"Somethings that are not necessary may yet be essential." - Maslow

Thursday, July 19, 2018

In Memory of Remington

Remington (Remi)


6/2007 to 7/17/2018



Walking out of the vet's office with an empty collar never gets easier.  Remi's walk was extra "not easy" because of who he was and what transformations his life had gone through.  In the fall of 2007 I  made the journey to a PetSmart in Marion, IN, and brought home a small scared puppy after seeing just his beautiful eyes, expression and face on his Petfinder's profile.  Herschel had told me that he needed help visiting the nursing homes. Some one small enough to sit in a lap, he said. Herschel assured me that the English Cockers were too big and he had all he could handle walking around chairs and beds.  Read the Havenese bred standard. Besides the vocabulary "sturdy", the intelligence and temperament won me over. Then Remi came home.

His rescue group had gone to Missouri, purchased and brought home a van full of Puppy Mill rejects from an auction. Rejects are the ones that the puppy millers feel won't sell to bundlers for pet shops but might be worth $8 dollars at an auction (which is more than they would get is they drowned them in the barrel behind the barn.) Remington was the only Havenese of the 16 puppies the group rescued.  They knew to bid on the Pugs but were clueless as to what a Havenese was.  They did report to me that it took three baths to get Remi clean and that the puppy miller that had him was dirtier than he was.   Even with the baths Remi looked pretty sketchy. Poor care and poor nutrition will do that.  I had to have a Havenese breeder I know look at him to tell me that yes he was a Havenese and not some poodle/dachshund cross.  The fact that he was a curly coated Havenese and not the smooth or wavy ones you see in the show rings is probably what caused him to be sent to the reject auction.  Few people other than Havenese breeders would have recognized him.  But he had the bouncy walk/strut, the eyes and nose of his breed and fighting against all the negatives of his early lack of socialization he tried his best to be sweet and loving.

He came back to Ohio at 5 months old not knowing how to be a dog or how to trust humans or how to trust much of anything. He wouldn't even take food from a human hand. It was difficult to determine an effective positive reinforcer for behavior. Apparently being fed regularly not being scared every minute of every day worked over time. The one skill he had was to be so scared that he would sit frozen in a lap. Herschel and I both agreed that we could work with that.  I give 90 percent of the training credit for Remi to Herschel and the residents of the nursing home.  Herschel taught him how to be a not so afraid dog and the residents taught him that human touch could be kindness.  The first treat that Remi took from a human hand was from one of "his" resident ladies.  Both he and Herschel had their own people.

With Herschel  to protect him, Remi learned the way of therapy dogs.


This fine lady, a retired poodle breeder, also shared with me how to keep Remi's ears  clear of hair and how to keep them healthy.  The wife of one of the other residents was the one who approached me one day to quietly let me know that Remi had talked with her and  he wanted me to know that his real name was Remington.  And so it was. I was so glad that he told someone!


Herschel made sure that Remi learned how to be a traveling dog. Mexico, Florida, Alaska and many many states in between.....   Here in Silver River State Park in Florida, Herschel was trying to take Remi's mind off the alligators.


Here Herschel is reassuring the non-water loving Remi that he could be safe out kayaking.


With a good diet and healthy living his coat grew and he became handsome.



And Remi, long noted for writing his own blog posts and e-mails, listens to a child read to him in the library.


Herschel and Remi with one more of their friends.


Herschel did his best to explain how puppies were raised here in Ohio as opposed to any memory Remi may have had of his past in Missouri.  He took the job seriously and set about to raise Izzy (Audrey's mother).  


There were other puppies that came to live with us since Izzy but he never quite took on the role of teacher and playmate quite as enthusiastically. 


Izzy, Stuart and Remi all sharing a lap....


He learned to enjoy many aspects of his life.




And always respected his big red dog.....


And Herschel and Stuart taught him how to play.



And he grew to appreciate kayaking....as long as no one asked him to swim.


After Herschel passed away in 2012, Stuart became Remi's new rock of security.



Remi in Michigan with puppy Audrey, trying to pay forward some of the comfort the older dogs had always provided him.







