Loyal dog guards owner for weeks after death

CNN ^ | 8/12/08 | AP

[the OlLine Rebel]

GREELEY, Colorado (AP) -- A dog stood guard over her owner's body for up to six weeks after the man committed suicide on the remote northeastern Colorado plains, authorities said.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Poor doggie! Nice of her to hang around.

[djsherin]

Dogs are amazing. Everyday when I get home from work my dogs are always so excited to see me. And they’re always there even when you’re day sucks. I like cats too, but for different reasons.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

Remember those pictures or videos of dogs after hurricane Katrina were they showed dogs coming back home to their owners homes and either the owner was gone, or died in the hurricane ? that was so sad.

[the OlLine Rebel]

GERMAN SHEPHERD PING LIST

(Please Freep-mail me if you’d like to be on or off the list.)

TO PING MEMBERS: I HAVEN'T HAD A GERMAN SHEPHERD STORY IN A LONG TIME, PARTLY DUE TO THERE JUST HAVEN'T BEEN ANY, PARTLY BECAUSE I'M HARDLY ON FR THESE LAST 5 MONTHS SINCE MY BABY WAS BORN! IN THE MEANTIME, I'VE QUIT MY JOB WHERE I OFTEN POSTED.

AS A RESULT, I MAY NOT HAVE THE MOST UPDATED PING LIST, SO THOSE OF YOU WHO GOT THIS PING, TELL YOUR GS FRIENDS, AND ANY OTHERS WHO SHOULD'VE BEEN ON THE LIST THAT YOU REMEMBER.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THE GS LIST, JUST PM ME, WHETHER YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE OR THINK YOU USED TO BE ON IT.

[China Clipper]

Cash, his German shepherd, was found beside him, thin and dehydrated but still alive. The dog had apparently survived by eating mice and rabbits, authorities said.

On the other hand, if Cash was a cat......

[theDentist]

I’d really like to get a dog, likely a Shepard. But with the time away from home, it’d not be fair to the dog.

[the OlLine Rebel]

OOps! Forgot you, Hair...

[the OlLine Rebel]

Oh come now!

[3AngelaD]

Why did he take the dog with him to commit suicide?

[wastedyears]

I’d love a smaller medium-sized dog, but it stinks that I’m allergic to them. I don’t want something I can palm with one hand. I want something I can jog with.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

German Shepperd's are very protective of their owners.
They are also very intelligent dogs.
If you were to get one, get a puppy, because if you get a older dog that was in a bad home, you might not be sure of what your getting, that is better left to care for for people who have experience with homeless dogs.
Make sure the dog has all of it's rabies shots and worm shots.

[Righter-than-Rush]

>>I’d love a smaller medium-sized dog, but it stinks that I’m allergic to them. I don’t want something I can palm with one hand. I want something I can jog with.>>

I like weiner dogs. I don’t job, so they’re great walking buddies. I am allergic to most dogs and all cats, but the short-haired weiners are lovely pets.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Perhaps he didn’t think of it when he started his trip. Or maybe he thought she’d run back home and spread the news?

[FlJoePa]

My thoughts exactly. I know what my cat (Canoe) would do. He'd probably start with my ears after about a day.

[GnuHere]

Poor thing - I’m glad she had a family to return home to. Saw her on Fox. Lady said she had to be sedated when she first got home. :(

[travlnmn41]

Sheps are also great around children. My wife and I were walking our Shepherd, Dora, in a downtown park one day and we passed a group of girls having a birthday party. Before I could say a word, the girls were all over Dora, petting her and hugging her. It really scared me how fast it happened. But Dora is such a sweet dog, she didn’t flinch. I think she liked the attention.

[Sue Perkick]

That’s really sweet! Sounds like a dog. I love my cats too but I’m fully aware that the bowl would not be empty for long before they would eat me. Probably out of spite.

[dervish]

Congratulations. Nice to see you back.

GS are in a class of their own.

[No Truce With Kings]

“I’d love a smaller medium-sized dog, but it stinks that I’m allergic to them. I don’t want something I can palm with one hand. I want something I can jog with.”

There are few better medium-sized dogs than Australian Shepherds. Loyal, intelligent, and active. They can run forever — but I gave up jogging because of mine. Australian Shepherds are herding dogs. It's in their blood. And when I went running with mine, she would cut in front of me to “herd” me. They are just the right size (just under knee height) for a six-foot man to trip over when they do that.

They are also just the right height for you to fly completely over the dog, so you land on the ground ahead of it, instead of landing on it. When my afghan used to do that, I would land on her — and she pretty quickly stopped cutting in front of me. But there is nothing like that to discourage my aussie from doing it.

