Larry Lost His Devoted Friend Today UPDATED
By Lena Grove aka nasuS on December 4, 2008 at 11:53 PM in Current Affairs
he wrote this note to a few friends — i’ve deleted some names just in case:
SUBJECT: Only the good die young. Not true.
Well, Ceasar proved that old saw wrong. He started his downhill slide couple of weeks ago (we suspect cancer). There are not too many 12 year old Rottweiler’s running around. Over the last week he started rapid weight loss and no longer wanted to eat. Fortunately for me, I was in P—— on business (ok, I admit it, I was a coward). This left S– and J— with the sad task of carrying Ceasar to the vet for the long sleep. We think the raw food diet (B.A.R.F.) actually prolonged his life over the last year.
He was a veritable chow hound until last week. At least during the last year his flatulence disappeared thanks to the raw food. I don’t know if he was happier, but it sure made atmospheric conditions in my office better. We will dearly miss his throaty bark and intimidating greeting at the door. Patton [the other Rottweiler in the Johnson household] just can’t pull it off, he’s too sweet (except when he is chasing and catching squirrels, but that’s another story).
We have decided that animal euthanasia should not be a holiday tradition. I snapped the [image above] of the old man a couple of months ago. I guess he knew he was on the final countdown.
Larry, we are so grateful that you gave Caesar such a loving home and such nourishment and attention. We all know too many stories of dogs who don’t have such good fortune, and it is truly remarkable that he lived so long.
Maybe one of these days, you’ll end up with one of these? Found that photo here.
Reverend Amy found a wonderful group to which we can donate, in Ceasar’s memory:
And, if I may, I’d like to ask people to donate to a shelter near me that is in desperate straits financially because the rural county can’t support it, and they’re overwhelmed with pets because of the terrible employment problems in a rural area dependent on logging and with too many people, especially men, who think that spaying/neutering is wrong, sigh:
2105 West Highway 101
Port Angeles, WA 98363
(360) 457-8206
It’s touching that their home page honors our troops. There are so many veterans here, including many who have lived in the forest, alone, since the end of the Vietnam War (!). (There’s a local group of vets who gather donations from merchants, and make sure those lonely men get some needed supplies from time to time, but who leave them be, in peace.)
Larry, to you and your family, our heartfelt condolences. We’re so touched that you did right by Ceasar throughout his exceptionally long life. Bless you for that.
Here’s a bit of history about Rottweilers:
It seems likely that the Rottweiler originated in ancient Rome as a drover dog. The ancient Roman Empire used this breed around the turn of the century to drive the cattle necessary to feed their massive armies as they crossed such traitorous terrain as the Alps in order to conquer a great part of Europe. As the Roman Legions stopped along the way, the Rottweiler took on another task, that of guarding the camps. The great ability of these dogs to accomplish such drover and guard dog tasks seems obvious due to the success of the Roman Legions they served. …
Read all of the history.
And here’s a story about a mistreated Rottweiler who finally got rescued:
Angel’s Story
“My name is Angel. I was thrown from a moving truck with my legs tightly bound one night in Cherokee County, Georgia. I was found by the side of the road by some boys who beat me with a 2×4 while I lay helpless. My unconscious body was discovered by a kind person who brought me to the Cherokee Shelter where I awaited my fate. As my kill date rapidly approached I’d watch people pass my cage, my sad hopeless eyes seem to say “Save me, please save me, I promise I’ll be good”. I am a 3 year old female rottweiller, spayed, heartworm negative,vaccinated, housebroken, leash trained, sweet and loving.I am sweet and loving and good with other dogs and cats. I have some health problems which may have been the results of my abuse.”
A Happy Ending
The wonderful people at the Cherokee Animal Shelter have asked me to pass on Angel’s story. Angel’s time was up and they had planned to go ahead and euthanize her, but since she is so sweet and has been through so much, they decided to give her a bit more time. Angel was eventually adopted by my husband and I. We want to thank all the people on the AOL Rotty Board who donated money and gifts to Angel. And a special thanks to Laurie at The Cherokee Animal Shelter and Debra who is Angels foster mom.
Read all about Angel.
Postscript: It is so good, Larry, that you advocate for the B.A.R.F. diet. Caesar’s longevity and health, until just the last couple weeks, is remarkable!
No dog or cat should ever eat supermarket pet foods — it’s like feeding one’s child nothing but Fruit Loops. The supermarket foods, all of them, are from the worst offal from diseased animals and loaded with cheap carbohydrates. The carbs are especially bad for cats, who should have NONE in their diets — they are obligate carnivores, which means their digestive systems are not designed to utilize any grains or vegetables.
Then there’s that cats, originally desert animals, get almost ALL of their moisture/water FROM FOOD, not bowls of water, which never give them sufficient water. Cats have to have WET food to get sufficient water.
Then we have these greedy pet food companies buying ingredients from god knows where, including China where they have no scruples and cheat by adding stuff like melamine, a plastic-type substance that mimics protein when it’s tested. The only brands I’ll buy are Evo Innova (wet/dry), Orijen (dry), Evanger’s (wet — the best!), and maybe Wellness or Merrick’s. Cats should get wet only but my budget demands I mix in some dry. Orijen and Evo Innova have NO grains in the dry food. Wish I could do B.A.R.F. but the cats won’t eat it.
A really good reason to buy the slightly more expensive, good food is that it saves BIG BUCKS down the road. A wet-food, no-grain diet for cats means that they will not get kidney disease or diabetes and will not get obese. Your vet bills will be MUCH lower.
The main reason we see obese cats is that their body tells them to keep eating because they’re not getting enough nutrients from the lousy supermarket food. So, their human “owners” will actually save money by buying the more expensive food, since it’s a guarantee that they’ll eat less of it because their body will not be craving those missing nutrients!
I’m alerting Uppity Woman about this thread. She is a true EXPERT on pet care. And she devotes so much of her time to rescuing animals. If you have any questions, I know that Uppity can answer them far better than I.
Love to you and yours, Larry.
UPDATE–FROM LARRY, I want to thank everyone for their supportive comments and heartfelt condolences. It is sad to lose an old friend but his time had come. The article above reflects that this blog can accommodate both cat and dog people. I realize there is a minority out there who tolerates both, but most pet lovers normally fall into one of the two groups. Despite different pet preferences we still find some common ground here. So thanks for your kindness.
by Ronald Scott
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