| MTAussie |
01-13-2013 11:15 PM |
In Memory of Big A (Alex)
I got Alex when he was six months old. His first family was from North Carolina and had just had a baby. They also had an older cranky sheltie that was not too fond of sharing her space with a huge puppy. I was hoping to possibly do some search and rescue training with him and agility. He was sweet from the very first day I met him. And he LOVED to fetch! I knew that he had to go home with me.
Alex loved to learn and was so much fun to train. So much of what I learned as a dog trainer came from working with him. He could find people, keys, toys, and even cell phones. He was obsessed with frisbees and loved to swim in the ocean after his floating kong. As long as Alex could hear you yell or whistle, he would ALWAYS come running back. He could jump a six foot fence and was very athletic. He also learned to bring all kinds of things to us, like shoes, bottles, keys etc. He could throw things away in the trash and close drawers. I nicknamed him the raptor when he learned to open doors with his big nose. People often would stop and compliment him on how handsome he was. He also loved to pull me on my bike. Alex got along great with other dogs, though he would rather play with toys, and even let my chihuahua, Charlie, sleep on top of him.
Alex also made a variety of funny noises, groans, and many knew his infamous annoyed yawn noise. He was a very patient and happy dog. Even when he was in extreme pain he never made any attempt to even growl. If ever a dog was loyal, Alex was.....besides that one time he jumped in a stranger's car and it took me a week to find him (because they wanted to keep him!) lol.
Alex was there for me through the hardest time in my life thus far, when my husband Tyler, passed away. Alex was always very attentive and would sleep next to me while I cried. He was a great comfort and often succeeded in making me laugh or frustrated when I was sad. He became one of my best friends.
In the last year Alex moved West with me and Ryan and traveled all over hiking and swimming in Montana, Idaho and California. He loved to be outside. I am so glad we got to spend that time together and he was able to enjoy the wide open spaces. I wish we could have more time to do more of that. He deserved it.
Dogs like Alex don't come around very often. I love him so much and will miss him everyday. I just wish we could have had more time together. It was far too soon for him to go. We just found out that he had bone cancer in his front left leg less than two weeks ago and it came on very fast. The vet said he was just so stoic that he endured a lot of pain before he started limping for us to notice. He was only 4 1/2.
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Here is Alex's Memory Page: AlexStimson : Friends Are The Cure |
