Continuing the story about our newest Rottweiler, Griffin

A lot has happened in the last 5 days. Our big baby has developed Kennel Cough in spite of getting a vaccination shot for Bordatello and has been doing a lot of hacking around the house. I took Griff to our Veterinary Clinic, Noah's Ark on Thursday, September 6th to have him checked out and begin a new treatment record on him. Several of the ladies there including Ruffin's favorite lady Vet came out to see him. He was an instant hit. A few of the girls said Griff looked so much like Ruffin. On the way home we stopped at the KentonCounty Animal Shelter and got his a dog license. And once again he was a big hit.

Update on Griffin, September 7, 2018.
Another trip back to the Vet today for Griffin. The hacking cough has persisted every day since he arrived and it sounds worse now. Vet prescribed Cephalexin antibiotic and Hydrocodone to ease his sore throat. Since he arrived on Tuesday afternoon he has had diarrhea, little or no appetite and several bouts of vomiting. I decided this morning to have a full workup done on him to see if anyone missed something. As we were leaving the Vet this morning Griff had a massive stool dump in the office, half solid and half diarrhea and a smaller diarrhea in the van. The Fecal exam came back clean and the Heart worm test was negative. So far so good. Waiting for the rest of the blood panel tomorrow. (it was also good except for some elevated white blood cells due to the kennel cough) Vet suggested boiled chicken and rice for dinner. With an empty stomach he must have been hungry. Griff ate it all and vomited it 3 hours later. I noticed on his previous Vet report before we got him his weight was 115 lbs on 8-30-2018. Yesterday it was 107 lbs and today it was 106 lbs.

Bessie and Griffin are getting along fine, Griff still wants to play and Bess has begun to show her command voice. She stopped one of his exuberant attempts to play with a few very loud barks right in his face. And the barks have a different sound to them, they didn't sound like the one's she makes at the front door.

 

 

 

 

Morning update on Griffin September 8^th.
Griff has become attached to me. He spends most of his day sleeping on the floor under the computer table. And I love the way he snores. He follows me around the house wherever I go and the last two nights at bedtime I was forced to use that to my advantage because he does not willingly go into the crate. Good thing I bought the extra large size because I found if I crawl into the crate he follows me and then I can back out and close the gate.

 

I found a way to get him to take pills.

It's still raining so I haven't gotten to the store with my shopping list so I melted some shredded cheddar cheese in the microwave and formed it in a ball and buried his pills in it. But he spit the whole thing out when I put it in his mouth. Not wanting to waste the pills I dropped the ball of cheese into the dog food bowl with a handful of kibble. Griff went over and ate the whole thing.

The other night I found Bess and Griff snoozing together in the hallway. They had their faces so close together it looked like they were smooching.

Last night I saw a major change in our sleeping arrangements.
Griffin may be only 15 months old but he is as smart as a whip. After three nights of coaxing and tricking him into the crate at bedtime, even to the point of me crawling in first and having him follow me, last night he wasn't having any of that. And this posed a major problem. I couldn't let him roam the house after I went to bed because he is so curious he gets into everything. This same problem would apply to him sleeping on the dog bed on the floor in my bedroom. So I tried letting Griff sleep on my bed. Which, of course, is where Bessie always sleeps but they wouldn't make any room for me.

So I put a 6 ft leash on Griffin and tied it to the corner of my bed so he could sleep on the dog bed where Ruff used to sleep. Bessie didn't like this so she left my room. Griffin found the leash gave him enough room to climb on my bed and after I turned out the lights he came over me (literally standing over me) and drowned me in kisses. When he tried to lay on top of me I forced him off and he ended up sleeping down at the end of the bed with his back pressed against my back. And thank God he didn't snore once. When I woke up this morning Bessie was sleeping on Ruff's bed next to mine.

 

 

I wish there was a way to publish a video on this blog. I just had Griffin and Bessie outside and watched Griff dance all around Bessie trying to get her to play. At first she would just lunge and snap at him to make him stop but he never gave up trying. Then she started playing with him and it was the most enjoyable sight I've seen in the 9 years since we adopted Axl and he played with 2 yr old Ruff. And they kept it up for almost 10 minutes.

Oh, I almost forgot. This was really uncanny. The other day I sat down in the leather chair in the family room and almost immediately Griffin casually stepped up on the arm of the chair and climbed on to my lap and gave me kisses.  Once before many years ago, when Ruffin was young he did the exact same thing. Back then my wife Jacqueline grabbed the camera and took some photos. When Griff did it I went and set up the camera on the tripod and sat down with the remote in my hand and Griff came over and did the whole thing again. Here are 2 photos of Griff and 2 photos of Ruff.

In 2008

 

And here's the really weird thing, in both photos I was wearing the same old work jeans.

 

We have a new name for our Rottweiler.

