Madelyn Marie and Bosephus.

As I said in my previous post, Ralph was our first "child," but he's not the only one. It was a while before we ever got another dog, and the ones we got before Maddie and Bo - well, some dogs are just dogs. And some dogs don't have that "personality" that makes them as special as Ralph was.

After Sis and Les moved away, we had new neighbors. E & B. They had a rottie, Sheba, who is my Maddy's momma. Sheba had a huge litter; under our shed in the back yard. E said they had to give the pick of the litter to the sire's family, but after that I could have my pick.

I begged Tim to let me have one and finally he relented. I told her I wanted the largest female. I named her Madelyn Marie (after my sis and Bon.) And, I was a momma again.

She was a fat little puppy, cute as could be. I have tile flooring in my dining room and she and her brother, Buster - who E & B kept; would lie on the cold tile floor spread eagle. They looked like frogs.

I noticed that Buster got up from the floor with no problem, but Maddy would struggle to get her backlegs up under herself when she tried to rise up. This troubled me, and I noticed later that it occurred even when she was on other types of floors.

I worried about it and had heard of Hip Displasia - I wondered if my puppy had it. So we took her to the vet. He determined that Maddy did not have HD, that her kidneys were malformed, probably because the litter was so large. That she would always have problems with her agility because of it. But she wasn't suffering so "unless we couldn't deal with it" he saw no reason to put her down because of it. (He was the same vet that worked on Ralphee, and I just don't understand how a person can be a vet and so easily expect dog owners to "just put them down.")

Anyway, Maddy did get spade and we brought her home. She walks a little funny, with a limp and if she needs to run - she looks like a rabbit hopping. And, she never jumps up on you.

Rottie's really have a bad rap. I've heard stories of how bad they can be but with the Rottie's I've known, I know it's just not true..I think all dogs can be bad if they're not cared for or they're abused.

If you allow your Rottie to socialize and offer love to her, she will be as loving a dog as a poodle. Which is how my Maddy is. She loves to cuddle and play. She is a beautiful dog.

After a couple of months passed, B brought home with another Rottie that some acquaintances of his had been abusing. It was a huge male Rottie. He had been tied up and left without food or water. B couldn't stand the sight of it - so he stole him from those people.

E & B decided they couldn't keep him and asked us if we wanted him. Tim had always wanted a "Big Black Dog" so we adopted him. I named him Bosephus.

Bo turned out to be as loving as Maddy, even though he'd gone through abuse. He loved me and we became best friends. When I was at home, he was always right by me. I loved and cuddled with him just as I did Maddy and he thought he was in heaven.

No one dared entered our gate without me or Tim present. Just the mere sight of my two HUGE rotties was intimidating. Bo was about 130 lbs and Maddy's at least 110 (now.) They would put on a big show everytime someone rang the bell at the gate. And, I would have to put them in the house or the back pen before anyone would come in.

We have two fenced in acres and it was their domain. My neighbor, Dick, said they really looked liked bears from a distance - they were so big.

And then one day, I came home and Bo was lying around. He didn't get up to greet me as usual. I checked on him and he was real lethargic, he wouldn't get up for me. He stayed that way for a day or two and I was real worried. I asked Tim to get him to the vet. But, moving 130 lbs of dead weight was impossible - especially since everytime we tried Bo would react like he was in extreme pain, let alone lifting him up to put him in the truck.

So, Tim called the new vet that had just set up shop on Ferndale Cut-off. He explained what our dilema was and the Vet (BLESS HIM) said, "No problem, I'll come see him."

He came over and took blood from Bo. The next day, he came back. Bo had contracted Lyme Disease. There was nothing to be done for it. So, this time we had to put him down - there was no choice - because he was suffering. The Vet gave him an injection and Bo went to sleep peacefully. And I cried like a baby.

I still have my Maddy, though she is getting older and you can tell her disabilty even more-so now. Some days she doesn't get around as well as others. I give her Ibuprofren on those days and it helps.

We still love and cuddle her. And, she has two "sisters" now, Pearl and Rosie, who keep her company.

Tim said I can't have another Rottie. But then again, someday he may not have a choice.

M