February 22nd, 2010

Cesar Millan, all his family and friends, his staff and volunteers, and dog lovers all around the world today will mourn the passing of one of the most loyal, trusting, well-balanced, and influential pit bull ambassadors the world has ever known. Daddy, Cesar’s longtime friend and partner in canine rehabilitation, died peacefully surrounded by family on Friday the 19th of February. He was sixteen years old.

He lived each day of those sixteen years happy and fulfilled as Cesar’s right-hand-”man,” helping to shape the behavior of entire generations of dogs by showing them the way to balance. He stood as champion for calm-submissive pit bulls everywhere, and was instrumental in helping to repair their image as violent, savage, uncontrollable beasts. He successfully battled cancer and weathered chemotherapy, and even got the opportunity to present at the 56th Annual Creative Arts Emmy Awards!

His name is now added to that honorable roster of dogs gone by whose influence is still felt today, and which includes some of Cesar’s beloved childhood heroes: “Rin-Tin-Tin.” “Lassie.” … “Daddy.”

He has been immortalized by Dog Whisperer fans in all mediums, from painting, to photographs, to charcoal drawings and papier-mâché sculpture. And, of course, he lives on in his work, reflected in the balance and calm-submission of his protégé Junior, the countless animals to whom he was a positive role model, and in the hearts and minds of everyone who knew him as a calm, sweet, and mellow example of a widely misunderstood breed.

In Loving Memory.

It is with great sadness that we have to announce the passing of Samuel, our beloved Treeing Walker Coonhound. He was only 8.5 years old.

We took him to the emergency vet on June 7th thinking that we were being over cautious. His only symptom was that he seemed lethargic. All his vitals seemed normal but the vet offered to do additional tests. The first test was a chest x-ray. Unfortunately, they found a large mass in his chest. We continued to do testing to determine what it was but Samuel’s condition started to deteriorate. Later that night the vet determined that Samuel was bleeding out into his abdomen, and his condition was getting worse. We also learned that the presence of a mass and the bleeding into the abdomen were signs of a splenic hemangiosarcoma, a very aggressive cancer. We only had two horrible options to choose from. We could have his spleen removed, and if Samuel survived the surgery (as his condition wasn’t good anymore) he might live another three months but the cancer would return to kill him, or we could let him go now. We made the incredibly difficult decision to say goodbye to our best friend Samuel on June 8th around 3am on June 8th. Putting him through major surgery to spend the last 3 months of his life recovering from surgery and dying from cancer seemed more cruel than anything.

Samuel was Ottawa Dog of the Week on June 30th, 2008.

We will miss him always.

Samuel is remembered lovingly by his family; Darren, Dina & Floyd.

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Gordon, our beloved fawn pug, was born on July 9th 2006. He came home with us from a breeder in the Ottawa Valley in early September ’06 and quickly became the focal point of our family.

He was keen to learn and set on impressing us. He was graduated with honours from his puppy school – class of ’06. Gordon would sit, stay, lie down, go easy, wait and many more. He could also do figure eights, and would ‘clean’ his toys on command and put them in his various toy boxes. He learned to swim, usually with his life jacket and hiked and climbed with us (in suitable weather) in Lake Placid, Maine and all over the Ottawa and Gatineau Region. He was with my husband and I on three consecutive anniversary dates in our canoe, walking the beautiful trails in the fall… He would do anything as long as we were together. He loved camping in Algonquin Park but would just as easily love to snuggle up and watch TV or read a good book with us. He didn’t just sleep on our laps. He would work his way up until he was snuggled into my shoulder with his whiskers tickling my neck or cheek. I so miss that touch right now. He kept my kitchen floors spotless with his constant hoovering. While we worked in the kitchen, Gordon would seat himself between our legs and sit on our feet like baby penguins would. We were in constant contact unless the bright sun won and he was lying soaking up rays at our back door.

Gordon sniffed everything – all the time. He didn’t weeze like some other pugs and didn’t suffer any respiratory problems. He ate the best foods, was at a healthy weight and had no health issues.

Our healthy 2 2/3 years old pug suffered a 20-30 second episode right in front of us on March 1st. Immediately afterwards, he went limp in my arms. 30 minutes later at the Alta Vista Animal Hospital he was dead. We were/are in shock. This is absolutely unimaginable.

We believe it was PDE which seems (after much research) to be quite prevalent in the pug breed.

Our house in no longer a home. It is a silent reminder of all we have lost. I have lost my best friend. I so wanted to see him grow old, walk on the new path to my mother’s house, snuggle just once more… I have had dogs as pets before, but none could come near the bond we had with our dear Gordon Freeman Marincak. He is one of a kind and is truly missed by the four of us and our extended family who loved him as much as we did.

Gordon is remembered lovingly by his family, Trish and Dave.

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We adopted Slinky, a female Shih Tzu, from the Humane Society in the spring of 1999. She was about 3 to 5 years old but were never quite certain. Her coat was a cream color. When we brought her home, she settled in quite nicely with the two cats we had at the time. She loved to sit by your lap; a very affectionate girl! She like sitting with my mother and mother-in-law when they visited. She didn’t mind children but would rather be with adults. As I would sleep later in the morning, Slinky was always by my side even if my husband was up. We were lucky to find such an adorable dog at the Humane Society. In the spring of 2007, Slinky was diagnosed with Cushing’s disease. The vet told us that given her age, treatment was not a good idea and that we would know when it the time came. So we let her be and luckily she stayed with us until June 13, 2008. That was a difficult day but her condition just got worse and we made the decision to let her rest forever. She brought us a lot of joy and companionship for 9 years. We loved her so!

Then on January 23, 2009, we lost our Piggy, a male Shih Tzu / Lhasa Apso, from Pancreatitis. He was 9 years old. We never thought that we would lose 2 dogs in 7 months. Piggy came into our life in the fall of 1999, he was a puppy we got from an acquaintance who bought him from a Pet Store. Piggy was a Shih Tzu / Lhasa Apso. He was very smart and obedient, after his puppy training classes – he made us look good. Every time we would come home, Piggy would greet us with a toy in his mouth. Piggy was the Alpha so everytime a friend came with their dog for a visit, the guest dog would submit himself/herself to Piggy. Our little guy would defend other dogs at the park and wasn’t afraid of Huskies, Great Danes…any big dog he would stand up to. We thought he was crazy but then we realized that he didn’t know his own size. He had a beautiful coat – a salt and pepper colour. His death was very unexpected and we are grieving but it’s very difficult. He had his favorites spots for napping in the house so of course, we can’t help but remember!

Piggy and Slinky are remembered lovingly by their mom, Louise.

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Bo will be missed my his Mommy, Amy, his brother, Ben and his many friends. Bo was a funny guy who got the attention of everyone around. With his ears perked up, with his butt wagging and his tongue hanging out, he was the most handsome boy around. Bo’s favourite things included going to Conroy Pit for walks, chasing squirrels and playing with his babies around the house. He loved to race to the front door and peek out the window anytime anybody was there. Bo, we will always remember how precious you were and will keep you in our hearts forever. Kisses and Hugs will surround you at Rainbow Bridge Bobo…

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