We have a new name for our Rottweiler. This is the last time I will mention the name Bruno. I discovered by accident that because he was getting into so many things that I was following him around telling him, Bruno NO. Then I realized the way I was pronouncing his name it came out Brew No which confused him from understanding No.

So from now on his name is Griffin and it will be Griff for short.

And now about the nose prints. On every thing located from the floor up to 4 feet high. I'm not complaining, he is just extremely curious and acts like a kid in a candy store. He wants to touch and sniff everything. He has gone through the house, put his front feet up on places like the kitchen countertop and desk just to see what's up there. I am just concerned he may be a klepto and start taking things.

Also, he is very curious about everything I do. I was cleaning the lamp shade on the night table in the bedroom and he jumped up on the bed and literally hung his head over my shoulder to watch what I was doing. I love his inquisitive nature. We are going to be good friends.

I have begun to notice a few minor problems. First off he doesn't care for (gasp) peanut butter. In 23 years I have never seen this before. I always believed that peanut butter was irresistible. But in a round about way I found his weakness. He adores my home made baked macaroni and cheese. Last night he had a very watery diarrhea and I had to give him some pills to dry it up. He didn't seem to know how take a spoonful of peanut butter in his mouth so I put the pills in some of the baked macaroni and he gobbled it up from a bowl.

Problem solved. Someone suggested he was a cheese lover so I gave him a slice of Swiss Cheese. Griffin loved it. 

This morning we had our first attempted play session. And Griffin has a very loud bark. He wanted to get Bessie to play with him so bad that he started leaping and barking at her. Bessie, for all her wild hand-to-hand combat sessions with Ruff when she was a puppy, stood her ground and starred at Griff as if to say "what's wrong with you."

And since I have not been able to show any of my video here on mt blog I am happy to announce I have added a link in the upper right corner to my Facebook page. Hopefully you will be able to see the videos I posted including the new one this morning.

 

We have adopted another Rottie

The most fortunate thing occurred a few days ago, a friend on Facebook alerted me to a young male Rottweiler that was coming up for adoption from a rescue group up in Ohio. I made contact with Molly Murray the founder and director of Pawsitive Warriors Rescue of New Carlisle, Ohio and after checking my Facebook page and this blog felt that I was the best candidate for the adoption.

Today, our latest Rottweiler has arrived. Many thanks to Molly Murray for transporting him almost 100 miles to my home. So here he is. His name is Bruno and he is 15 months old. He is a pedigreed Rottweiler and he was just neutered a few days ago. I mention that fact because he has a magnificent shaped head, just like Ruffin had after we waited two years to have him neutered.

And, if I may borrow the title from that old TV show, now I can finally say: Eight Is Enough

And he looks like the spitting image of Ruffin when he was Bruno's age.

And now we will have many new stories to write about.

 

 

Ruffin's ashes have come home

Ruffin came home the other day. In a way it feels good to have him back in the house where he grew up and spent his entire life. I received his ashes from Faithful Friends Pet Crematory in a fancy carved rosewood box.

I am waiting on the brass plaque to put on the wooden box and it will be held here until the time of my own death and per my instructions, will be placed in my casket, just as Axl's ashes were placed in Jacqueline's casket.

I am overwhelmed by the huge outpouring of messages. Thank you all for making my grief easier to bear.

The Rainbow Bridge

If you love dogs you've heard about The Rainbow Bridge. The story is told about a place where the souls of all of our departed pets go and wait for their humans to catch up with them after they die. The pets wait on the other side of the bridge in a wonderfully happy place where they are free from all of the pain and disease they endured while on Earth. The lame and crippled can walk and run again, the blind can see again and there is no more hunger or suffering.

Then on some particular day, one by one, each dog suddenly sniffs the air and cocks their heads to listen to a long remembered sound because one of their humans was walking across The Bridge and they run to greet them. It is a beautiful, heartwarming story that reveals the depth of love that exists between people and their four-legged pets.

You don't have to be particularly religious to believe in The Rainbow Bridge, while some people doubt that animals have souls, one recent Pope of the Catholic Church said while he had no proof they had souls he imagined that God would not have created such loyal and loving animals and not given them an Eternal life. Or you can just embrace the thoughts of Will Rogers, the American humorist who said:  If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. I sort of lean in this direction.

So I decided to visualize what I would find when my time came to cross that bridge. 

From the top: Nikko, Felony, Mocha, Sassy, Axl and his mom and my big boy Ruffin.

You are all invited to visit my Facebook page

The Internet is all about communication, news and information. It is a perfect place to meet and greet people.

I have been on Facebook for over a year and shared my library of Rottweiler photos and stories.

I invite everyone to visit my Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100015520213404

The eulogies and condolences keep pouring in for Ruff

Less than 24 hours since I posted the notice on Facebook that my best friend Ruffin had passed away over 1,000 messages of love, support, sympathy, condolences and eulogies have poured in from around the world.

