he would turn up. 30 minutes later my brother in law came to the house and I knew the look on his face wasn't good.

He took hubby and they went to the edge of town near the country club. Max was there or his body was. He was hit horribly bad. Hubby called me and told me that I needed to go to my sister's house cause we had to bury our baby. Hubby had picked him up out of the ditch and just held and held him and cried... He was covered in blood when we finished burying him.

That was Saturday, this is Tuesday and for someone who wasn't going to love a dog, I can not stop crying.

We have a hurt in our heart and a void in our home.

[Gracie Dean]

Originally Posted by Phobia

There is no such thing. I think you know that by now.

yea, well, I don't think I am as strong as God is saying, I have really just about had it

[Gracie Dean]

We put a deposit on this little guy last night. Some friends of ours gave us the connection...

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by noswad

he is very cute. Yes, please make sure your fence is good.

Also, the man that lived next to the house we were staying at, shoed him out of his yard. It made me think that if he had just held him and come over and said "dawson come get your dog" we would still have him. Makes me think twice about seeing strays in my yard. I will do what I can to ensure their safety

I've had a handful of strange occurrences with lost dogs (housed one for a couple of days, had to crawl through the woods to find one once, etc... each one of them made it home safely) all because I knew how much it would mean to me if someone ever did that for one of mine.

I know I'm not a perfect pet owner. No matter how careful you are, they're gonna find a way out on occasion (I've had 2 of them get loose on me) and all you can do at that point is rely on the kindness of others to get them home safely.

Sorry you lost your pup. Don't beat yourself up too badly, but please keep helpin' where you can. The simple act of putting a runaway into your back yard for a few minutes can save someone months of heartache.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Lzen

Also, I agree with you completely about not cropping the ears. Boxers are not supposed to be bad ass, tough looking dogs. They are clowns.

My wife and I are in the same debate over a rotty.

They all have the bobbed tail, and people associate that look with a more aggressive dog. If you ever see a rotty without it's tail docked, I defy you to convince me that it's a mean dog.

That tail bopping in the air will melt anybody. When you have a dog with an 'aggressive' tag, I think it's a really good idea to do what you can to keep people from recoiling from it for precisely this reason.

[Gracie Dean]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I've had a handful of strange occurrences with lost dogs (housed one for a couple of days, had to crawl through the woods to find one once, etc... each one of them made it home safely) all because I knew how much it would mean to me if someone ever did that for one of mine.

I know I'm not a perfect pet owner. No matter how careful you are, they're gonna find a way out on occasion (I've had 2 of them get loose on me) and all you can do at that point is rely on the kindness of others to get them home safely.

Sorry you lost your pup. Don't beat yourself up too badly, but please keep helpin' where you can. The simple act of putting a runaway into your back yard for a few minutes can save someone months of heartache.

I definitely will help when I can. I would have rather paid 100 bucks to get him out of doggie jail than to see him the last time like I did.