A Very Fine Dog Indeed - Page 1

To the newer board members I would like to introduce my dog Nemo – that’s him as my avatar.

http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/dog.html?id=557479-nemo

Nemo’s pedigree is impressive – his sire VA1 Lasso vom Neuen Berg was 2x World Seiger. Lasso to my knowledge in addition to producing great beauty and correct structure also produced sound minds and characters and wonderful herding ability. He himself lived to a healthy 15 and at least some of his progeny shared this longevity. Much of this applied to Nemo – an incorruptible character (and a character indeed in many other ways), a strong herder that stock had great respect for and yet a shepherd that was willing to wrap his body around orphan lambs to keep them warm,  a classic GSD temperament that tolerated unsolicited affection but did not seek it with one exception. For those that I call the soul weary Nemo was a true empath. He knew them immediately and had a whole different manner with them – he would quietly place himself next to them or even in their lap if they so desired and just BE and let his solace sink into them -A very bright piece of the universe. This always reminds me of his gentle healing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IbuzJO49EA .  Outings with Nemo always required extra time because on seeing him people would automatically smile and seek him out.

Now most of this was just because of Nemo - he was truly a bright piece of the universe and seemed to bring that brightness and light wherever he went. Part of it was also because of who and what he was – a German Shepherd Pituitary dwarf and people would whisper, I wonder what he is.

A 1% chance genetic glitch that to some would define him as a throw way dog to be ruthlessly put down or given away out of sight while others, overly righteous folks, are ready to draw and quarter breeders who inadvertently produce such a defect and are all too ready to declare the inhumanity and cruelty to the animal – ALL without knowing what the heck they are talking about.

We joked that Nemo had never looked in the mirror or read the book on what it meant to be a dwarf. Nemo KNEW he was a GSD and he and we knew he WAS the best kind of German Shepherd Dog that you could ask for. He lived a rich full life and brought life, love, laughter and strength to those who crossed his path. What better epitaph could there be for a good German Shepherd? And an epitaph this is because this past New Years Eve our journey together ended.

Nemo

A very fine dog indeed

8/15/1998 to 12/31/2014                               16 years 4 months 2 weeks

Gaan met god and be blessed for your service to us

Rest in peace my dear boy and know you were loved and will always be missed.  You will stay in my heart forever

“The Parting Glass” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqcdTinjKvA         

To my friends on the board I apologize for the delay in writing this since so many of you have often asked of him and how he was doing. I know you understand when I say that I just could not find the words and there is a piece of me that is still struggling with how to deal with his loss. For friends new and old, I would like to share some photos and stories from Nemo’s life. I will follow this post with another labeled Invitation and I ask you to read that also as Julia and I will be honoring Nemo in a very special way on August 2^nd.

Nemo was fortunate as a puppy since my friend Julia knew about his litter. When it was obvious that he was a dwarf (usually about 7-8 weeks they are smaller and with a foxy face), she stepped up and said I will find him a good home. After one look at that beautiful little face and spirit, he had that home – with her and his best buds Cora and Betsy, which turned out just as well because she is a dog trainer and he needed to be well taken in hand as a youngster.

Now one of your problems if you are a puppy or puppy sized is keeping up with the big guys when they are running free and having a great old time. Nemo had a solution and thus began his lifelong fascination/ temptation with tails – dog or sheep. With Cora and Betsy, Nemo would grab hold of their tail and hold on for the ride. Cora ran six blinds one time with Nemo tagging along. Around the time he was 13 we took him over to Linda Rorem for a birthday herding session since working stock was his number one talent and love (other than caring for people). Linda had just gotten a herd of dwarf goats and his face lit up because there were those tails – right at his height – in his face – so tempting with all that flickering. Needless to say he needed a bit getting aftering.

