Mookie's Story

Bob & I wanted to have a dog out of a friend's stud to train for Schutzhund. Mookie came to us in late

Dec, 1995 as a very PUSHY 2.5 yr. old male who "thought" HE was IN CHARGE!

As a puppy, Mookie was sold to a family, & at a year old, they decided to move & NOT take Mookie

with them. I will always have difficulty understanding people doing that. Mookie was then purchased

by a man who wanted the protection of owning a Rottweiler. Mookie ended up being more dog than this

person could handle; once again, Mookie needed a new and final home, which would be with us.

Over time, Mookie & I learned to work together. He loved to "go to work" at the SchH Field. It took

over a year of training, but eventually Mookie could do his obedience ignoring the St. Bernard trying to

start a fight with every dog at the field. Time, patience & lots of POSITIVE training turned this boy around.

While at the field training, in 1997, we were "proofing" Mookie's ability to run one blind, find the stranger in

in the blind then do a hold & bark . If you are not familiar with SchH training, this is done off leash. This night,

Sebastian the St. Bernard's barking got the best of Mookie & they both took off like a flash, fence fighting,

into the unlit part of the field. Suddenly we heard a loud THUD. Everyone gasped. I was about to go get a

flashlight, when Mookie came walking up, looking stunned. He had run full blast into the empty avocado

container. He may as well have ran into a brick wall. Once he recovered, we repeated the exercise & he took

the sleeve to the car. I thought nothing more of it, as Mookie "seemed" fine.

We had not found an SUV yet, & Mookie would NOT jump into the cab of the truck, so I hated having to haul

him in the truck bed secured in a Vari-Kennel. I never understood why he would jump into the bed of the truck

but not the cab. One Friday night in 1998, I made the mistake of letting Mookie run around the yard near the

truck while I was loading his crate. Before I even opened the tailgate to put the crate in the bed, Mookie

jumped up to get into the truck, straddled the tailgate for a moment before he fell to the concrete

driveway, landing on his hip/back, crying in pain. I thought he broke his back or hip. He laid there for

what seemed like a lifetime being in pain, he suddenly stopped crying, got up, limping in the rear, but putting

some pressure on the back foot. He did not seem to need to go to the E.R. so I gave him some aspirin &

he seemed better as the evening progressed. First thing in the morning we were at the vets office getting

x-rayed which to my amazement & joy, showed his rear spine out of alignment. Hindsight lesson: we did not x-ray

his entire spine. The Vet asked me if I believed in Chiropractic, I said YES, & we were off to our first

appointment with Dr. DeGrasse, RN, DC.

On November 21, 1999, around 10 P.M., I did my routine doggie rotation & it was Mookie's turn to be

the house dog & spend time with me. Mookie went out to potty, & returned to be let in like every other night.

I was working at the computer in the office, which was where he slept. Mookie stayed with me, fluffing his

crate bedding, and laid on the floor next to me, like he did every night after Dad went to bed. He's Daddy's boy!

I finished my computer work and reached to play with him, but Mookie could not get up. My first thought was he

had either had a stroke or anaphylactic shock, but he was "fine" with the exception that he was totally paralyzed

& could only raise his head about 3 inches off the floor. Since there was nothing I could do & knew he needed to

see the chiropractor, at 6AM Sunday morning, we were on our way to her office. Dr. Sig was open on Sunday

mornings for a short time, & we met there for x-rays. Mookie's first three vertebrae coming out of his skull

had rotated to 3 o'clock. Dr. Sig told me he did not think this dog would ever walk again. Dr. Jackie said

she thought she got a good adjustment in under anesthesia. But, only time would tell.

Over the following 3 weeks, we saw little improvement. I felt bad for Mookie, as he was such a proud dog, &

wanted to go outside to potty but could not. I told him it was alright & we would just wash the bedding!

We took him for treatments 3 x weekly and he was gradually weaned off the prednisone. Would our boy ever

walk again?

Then, one morning, I came into the office to feed Mookie Man, & he was not in the same spot I left him the

night before!! With that improvement, we were told we could carry him outside for a couple hours daily to

get some sun and fresh air! That was a labor of love, for at that time, the only way to get in or out of our

home, was by going down 9 steps. It was truly a LABOR OF LOVE and Mookie enjoyed a change of scenery!

Within a couple more weeks, Mookie was laying upright. Daily he grew stronger and eventually started to

stand, walk and he did return to running and barking at the horses who were on the other side of the fence.

MOOKIE'S RECOVERY WAS A MIRACLE!

It is our opinion, & that of other veterinarians, that Mookie's sudden collapse was a culmination of his old

injuries. We will never know if this could have been avoided had I taken him to the chiropractor after the

incident with the avocado container and the tailgate, and I had insisted on having his entire spine looked at.

We know that Mookie's injury led us to a better place with the care of our dogs and we will always remember

him for that. Mookie was again able to go for those nice long walks up the hill with his favorite person, Dad,

and act like a dog. Looking back, we would find ourselves watching Mookie play & do his guard work, then suddenly

he would stop, and look at you as if to say, "WHY are you looking at me like that? Can't you SEE I am FINE, just

because my front feet "sort of" cross over each other a little...I AM LOVING LIFE!" Now, back to work!

Sadly...this morning, 5/12/01 while getting the dogs outside to take Brianna in for a C-section, we found our

Beloved Mookie Man, deceased in his crate. He had just passed to the Bridge when we found him. When we

returned home from Ellye Mae being born, some blood had run out of his nose. We did not do a necropsy

but with the history of his injury, we feel he had an aneurysm which ruptured. He passed peacefully in his sleep.

THANK YOU, Mookie, for the lovely children of our "A" Litter that you & Maddie gave us.

We know you were there to greet your kids and grandsons on their trip home to the Bridge.

The joy we have is that his last day & night with US was as normal as it got! He sat next to Dad, waiting for him to

finish his dinner so he could lick his plate & then have his favorite person, Dad, pet him. Then he'd get a baby

out of the toy box & play..flinging it up in the air, and most times it missed the lamps.

Mookie was now WHOLE...running FREE as he used to before his injury. There lies the peace we are left with

in his passing. We KNOW that Mookie was able to share the last 18 monthsof his life with us ONLY due to the

effort and WILL Mookie had, to work through the pain and be able to run free again.

We miss you so much, Son. See you in the stars and in our dreams.

This page is dedicated to the WONDERFUL dog that Mookie was, to his goal to be the best Rottweiler

he could, & to love US and everyone he met, with every ounce of his VERY BIG LOVING HEART.

Mookie went to the Bridge, knowing that he was finally at HOME.

Bronco Von Amoneburger Tor, TT, CGC, OFA "E"

June 27, 1993 - May 12, 2001

Mookie's memorial picture page

We have been trained to know WHEN our dog's spine's are out of alignment, so we can take them in for

an adjustment before it becomes a bigger problem. Your pets will tell you when their back hurts by:

1. Suddenly not sitting "straight"; they pop off one hip when they used to sit "square".

2. Roached /humped back that was never there before.

3. Are suddenly not holding their "stack" in the conformation ring & "pop off" a rear foot that never used to move

We feel this is especially helpful when you have dogs who crash into each other playing, like our Rotties do.

THANK YOU for taking your most valuable time to share in Mookie's story!

We hope we have helped you in some small way! Please feel free to E-mail us withany questions.