Adopted June 2006
Doggy Heaven April 2011

We will Never Forget You

"Shadow, I will never forget the first day I brought you home. I walked you thru the house and then around the house on a leash and then let you loose to explore. You took off running around the house, SO fast, three times, then ran back in the door to check and see if I was still here.

"Then out the door and down around the pond and back in the door, Yep, I was still here!

"Dearest Shadow, you did that for nearly a half hour before you came back in for good and curled up in my lap for a well-deserved nap. You were exhausted! You were my shadow from that day on.

"My heart aches with missing you even though I know it was time to say goodbye. We only got to have you and love you for about 6 years but you will remain in our hearts. Will we adopt again? Certainly. Will we forget you? Never."

Sincerely, Ellen Lager

+++ Note from MSR (the Rescue): One summer day in 2005, Rescue received a call from a woman in Battleground, Washington, who had picked up a stray Miniature Schnauzer. The dog was found wandering with a note attached to his collar giving his name, Granite, his age, 8 or 9 (I can't remember which anymore) and that he was neutered.

Not knowing what we'd find, we picked him up and soon realized what the note didn't say . . . Granite was in desperate need - he was dirty, matted, smelly, had a lump the size of my fist on his chest, smaller lumps on his thighs and the worst breath we had EVER smelt.

Peninsula Dog & Cat Clinic saw him that weekend and believing that he probably could not be saved, with a heavy heart we took him to Dr. Puterbaugh. After many years in Rescue, you get a sense for what dogs can be saved and what dogs have come to us too late.

While Dr. Puterbaugh agreed that Granite would likely lose many teeth, he didn't think the large tumor was necessarily malignant. So we decided to take a gamble; we'd get his teeth cleaned and have Dr. P look at the tumor at the same time. Although very large and located under his chest muscles, the fatty tumor was removed along with the other tumors and 22 of his teeth!

While recovering in a loving foster home, we received an Adoption Application from Ellen who was looking for a mild tempered dog to be a companion to her current Miniature Schnauzer, Sadi, her husband and herself. Boy, did we have the dog for her! Ellen soon met Granite and this is their story.

I'd like to share a love story with you. This past summer we had to put our beloved Mini Schnauzer, Kalamazoo (Kali), to sleep. We still had our baby Mercedes (Sadi) an eight year old Mini Schnauzer, and decided that we would just have only her. Sadi went into such a terrible depression with Kali gone, that no amount of cuddling, affection or treats could overcome her loneliness. We finally decided to consider another dog and had heard about Miniature Schnauzer Rescue. We contacted them and were sent the paperwork the following Monday. I answered all the questions and sent it off the same morning. They must have been "online" because right away I got a response asking what age and gender we were looking for. We had decided that about age 5-9 would be OK and either a boy or a girl was fine. The response, two minutes later. . . . "I think we've got a dog for you."

Later that week, we met our new little boy. He had been so ill that when he arrived at the Rescue, they thought that he would have to be put down. His teeth were totally rotten and infected and he had enormous tumors on his chest and back leg. The Veterinarian felt that he could be saved with surgery and so removed the tumors (fatty tumors, not cancer) and 22 of his teeth. When we met him, a week after surgery, he was still on antibiotics and pain medicine. Even on wobbly legs, he tried so hard to be friendly. The next week, I took Sadi over to meet him. By now, I had renamed him Shadow. You see, Sadi was our primary concern. She is a timid little girl and we didn't want a companion who would be a bully. They did fine. They certainly didn't play, but they didn't fight either.

The very next week after Shadow got his stitches out, dressings removed and went to the groomer, he was ours.

From the first day Sadi and Shadow have been buddies. Not only is he not aggressive with her, but she pushes him out of the way to go out the door first when Daddy takes them for their morning walk. We live on five fenced acres and the kids have the run of all of it. For the first couple of weeks, when we would let them outside to go potty, Shadow would run and run and run, but would come back inside every few minutes to make sure that we were still there and then off he'd go again. Luckily it was summer so doors could

So now six months later, he is a permanent part of our family. Both kids sleep with us and Shadow prefers to sleep right between us with his head on one of our pillows. Sit down and he is on our lap. He loves to be held and cuddled. Most evenings Daddy is in his recliner watching TV with both puppies on his lap. Since Shadow only has his back molars, he can't chew rawhide chew toys. Sadi will chew rawhide until it's soft and then give it to Shadow to work on. They are a team.

We are so grateful to Rescue for saving Shadow so we could adopt him. He has become our little boy. We will love and cherish both our "kids" as long as they live. After that? Well, maybe we'll be knocking on Rescue's door again.

Ellen

Shadow is doing wonderfully well and is still my "shadow". He is definitely a mommy's boy and likes nothing better than to be curled up in my lap. He tries so hard to please. When I'm sitting down with him on my lap, if I have to get up, all I say is "Excuse me" and he immediately jumps down and waits until I sit again so he can get back where he belongs....in my lap. He sleeps curled up, right next to me if it's cold and at my feet if it's warm. He and Sadi are great buddies and stay pretty close to each other when they go out to go potty.

Shadow is still in excellent health, though he's beginning to form more fatty tumors on his body. They aren't a problem yet; when they are we'll take care of it. We have a wonderful Vet out here (Midway Veterinary Clinic) in Warren that we go to. Shadow hasn 't been there yet because he has had absolutely no problems.

Sadi has developed allergies to nearly everything and so can't have most puppy treats so I make their treats. I take a box of potato flour, one-half jar of natural peanut butter and one-half can of beef broth...mix it, cut it into small squares, bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, turn off the oven and let them sit and dry for at least several hours. Both puppies just love them and Shadow can easily gum them. The treats smell just like peanut butter cookies.

Shadow still doesn't like being on a leash. He's fine until another dog comes around. I tried one of those citronella spray collars to try to break the barking habit. It was so funny. He VERY quickly learned that if he barked 25 times the cannister would be empty. He'd take a deep breath, shut his eyes and bark 25 times as fast as he could...when there was no more spray, he'd open his eyes and happy as a clam he'd continue on the walk. I gave up on the spray. He's obviously smarter than I am.

Anyhow, Shadow and Sadi are both great "children" and are totally loved. In the car or motor home, he is always in my lap. He'll lay his head on my chest and just look up at me in total adoration. What's not to love. We are so lucky.

Ellen