The photo below is of a young Nemo that we call Cowboy Nemo since he has his cowboy bandana around his neck. I like this one because it reminds me of how Nemo came to live with me. In the spring 2004, Julia went to Europe to compete in the FH Worlds. She asked me to take care of Cora and Nemo. This was just about a month after my mom had died and I had been caretaking her for a number of years so I welcomed the diversion. After about 3 weeks, I took them back up to Julia’s and stayed the weekend. On Monday I was packing the car and had the doors open and out marched Mr. Nemo who climbs in and says I’m going with her. Now remember how I said he was an empath. Truth was at that point I was one of the soul weary – emotionally, financially and physically from the years of caretaking. So that well may have been part of his decision. Julia and I however have another theory. See the young dogs had been out rip racing around and Nemo somehow got left inside. He got up on Julia’s good dining room table to get a good look at what was going on and express his thoughts on the matter. Which was a mistake since it brought him to Julia’s attention. She went in and they had a discussion about how this was extremely inappropriate behavior – especially for a mature dog like him. That’s when he marched out and joined me in the car – figuratively packing his bandana and saying Fine then I’ll run away. For me it was a great day since Julia had the grace to say – what Nemo wants Nemo gets. He clearly loved us both and we shared him from then on but the joy for me was each time we went to visit, he was always at my car when it was time to come home.

“I know where I’m going and I know who’s going with me”  

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmSBX7LV9GA

Nemo was our puppy wrangler. He was absolutely safe for puppies but at the same time he would take no guff. If they were that stupid he was up and in their face saying HEY. Here he is at 9 with one of Remy’s pups with his head imperiously raised to her solicitation.

While as a pup, Nemo was known to do a bark and hold for an oven mitt, as I mentioned, Nemo loved to work stock. Both he and the sheep obviously recognized that he cast a far greater shadow than his size might generate. He backed off a full grown ram who was about to charge him by backing off, skitting his rear feet and then charging head on to the ram.  When we would get to the paddock, the sheep would be in the far corner facing outward, stamping their feet – their message that the wolf is at the door and he needs to go away. And yet for all his power and presence he never tried to or had the intent to hurt stock – he just wanted to gather them up like a good herding dog wants to. Unfortunately I could not find our herding photos except for the one below of him with ducks. This was more about him ignoring ducks not herding them because he was highly offended he was not working the sheep in the next field because it was obvious to him that Aussie was not up to the job.

My favorite memory of Nemo and sheep was at a herding instinct test that the Greater Swiss Mtn dog people were hosting.  We had gone to watch and they needed one more dog to be in the black so we entered Nemo knowing he was fine. The tester sees this much smaller dog (32 lbs fighting weight) and thinks it’s a piece of cake.  Now the sheep’s attitude to the Swissies sort of was ok there’s dog in here and we should care why? Julia takes him in and drops the lead (test requires a lead on) and Nemo goes into warp9 mode and the sheep go Holy Sh*t and the tester goes oh dear I should have brought my rattle paddle in. Julia tells her go get it and she comes back only to sort of wave it at Nemo. Julia’s going wap his little ass! (It had been awhile since he worked and he had the who ha’s). Meanwhile I am standing about 30ft away with all the Swissie people. At the end of the test, one is supposed to have a call off. Nemo however was having one heck of a good time and basically kept giving her the proverbial finger.  So on one of the go arounds being a savvy old time dog trainer she just steps on the leash as he goes by. He hits the end of the lead and does a perfect platz. Meanwhile I’m cracking up cause all the folks I’m with are going “did you see that down” “wow” – not a one of them had caught onto the fact that Julia had stepped on the lead. I still smile when I see it in my mind.

Being a dwarf Nemo would have spates of skin and hair issues though we suspect he made at least some growth hormone because of his size. Being a fan of judicious use of supplements in clearing up his skin I accidently grew some hair. A bit scruffy and standing straight out so that we often referred to him as the Don King of the GSD world as they seemed to share the same hair stylist. Later in life though by adding raw to his diet I was able to grow a normal coat which seemed to indicate he most likely would have been a long coat. He was just a little bit more handsome though to me what always made him beautiful was the inside not the outside. I believe he was 14 in this photo where he is looking fine but disgusted we had put the hat on.