After Stuart left us last August. It became more and more apparent that Remi had lost his sense of security in the world.   In the last few months I had watched him lose much of his joy and the cloak of great "fears" slowly take back his life.   First it was not being able to be with Josef, which might be explained because Josef was getting older, is intact and pushy, but eliminating spending time with Josef, Remi then began having disagreements  with Lark, a spayed female....   His eye sight appeared to have gotten worst and his sight at night, questionable for some time, made him reluctant to even move in the dark.  Having always found grooming and nail trimming stressful, over the years he ultimately had made a some sort of necessary peace with the process.  Remi then began to lose that tenuous hold and began to reverted back to his panic attacks.  He found a sense of safety only in his crate. Reassurance and joy in his daily life not so much.

In Kentucky watching his beloved friends from a far.  Hoping that they would come back for him.  



Run free, bound high, chase your friends in peace and joy.  You brought joy and smiles to many over the years.  You deserve to be at peace and without fear.  

Monday, August 28, 2017

In Memory of Stuart



CH Kathben's Heart of Linea RN

2-12-2006 to 8-28-2017



Stuart

(CH Daisymead's Power Play X 
Ch Linea's Blonde Over Blue RE) 

Stuart (also known as Stewy, Stu Stu or, as a baby, "Crooked Spot") went to join his Mom, Blondie and his best buddy Herschel this afternoon after several months of declining health that had recently seemed to become an avalanche of weight loss.  Over all he had maintained his happy upbeat attitude and "I can chase squirrels anytime" spirit.  I am just grateful that he never appeared to be in discomfort, Only this morning when he vomited his water twice in three hours did he appear a little perplexed with himself and confused.  After some additional blood work, urinalysis  and x-rays today the vet and I agreed that it was time to let him go while he still seemed without discomfort and had his dignity intact.

*A special thanks to Dr. Rich and his staff at Four Paws Animal Hospital, especially the vet techs who shared some of their fried chicken with him. Their attention and care made his last day full of love and special attention.


Stuart started his life as just one of Blondie's boys.  One of six boys in an all male litter!  . Stuart was the one that caught your eye as soon as he was able to get up on four legs and move. He always stood up straight as if to say, you better look at me! And did I mention he knew how to move, too?  While the other boys moved on though, Stuart stayed.  

And now you know how he came by his puppy name "Crooked Spot".



Herschel took baby Stuart under his wing when it was nap time.




Stuart also had supervision on his early hikes.


And on his early water experiences.


Later Stuart quickly learned other water skills.





 


He had his pensive quiet moments when we really knew he was just waiting for the squirrels to think he wasn't paying attention.



And there were those dog shows. He earned his AKC Championship at about 16 months back before Grand Champion was offered. 






American Spaniel Club 2016.



Stuart also played in the UKC ring.  He went BIS Altered in all but one of the UKC shows he entered. 



Not too, too long ago he came out of retirement so his friend Savannah could show him again at UKC. Again he and Savannah took home both BIS ribbons for that day!



And he always fondly remembered the two 4-H seasons living with his girl, Kelsey, and trying to pass himself off as just another of the family's Labradors....(so that everyone had a dog for their project those two years.)




He liked to listen to the children read to him at the library.





And he loved snow!






Here he is taking is younger sister Izzy on a tour of downtown Lebanon.




And traveling.  He made it on many RV trips including the Alaska,  Baja and PNW road trips. Here he is checking out some of the "killer logs" along the Washington state shore line.



 


  

Keeping a watch on his Florida campsite at Silver River State Park.





Stuart was double checking to be sure he was allowed to explore Fort Davis.....



"Mom said we are stopping here for the night but it looks like a Walmart parking lot to me.  Didn't she get your memo, Remi, about our liking state parks best?" commented Stuart after a long day's drive.



Homer, Alaska's catch of the day.



That August day in the Grand Tetons in 2012 that he took on the position as chief navigator.



Out standing in the field in Mexico..... 



Stuart got to enjoy a last "camping trip" with his pack down to Josef's dog show in Kentucky this past weekend.  He seemed to appreciate that he was back on the road again even if he wasn't able to go exploring like he used to do.

The squirrels will rest a little safer tonight and though the other dogs will try, I don't expect any of them to achieve Stuart's level of "Squirrel!" alert. 

And my favorite memories of him will always be those of watching him do what he loved most. It always looked like the definition of "joy" to me.