Ruffin in all his quiet beauty had gathered a huge following everywhere.

It is no wonder that when total strangers met him and called him Handsome, Gorgeous and Beautiful and got to enjoy his kisses that others who merely fell in love with him from my photos would share their feelings.

Here are some of the sympathy cards sent to me since yesterday.

I am overwhelmed at the number of hearts Ruffin has touched.

Eulogy by Kimberly Michelle Anderson

Dee Bella Lail eulogy for Ruff

 Martha Gierschick eulogy for Ruffin

Beth Greenaway eulogy for Ruffin

Michelle O'Reilly eulogy for Ruffin

Sharon Jones Cote eulogy for Ruff

Judy Papinchak eulogy for Ruffin

Eileen Hughes eulogy for Ruffin

 

Where do we go from here

On another note, I posted the notice about Ruffin passing away on my Facebook page this morning and in less than 8 hours over 500 comments and condolences have poured in. This blog hasn't gotten 500 comments in the 20 years I've been writing it. There is no incentive to posting stories and photos if no one shows any interest or appreciation. The comments are what makes it worthwhile. When I tried to explain my lack of postings for that last several weeks I didn't want to mention this because it seemed to selfish and critical. Now that all my Rottweilers are gone except for Bessie I will have to weigh the value of the time and effort to keep this going.

Ruff's last days

I was in the hospital for 5 days and had a pacemaker put in. While I was there the lady who was taking care of Bess and Ruff told me he seemed to be missing me and was getting depressed. He even stopped eating.

I was so happy to get home and see him again and give him hugs and kisses. Ruff seemed overjoyed that I was back. I think there was something else more seriously wrong with him. And I think he was holding himself together waiting for me.

I came home on Tuesday and he seemed to be better and he even ate his dinner. I took him to the Vet yesterday and the Vet did some tests but didn't say anything conclusive and sent him home.

I am not too quick to make connections but two people have already pointed out that Ruff knew I would return and he waited for me to get back home before he died. I don't know how much of his condition his favorite lady Vet, Dr. Black may have guessed but I am glad she did not ask me to leave him there overnight. I think I would have if she did and he would have died alone in a cage. I had the opportunity to stay by his side in his home until he passed away.

Everything also seemed to work in that regard. At 12:30 AM this morning I made an attempt to take him to the 24-hour Emergency Clinic in Wilder. I had two friends come over but they couldn't lift him into the van. If I had gotten him to the Emergency Clinic they would have asked me to leave him and he would have died alone in a strange place.

So I laid him on the living room floor on a blanket and laid down next to him and stayed with him until he fell asleep and passed away at 5:45AM this morning.

 *************

My beloved Ruff, my Best Friend Forever, is gone

My big guy, Ruffin, my Best Friend Forever, passed away in his sleep around 5:45 AM this morning. To me and to those who knew him, he was the most handsome, gorgeous and beautiful Rottweiler in the world. I am waiting now for the pet crematory to come pick him up. I will hold his ashes and take them with me when my time comes to see him again at the bridge.

RIP Ruff

2006-2018

A few difficult months but hopefuly it is behind us

Up until a few weeks ago I had no excuse for not posting anything new. I will try and make up for that now. I will save the best for last.

On July 1st Bessie had her 4th birthday and like all birthdays we had a party. We all shared a sumptuous home-made meatloaf with mashed potato icing.

 

 

 

Bessie and Ruff have been following me around the house every day. The kitchen seems to be their favorite room in the house. I am so honored that they love my cooking so much. As the photos above show, Ruff always does an amazing job cleaning his bowl. In those photos he was sharing my meatloaf birthday cake.

 

When I am spending time in the den on the computer Ruff and Bessie keep me company. When they are together they give each other lots of love and kisses. And they take lots of naps. I am always soothed when I am listening to their soft snoring sounds. Except when they follow me into the living room to watch a movie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I started having some heart problems. My Primary Care Physician told me I should see a Cardiologist and I did and he took an EKG and it showed a spike he didn't like. So he ordered me a heart monitor to wear. The heart monitor that I was wearing last week picked up a heart block and alerted my cardiologist who called me last Friday and told me to go to the Emergency Room. The ER did an EKG and confirmed the heart block and they did an Angiogram followed by the surgery to implant the Pacemaker. My only problem now is the pain in my left arm anf the limited range of motion. I got to fully appreciate that this morning when I got dressed. It was almost impossible to put on a pair of socks and tie my shoe laces.
 
THERE ARE ANGELS AMONG US.

A few months ago I met a wonderful woman who was actively involved in a local Christian church. The meeting was accidental. I needed help with my outside landscaping so I posted a Help Wanted notice on a local FB Group. I included my phone number and the next day I got a phone call I will never forget.

