Once in a Lifetime Dog - Page 1

I'd like to put forward another topic, one that has many potential responses, in light of our wonderful breed.  These stories will tell the truth about why we are so devoted to the German Shepherd.  All of the dogs that we have cared for have meant something to us, but there is always that special one...

For me it was Sela, a bi-colour female from police dog breeding. She came to me as a 7 weeks old puppy in 1974, towards the end of my first marriage and, in time, became my closest friend, my devoted and fierce protector and my guide through the toughest times of my life.  She led me off a mountain when I had lost my way, both in reality and figuratively.  She saved my life more than once.  I have had many since her and none have meant the same to me although I have loved them all.  Have you had a dog like this in your life?  These stories are not easy to tell because you will always shed a few tears in the telling, at least I do.

Wanderer - how right you are about the tears.

For me my first GSD since leaving my childhood home meant so much to me, but she has a long and complicated story.  Another one who has really touched my soul is my old boy - he's currently 12.5 years old and is lying at my feet.

He helped our bitch through some very difficult times, he introduced us to the show scene, all be it only a bit.  He was the most fab Pets as Therapy dog and has been my rock.  9 years ago when I was pregnant he became in tune with me, I was really ill and he was my shadow, and when my blood pressure dropped he would lean on me or prevent me from getting up before I could pass out.  The second time I became pregnant, it was his behaviour that made me get checked!  When I was ill and had to have daily injections he would come and sit by me until I was done and lick away any tears that I had (they were very painful) and he never pulled on his lead all the time I was pregnant.  He knew that he had to be very careful with me after my c-section and he found a way of sitting with me to have a cuddle all the same.  He has been my best friend, my confidant and my foot rug.

Even now he is still totally in tune with me and during a recent bought of flu he returned to being my shadow, he wouldnt even go out to the toilet until I was back on my feet - words escape me to describe him.

beepy, beautiful story.  There must be others.  It goes way beyond winning blue ribbons or trial trophies.  It goes to the heart.

My once in a lifetime dog was a white GSD male named Rolf. He was about 10months old and I was 11years old when I was given him as a present from an uncle. He had been rejected by a security company because he was gun shy. He was my constant companion and best friend through a very difficult childhood. I ran away from home on several occasions and I always felt safe with him by my side. My parents threatened to sell him as money was scarce and with 5 children to feed they could not afford to feed a large dog as well. I managed to find a job and was able to pay for his food myself there where times when we as a family here homeless but I refused to be parted from Rolf. He gave me so much love and was always there to lick away my tears and never once did he judge me. Rolf lived to be 15years old and he will always have a very special place in my heart. Its thanks to Rolf that I became so passionate and so involved with this breed and I still have a real soft spot for whites and currently have a white rescue GSD named Crystal as well as our other dogs.

Wanderer Your right I did shed a few tears.

Linda B (Korzwin GSDs)

It would be nice to read more stories of these special dogs.

Wanderer, I've had dogs all of my life, but the one that means the most to me is my most recent GSD, Chaos.  Chaos turned 2 years old today and how the time flies when you're having fun.  I never would have gotten a male GSD, or even thought about a 4th dog if it weren't for my sister, Debbie.  June 17th. of 2006, someone set her house on fire at midnight with her and her boy friend in the house upstairs!  Her boyfriend George died in the fire.  Debbie made it out by diving 2 stories head first to the ground.  She was in the hospital for 18 days in the trauma / burn unit.  Her last week in there, she said she wanted a big LC shepherd like she use to have, to protect her when she got out of the hospital.  I talked her into a puppy so that they could bond together and grow together.  I found a breeder close to home by an ad in the local paper.  I went to look at the pups and something stood out with him.  He was the only one that was demanding attention every time we walked up to the pups.  I kept Chaos at my house while my sister was recovering in the very small apartment that the insurance company put her up in until she could find a place of her own.  I would take him over to visit with her, leaving him there for a day or 2 at a time.  But, every time I went back to pick him up, he was no where to be found.  I would ask my sister where he was and she would tell me that he was in his crate!  He would be underfoot and not listening to her so that's where he would end up for God knows how long at a time.  I ended up taking him home with me and told her that when she found a house with a fenced in yard we would bring him back over to leave him with her, but until then he would be at my house where he wouldn't get stuck in a crate all the time.  She agreed that it would be best.  A couple of months went by and Chaos and I bonded like I have never bonded with one of my dogs.  My sister called me and let me know that she needed to have him over at her place because he had a vet appointment the next day.  I took him over there and left him.  The next afternoon, I went back over to get him after I got out of work.  She then told me that he was mine!  She said he cried all night and she thought that he wanted outside, so she would take him out every hour.  He didn't have to go to the bathroom at all.  He was crying for me and wanted me.  She said after that, she knew that he wanted to be with me and I was his true owner.  He was the best gift besides her living through what she went through that she could have given me my entire life.  They are both something special.  Chaos is a champion show dog, a therapy dog and a wonderful family pet.  I hope we have a very long happy life together.  Thanks for starting the thread.

