Greetings Planet Earth! - Thank you ListServe for this opportunity & service.
Ok.. first of all, I don't want to come off as a freak that keeps a dog in my fanny pack & has to show you pics till your eyes bleed. I simply want to share an experience that I had with a particular dog that will have forever changed my life. & no offense if you do keep your dog in our purse/man purse, just as long as the dog is healthy & happy no beef with me. But I do find I get along with most animals better than most people, me thinks,... I need to Bark at the Moon.
I come from a large ranch in So. Texas. We had so many dogs, all sorts of breeds, some of the Shepherds we had will always live in my heart, somewhere. However It has been just over a month since my Wife & I put down my most impressive companion of 13 years, my Greatest of Danes, Akasha. So few dogs truly have near genius intellect. As a fresh pup I only had to show her, her the accidents twice, before she was at the door! Then I noticed at a very young age of some 50 days that she'd look in the direction of what I was focusing my eyes on when giving her commands. Soon she wouldn't let me leave the house without a defiant F*** You bark. As far as she was concerned, if i was suiting to go to mars, she expected there to be a perfectly Great Dane shaped space suit. I'm not saying even the average dog isn't incredibly resourceful & smart. But once & again a dog comes into your life & you come to realize that, the Noble creature is so much a companion & truly needs to attend to your needs. The very definition of man's best friend. She was nothing short of the finest of Canine Ambassadors to the Human Race. (& gave the finest and most plentiful of HUGS) It was my honor to make the last year of her life, unforgettable on her good days & cared for her every need on the bad. She never slept on the ground in her life, even when we backpacked, & because of this she had never had a callous, anywhere. I took the best care of her, as she took amazing care of me as well as several of the people so close to me, like a Mother. I know that Akasha would want me to set her ashes on the mantle & find myself a new best friend. Creatures comprised of such intense love & kindness can never die, she was in her life an old soul. I can only be most thankful that we were able to lay her to rest in the best possible manner here at our home. In foresight 13 years on a Great Dane is 91 in human years. Now I see it getting cold & I am a bit thankful she isn't suffering through it, it would've been one hard winter for her. So I can only hope that we allowed her to pass with dignity & love. I truly won the lotto when I picked her as a pup, & I hope I win the doggie lotto again :P. Truthfully, I could have an enormous amount of money & it would not make me happy, Akasha was priceless. I will forever have the hardest time referring to her as a Dog.
To all animal owners! Read about the food you feed your pets, Knowledge is power! If you take Vitamins, Glucosamine, Chondroitin, Fish Oil, youself. Chances are some of your animals can benefit greatly from these as well. I've had the great fortune in my life to have had some amazing animals & never underestimate how affectionate any of them can be especially Birds, or even some Reptiles, I had an Iguana that opened my eyes completely he loved attention. & would even wake me up in the morning 6am sharp for breakfast, kinda blew my mind cause he'd follow me in the kitchen climb up my undies to get at the greens as I was chopping em. Ever had an Iguana wake you up looking out the side of his head like a bird right on top of your face & he's some 7 feet long? Yea, Louie was a great Iguana believe it they can absolutely be housebroken & its so much better for them.
-just today PBS Nature Vid Great Dane & Deer best friends on youtube. Check it out its a teak jerker. The Dane is a splitting Image of mid aged Akasha- respond if you'd like a picture to see yourself. Well.. I'll stop rambling & yet you ladies & gentlemen get on with you days. its been a pleasure.
Please to all those who have lost noble creatures that have changed you, my heart goes out to you. I don't know if there is an afterlife, but if there is, & there are no dogs there, I want no part of it!
Quote from an old Preacher I met in Gatlinburg Tennessee- "A man has his Dog, His Truck, & his Wife, & in that Order" :P
Mike Hägg
[email protected]
Edgewood, New Mexico, USA