Who is Max?

Max is my four year old German Shepherd, who I got in 2005. (The picture is him as he is today!)

I was told through a friend that a dog had been abandoned and was going to be put down in just two days.

"Well, that's too bad," I said. But I lived in a one bedroom condo, and there wasn't much I could do about it. After a lot of coaxing throughout the next day, my friend told me to come and see the dog. He kept telling me the dog was a "mix".

"Alright, alright, but my living situation means that I can't get another dog!" I already had a very old Chow, and bringing a second dog into a one bedroom condo would just be irresponsible.

"Ok," my friend said, "but just come with me to say goodbye to him."

So...I went.

We got to the shelter where this dog was left, and of course you have the barking going on of tons of dogs who are in these little cages. Walking into the back of the shelter, behind the counter where the volunteers are sitting, my heart sank.

The dogs are twirling and twirling in concrete and chain link cages, because they are literally going stir crazy.

This college aged girl who was the volunteer who worked at the shelter walked us all the way in the back. I remember looking down at the back of her Nike running shoes because I didn't want to make eye contact with any of the animals who were craving so much attention. I wasn't being mean - I just knew I couldn't do anything about their situation.

Then, there was Max. In sharp contrast to every other dog in the shelter, he lay in a corner of his little pen, curled up and sleeping. He raised his head slightly as we approached the cage, then put it back down like he didn't care we were there.

He was beautiful. This was no "mix". Maybe he didn't have 'papers', but he had all the classic colors of a full breed German Shepherd - with one difference - he looked like a Greyhound he was so skinny.

"God are you starving him?!" I shouted.

"No, he has heart worms," the volunteer said. "This is his last day to suffer."

Now, maybe she was pulling on my heart strings, but it was working. It turns out, that Max was left on the shelter's door step because a former breeder did not want to pay a $600 vet bill.

That was it for me. This beautiful animal was going to die because someone didn't want to pay a vet bill?!

"I'll pay it," I murmured.

"What..." she began to interrupt me.

"I'll pay it, I'll pay it."

She explained to me that it wasn't just a matter of paying the bill, but that someone needed to administer the medication for him and nurse him back to health.

"I'll do it. Ok, I-WILL-DO-IT!" I had tears in my eyes at this point.

Max and I had our work cut out for us. When I say I almost had to carry him out of there, I am not kidding. Later that week, my vet was cautious to let me know that he might not make it, even with me treating him.

We had some rough patches over the next 8 weeks, and there were times when I would come up to him, and I would have to check and see if he was breathing... because he was so weak.

We got through it though, and I have to say that dogs are amazing. This sounds dumb, but somehow Max knows that I saved him. I'm not going to say I know why or how, and I am not a corny person, but he knows.

We are in a new house now with a nice fenced back yard for him to play in.

He follows me where ever I go. If I walk across a room, his eyes are me constantly. If I go into another room, he calmly gets up and comes into that room, resting at my feet or somewhere close by. He is instinctive - if I am tense, he is tense, if I am calm, he is calm, without me saying a word. If I go into a room and come out hours later, he's right there laying at the door.

Like a lot of dogs, of course, he is always loving, even when I am not so ready to give attention.

Today you'll be happy to know he is a healthy, 125 lbs. He is also a lover of people and kids - as long as I am not tense when meeting strangers, he will lick them to death. I have only seen him bare his teeth and go into what I call "Police Dog" mode on one occassion - and it was justified. I will have to tell that story sometime soon.

I would love to hear about your dog and your dog story!

Max enjoying the outdoors.