"My name is Elizabeth, I am 16 years old. I have worked on a farm and I am strong."

Elizabeth was the only one who responded to my ad. She doesn't drive so her mother brought her over. She worked harder than all of the boys I hired last year. And in spite of being a lightweight she was strong. And unlike the boys I hired before her, she kept coming back for more.

Then an amazing thing happened. Elizabeth's mother Rachel began volunteering her help, too. When I needed to get mulch for the landscaping her mother offered to borrow a trailer from her church an go buy the mulch and deliver it. And over two weeks she and her husband did this three times.

Last week when the cardiologist called and told me to go to the Emergency Room I told him I couldn't do that because I had no one to watch my two Rottweilers, Bessie and Ruffin. Then I called Rachel and told her my problem. She didn't hesitate for a moment to offer her help. Rachel drove me to the hospital with her daughter and they stayed with me for 5 hours until I was admitted. And for the five days I was in the hospital they came and took care of Ruff and Bessie several times each day.

Ruffin and Bessie hit it off right away with Elizabeth and Rachel. I received daily updates from Rachel and she even made a video of Elizabeth playing with both of the Rotts. I knew I couldn't stay in the hospital much longer when Rachel told me that Ruff was starting to miss me. The cardiologist implanted the pacemaker on Monday, the day before I came home. On the same day Rachel told me that Ruffin had stopped eating.

Yesterday, Rachel picked me up and brought me home. She went into the house first and took Bessie out back so I could see my best friend Ruff. And that was some greeting. Ruff smothered me with kisses for about 5 minutes. Then Rachel brought Bessie in the house and we did the same thing all over. Both Ruff and Bess spent the entire day with me to make sure I wasn't going to leave them any more.

I am so glad I met and made friends with Rachel and Elizabeth. Whatever it is that they teach them at their church, they have shown me a new meaning to Christian charity. And I am convinced that there are Angels that walk among us.

How about some Rottweiler ice cream?

I am glad I no longer have to worry about what to do with Bessie. This problem had created a huge blockage that just about held up everything. So give me a chance to do some catching up.

A friend sent me a recipe for Rottweiler Ice Cream. I know just about every dog owner gives their best friends ice cream but dairy products are not supposed to be good for them. Rottweiler Ice Cream isn't made from milk, it only uses plain yogurt, bananas and peanut butter. And Bess and Ruff love it.

I made the first batch two weeks ago and filled up three ice cube trays and put it in the freezer. This is what the reaction was.

 

 

 

 

Final decision on Bessie. ACL surgery no longer an option.

I took Bess and Ruff into Noah's Ark Animal Clinic on Thursday for their annual check up. They laid down next to each other in the waiting room and Ruff took a nap while Bess stayed next to him and kept an eye on all the people and dogs almost as if she was on guard. She was just so calm and alert and watched everyone come and go and she made me so proud. I loved seeing everyone smile at them when they noticed us.

When our turn was called the tech put them both on the scale, Bess has lost 3 LBS and is now 112 LB. Ruff still holding at 130 LB. They got their updated shots and heartworm test and that was all good. (Heartworm test came back negative the next day.)

Dr. McGlassen called me later that evening to say they found some hook worms in Ruff's stool and he will switch brands from the Heartgard heart pills to Spectrum and get a de-wormer medicine tomorrow. Bessie is in fine shape and while she is no longer limping she is favoring her left hind leg because of the low dose of pain meds I am giving her doesn't completely hide the pain so she will not overexert herself and worsen the damage. I got a chance to talk about over my options with Dr. McGlasson about Bessie's partially torn CCL. Due to my concerns over being unable to provide proper post op rehab I have decided to keep Bess on the low dose of pain management I am using now with Gabapentin and Rimadyl instead of risking a surgical approach. 

My experience 14 years ago after Sassy had both knees repaired and the many years of pain management afterward convinced me that a conservative approach with Bess would be best. During the course of my research I found there were many potential problems with the two most popular CCL repairs. Some of the stories were just terrible to read. Any sudden movement of the leg can easily break the attached metal plate and screws holding it in place. And the leg must not be allowed to move until the bone grows back together and becomes stronger and that takes 8 to 10 weeks. What complicates the matter is that Bessie seems to have an acute sense of hearing and always jumps up and runs to the front door when there is any sound outside.

I already spent $500 on x-rays and two visits to an Orthopedic specialist for Bess and have no qualms with spending $4000 more for the surgery. BUT even if a CCL surgery was 100% successful, baring no infection or hardware implant rejection, the only way she would make it through post op rehab would be to totally sedate her 24 hours a day for 4-8 weeks to keep her absolutely still. I have no way to keep her from moving around or standing up and messing up the surgery so this was my best option.

The good news is that Bessie is doing very well and has almost no physical limitations. Since the CCL was only slightly torn there is a chance it will get better over time.