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| A family couldn't have asked for a better dog. |
Max, our first baby, died today. He was 7 years old when we adopted him from the humane society about a year after we got married. We were told that because he was already a "senior dog" that we should expect him to live maybe 2 or 3 years. That was 7 years ago. In the 7 years that he was in our home, he was the most patient and wonderful dog anyone could have asked for.
He came to us like an old, very large puppy. He had been neglected and did not even know the command "sit". We taught him to come, sit, stay, dance, give hugs, shake, heal, and were even able to take him on off leash walks because he was so eager to please. Some memorable things in our life with Max...
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| Max hasn't noticed the kitten behind him yet. |
On Max's original adoption papers, it said "not good with cats." Being 120 lbs when we adopted him, we assumed that meant he would kill or severely maim any cat that he came into contact with...so we were a little nervous when he came with on our first visit home. My little sister had a new kitten along with the long time family cat Smokey. When max first saw the kitten, it arched it's back and hissed...obviously terrified of this huge beast....and Max turned and ran and hid under the dining room table and refused to come out, cowering in fear. We now understood what "not good with cats" really meant.
When we first got Max, we lived in an apartment and both of us were working full time. I often came home on my lunch break to take Max on a short walk. In the evenings, we walked the 5 mile loop around the golf course we lived by. This routine shed about 30 lbs off of him and he became like a puppy again. One day, we got home in the evening to discover a mess...and a very excited dog. Max had found a case full of bags of coffee grounds and chai mixes. He had opened several bags and licked them clean. So we took him for a long walk. His tail was wagging so hard that the entire back half of his body was wagging with it! I think that was the fastest we ever made it through our 5 mile loop. When we got home, he was still hyper! So we played fetch in the hall of the apartment. The poor dog was bouncing off the walls well into the night.
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| Raquelle caught Max's tail. |
About 2 years after we got Max, Raquelle was born. She was instantly accepted as his "puppy" and he became very protective of her. I remember one time when she started crying in her bouncy seat, and I went over to pick her up. Max was between us and he growled at me! I'm sure he thought he was protecting his baby. As she grew and became mobile, they became even closer. She would scoot across the room to catch his tail. He would look back at her, smile, and twitch his tail for her to try to catch. He never swatted at her or nipped at her and was very patient when she did catch his tail and chewed on it.
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| Max helping Thad bring in the Christmas presents |
One Christmas, Max came with us up to my parents house for the holiday. While the whole extended family went out to a Christmas Eve service, Max broke into my parents bedroom and ate all the candy that was suppose to be for the stockings Christmas morning!
I think it may have been the same visit when my mom went to vacuum the throw rug in the entry way. The sound of the vacuum turning on startled Max so much that he jumped over the couch to get away! Landing on the hard wood floor, his feet slipped out from under him and he slid into the dining room chairs, knocking them over on top of him.
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| Raquelle riding Max for the first time |
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It seems like a lot of the "remember when" stories involve Max eating something. Remember when Max ate the neosporine? We had to feed him yogurt to put the good bacteria back into his system. Remember when Max ate the laundry soap? The vet charged us $200 to consult with poison control, just to inform us that because it was organic all natural soap, he would be fine. Remember when Max ate grandmas sugar free chocolate? Sugar free chocolate comes with a warning...eating too much may have a laxative effect. Yah...enough said.
All 3 of our kids were able to ride Max like a horse until they were 2 or 3 years old...and until he got too old to hold their weight. We even joked about getting a saddle for him so he could act as their "horse"
I can't imagine any other dog possibly being as good of a family pet as Max was. Rest in peace my friend. You will be missed.
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