A couple of years ago, I lost three family members within a 10 month period: my father, my husband, then my mother. My German Shepherd, Tasha, was 13 when Roger died, and began to go downhill quite quickly after his death. Although she had originally been my dog, before our marriage, she became more bonded to him than to me, as I couldn't take her to work with me, while he was self-employed, and took her everywhere.

She collapsed on me one day. I stil don't know what happened, but suddenly she lost control of her hind legs. She recovered within an hour, but I knew the writing was on the wall. Shortly after that, I was talking with my birth mother, who lives in Quebec, and she asked me what I was planning to do 'when the time came'.  I replied, "I'm not sure, but I know I can't get a puppy as there will be no one home to look after it and housebreak it while I'm out working."

"Well," she said, "if you want the most gorgeous adult male German Shepherd, you'd better speak quick, because the owner says he's going to shoot it!"

"WHAT?" I exclaimed. "Why? Is it vicious?"

"No, he was given it as a watchdog, and he just feels it's not doing a good enough job. So, he put a burglar alarm in the house, and now that the dog's out of a job, he doesn't need it. He doesn't believe in keeping a dog as a pet, so he's going to shoot it if he can't find it another home."

Gradually, I began to get the whole story about the dog. He'd been given to the owner as a gift by a friend who bred GSD's. His daughter had kept the dog for awhile when it was a pup, but when it was older, he brought it home and chained it to a dog house. Apparently, he put a choke chain around the dog's neck. He didn't notice the choker was hurting the dog until it was actually buried in the flesh. My birth mom's husband helped him remove it, by squirting a little local anesthetic on the neck, then yanking out a few inches of chain at a time.

The owner didn't believe that watchdogs should receive any affection or petting, and rarely let the dog off its chain. It remained outside, winter and summer. He did buy the dog (which he named Ralph)  toys to play with at first, but then stopped when the dog just tore them apart. To keep himself amused, Ralph played with the rocks that were buried in the sand around his kennel. He'd pick them up in his mouth, then put them down and push them around with his nose. Once he got them rolling, he'd bark at them, as if they were alive.

I decided to go to Quebec to meet the dog. He was very friendly, and bounced around on the end of his chain, straining to reach me and get some attention. I decided to bring him home with me. The owner's parting advice to me was, "If he gives you any trouble, just show him a shovel!"

Housebreaking him took about three days. He was very gentle with Tasha, as he'd had an older female dog in his life.  Tasha seemed to enjoy his company, and actually started to eat a bit better. When she died in her sleep exactly three weeks later,  he stood by my side as I dug her grave, and licked the tears and sweat off my face when I stopped to rest.  When Ralph got bored, he wandered off, and picked up a brick. He began pushing it end over end with his nose, and barking at it. I had to laugh at his antics, in spite of my sadness.

I was amazed by how affectionate he was. He was always coming to me, and sticking his big head under my arm, and begging to be petted. He became especially clingy when I was sick, and would look anxiously at me every time I sneezed.