Time is a thief. It steals from you the small daily memories that made the relationship so special. But then grace every once in awhile will remind you of something and you find yourself smiling and reliving the joy. Nemo’s quiet little cat feet were like that – he had the best stealth mode of any dog I’ve known. I’d leave him sound sound asleep in the bedroom but when that refrigerator door opened you looked down and there was Mr. Nemo saying food, are we having food? I often wondered if the door opening changed the air pressure but he was there too quickly and quietly unless he levitated. Maybe… but I think the real truth is when I left the room – he knew- even though he was sound asleep. Same as he knew what you were thinking.  I’d be setting out my tasks for the day in my head in the morning and knowing I was going out make a decision about which dog would be coming with.  If I had made the decision it was to be Nemo, sure enough there he was at the door when it was time, saying I’m ready! God forbid I had changed my mind along the way – it was oh know you said – even though I never had. Speaking of thieves, our friend Louise Tully who loved Nemo as much as we did and often took care of him for me, spoiling him with spa days, new toys and taking lots of pictures of him, took this one she called the Toy Thief.

This next to last photo is of Nemo and my Remy (my sport & service dog and his other great bud). You may have seen another version of this photo on the web where Rem is doing a great imitation of a KISS member. Because of the photo people often thought them related but only very distantly on Remy’s sire side. Taking care of my mom, by necessity, my world became a much smaller place. Nemo and Remy reconnected me to people, joy, fun and life. Thank you Julia for letting them be part of my life.  It was also a gift to be able to share them with the world and watch the magic of shepherdness happen.  Remy was just a year when Nemo joined us but she left us all too early in April 2014 at the young age of 11.

See http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/community.read?post=785214-the-hallmarks-of-a-good-shepherd#785282

So 2014 was a tough year, booked marked at the beginning and end as two of the very best were lost to the breed and though I am very blessed to have Remy’s daughter Seffe as my service dog and companion, the world seems dimmer and smaller these days.

I wish I was much better with words and had the capability of writing what is in my heart and soul but alas it is not so. So I have borrowed some words that spoke to my heart.

"An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language." ― Martin Buber

Not the least hard thing to bear when they go from us, these quiet friends, is that they carry away with them so many years of our own lives. - John Galsworthy

 “What we have once enjoyed we can never lose: All that we love deeply becomes a part of us” – Helen Keller

“People leave imprints on our lives, shaping who we become in much the same way that a symbol is pressed into the page of a book to tell you who it comes from. Dogs, however, leave paw prints on our lives and our souls, which are as unique as fingerprints in every way.”― Ashly Lorenzana

Nemo is buried at Julia’s overlooking the sheep pasture since he was a herding dog to the bone. The following quote undid me.

There's a stone I had made for Luke at the top of the hill road, where the pasture opens wide and the setting sun highlights the words carved into its face. "That'll do, Luke, that'll do." The words are said to working dogs all over the world when the chores are done and the flock is settled: "That'll do dog, come home now, your work is done." Luke's work is done too. He took my heart and ran with it, and he's running still, fast and strong, a piece of my heart bound up with his, forever.

Patricia McConnell, For the Love of a Dog

 

 

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." — Anatole France

Simple gifts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYi9Vr8bHJY                   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amcGIfMu0bw

Beth, thank you so much for posting this thred. Like many others I often wondered about Nemo's progress through the world, and marvelled at his long and pretty healthy life - I haven't known any dwarf GSDs personally but we hear so much that is negative. I only recently realised that you had lost him at the end of last year. RIP Nemo.

Having just had Taz pts a month ago, your thred made particularly significant reading to me.  It helps a lot.

Linda.

A deeply moving and achingly raw tribute to a magnificent dog who touched the lives and hearts of people who had been fortunate enough to meet him as well as those of us who wish we had been so lucky. You captured his very essence precisely with your own words, TIG, and it breaks my heart anew to read them, as I know how hard it was for you to write them. 

I will always regret that I didn't get to meet him personally, but I'm grateful to have known of Nemo since his journey here first began, and of the joy he brought to the lives of so many people all these years...and I'm glad you were one of the ones selected to accompany this magical soul along his course in this dimension. Next weekend, I'll be there in spirit with you and Julia and his many friends as Mr. Nemo's extraordinary life is celebrated, and that his memorial will help support the German Shepherd Rescue of Northern California's Thulani Program for senior GSDs in need of foster and adoptive homes is a most fitting tribute to, as you so rightly describe him, 'a very find dog indeed'.     

 

Run free, Little Big Man. You were a Very Fine Dog Indeed.