I have a 70% hearing loss in one ear, and an 80-90% loss in the other. When I take my hearing aids out for the night, I don't hear an awful lot, and now that I was living alone, I missed things like the phone and someone knocking on the door. I had looked into getting a hearing e

My once in a lifetime dog is now 13 yrs old. She was purchased as a 10 weeks old puppy, that little Long Haired baby face. She has always done EVERYTHING I asked of her, she was always off lead (unless in a dangerous situation) and never left my side. She was considered the "Nanny" and raised many pups for me from 8 weeks to a year of age and made sure all of them knew to respect her.

She is: PAM- Montana's Mountain Majesty, CGC,PT,CD,AX,AXJ,NAP,NJP,JB,PD1,OAC,NJC,NGC,RS-O,JS-N,GS-N, Certified Therapy Dog, OFA Fair Elbows Normal       A Long Coat only 54 pounds and 21 3/4 inches at the shoulder, from back yard bred dogs and I strive SO hard to find the "perfect" lines. I don't believe there is such a thing unless those perfect lines are out of "Smokey Gator Demott" and "Sheena's First of the Line". :o)

Besides being my constant companion and all those titles she helped me earn, she is 13 years old (next week) and still going strong so we also have longevity in our "perfect" lines! It's just a shame she was never bred.

Tina

 I had looked into getting a hearing ear dog, but didn't like all the restrictions that Dog Guides Canada placed on their clients. Shortly after bringing Ralph (now re-named Ranger) home,  I became aware that many dog owners trained their own service dogs, even giving them public access training. I began working with him, and soon had him responding to the smoke alarm and the alarm clock. The door was more of a problem, though. He'd never been an indoor dog, and didn't know what a knock on the door meant. I had a professional trainer come to my house to help me out, and within about 10 or 15 minutes, she had him barking loudly, then running to nudge me in response to a knock. She also started to train him to the kitchen timer, but I told her not to bother, as I rarely ever used it.

Six months later, I decided to use the timer to time something I was cooking. I stuck it right beside me, on my office desk, so I'd be sure to hear it when it went off. The minute it dinged, Ranger was right there at my elbow, nudging me!  At first I though he must be learning to generalize. Then, I remembered that one very brief session the trainer had done with him, six months earlier!

In the evening, he lounges on his dog bed until I go to bed, then he gets up, and plunks himself down on the rug just outside the bedroom door. In the morning, his big nose in my face wakes me up when the alarm goes off. If I'm not quick enough to get up, he uses his paw instead.

I don't take him out in public a lot, as I don't need him in public. I did take him to a big conference 2 years ago, and his behaviour was marvellous. In the con suite, where the floor was liberally strewn with potato chip crumbs, he didn't even try to sniff them, once I told him 'leave it'! He was perfectly relaxed when I took him into one of the parties that was being held in a dark, noisy, crowded room. And, later that evening, when I fell into a fencepost hole while giving him his bedtime walk, he came and pressed his body against mine, so I could lean on his back and pull myself out of the hole! 

We both got very lucky the day I rescued him from the end of that eight foot chain!

My once in a lifetime dog was and always will be ALERO VOM FEUR LOGIK.

I got Alero at 8 weeks old and from that point forward he was my constant companion.  I bought him as a competition dog but he became so much more. 

While teaching me all about schutzhund we did get our SchH 1. Off the field is where he really made his mark.

We would visit nursing homes and outside of trying to eat the tennis balls on the feet of walkers, he was a perfect gentleman. We would enter the room of a bed ridden patient and he would just calmly lay his head on the side of the bed with his head pressed against the person and just sit there. After a few minutes he would simply raise his head and calmly turn and walk away to visit the next room. I swear he knew exactly how to act with each person.

His favorite place to visit was always the mentally retarded ward. They were always glad to have him visit and watch him perform all his little tricks. They were always so excited to see him and I never once had to worry when one or more of them would come screeching down the hall with arms a flailing. While most dogs would run in fear, Alero knew this was just a child in a mans body, who was excited to see a dog and come give him a hug!

He truly was special and I guess god needed another angel because he crossed over to Rainbow Bridge at 3 years 5 months old. Here is my tribute video for him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J0xUkuGo1Q

JoAnn