[Sue Perkick]

LOL! Exactly!

[theDentist]

Good reminders. My Dad had a Shepard when I was a very young’n. Sheba. Lived to 14 years old. She was protective and playful with all of us, but definitely my Dad’s dog.

[AlaskaErik]

Everyday when I get home from work my dogs are always so excited to see me.

My chocolate lab is the same way. She'll spin 360's up against me while I'm taking my shoes off and then she'll jump up into my lap as I'm watching the news. I couldn't ask for a sweeter dog.

Holly

[RedRightReturn]

Brittany Spaniel

[RedRightReturn]

Good lookin’ dog! I had to put down our beloved Yellow Lab, Gunner, just 2 weeks ago. He was 13. I miss him!

[the OlLine Rebel]

Those fanciers wouldn’t like that. Make it just “Brittany”, period. ;-)

[RedRightReturn]

OK...Brittany! Got one...she’s a sweet little dog. Knee-high, 43 lbs.

[the OlLine Rebel]

OK, here’s a “pet peeve” of mine, big time.

Spelling lesson:

It’s German S-H-E-P-H-E-R-D.

(Does anyone misspell that word when talking of the other breeds including same?)

It means sheep-herder. Sheep-herd without the hyphen or space, and drop an E from the double-E, then you have it!

[Neoliberalnot]

Get yourself a retired Greyhound. Their disposition is the best and if you have rabbits in the area, you can’t believe how fast these demon-possessed dogs are when they sight one—they are amazing athletes and can turn on a dime—bone an muscle make up their physique. I have always had larger breeds until my daughter was banned from keeping her Maltese in her apt. She asked if we would keep Willie for a while—now 8 months—until she could take him. I never thought I wanted a little dog, but he has more personality than most and is best friends with the cat. He has gone from apt to full freedom as a farm dog, except at night, we pen him on the porch to keep the raccoons from killing him.

[AlaskaErik]

I’m sorry to hear that. I don’t even want to think of the day I’m faced with that. Right now Holly is a little over two and a half years old.

[Twinkie]

The cat in the foreground, on the other hand, is another story entirely . . . . . ? Cats keep us humble and realistic.

[RedRightReturn]

Good call on Greyhound! My in-laws have 2 of them. They are excellent dogs. I’m sure they’d like to run and the short hair might be better for your allergies! Plus you get the feel-good of knowing you rescued a deserving animal.

[AlaskaErik]

The cat in the foreground, on the other hand, is another story entirely . . . . . ? Cats keep us humble and realistic.

And she's just one of two. The other one looks exactly like this one. Holly is very jealous when they receive any attention. She always has to nose herself into the middle of everything. It must drive her crazy when we're in bed and we pet the cats!

[Captain Rhino]

Makes me think of this dog:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyfriar%27s_Bobby

Fortunately, Cash had owners to be taken home to.

[Kozak]

thanks,

still interested.
Waitng to adopt a GSD from rescue!

[RedRightReturn]

You’ve got years of fun times ahead!! Gunner was a ‘puppy’ until he turned about 10!!

Thanks for the concern. I would have never thought that a dog could affect us like he did. He was the best. Couldnt ask for a better dog around our infant children. Gentle as a lamb!

[the OlLine Rebel]

Oh yes, Greyfriar’s Bobby.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Here're mine ;-):

[libstripper]

And they’re always there even when you’re day sucks.

Oh, so true. Indeed, if the day really sucked your dogs are likely to sense it and try to cheer you up. I've seen that twice in my life.

Many years ago my dad had to to to California to get his sister, who's come down with Alzheimer's, and bring her back to Illinois. He was totally drained and depressed when he got home. We had a Beagle, Buddy, who never wanted to be a lap dog. When he saw how miserable dad was, for the first and only time in his life, Buddy jumped into dad's lap and tried to cheer him up.

The dog who preceded my present pair, Amos, was a Black Lab. One day I came home from work, totally miserable, and, for the first and only time in his life, Amos jumped up onto the bed and tried to console me. Dogs are wonderful creatures, given by God to man as a little piece of himself.

[mrs. a]

Does this make anyone else think of Nick Lowe’s song, “Marie Provost”?

[RepoGirl]

Hey, OlLine Rebel! Long time no hear. Congratulations on the birth of your baby. 5 months is a great age. Personality is really starting to develop, and they laugh at everything you do.

[TexasRepublic]

There are few better medium-sized dogs than Australian Shepherds. Loyal, intelligent, and active.

I've had Aussies for the last 17 years and would not own anything else (I have 2 right now). But, they are not suitable for everyone. They are intense, rambunctious, curious, mouthy dogs. They shed like hell. They learn to spell and have an internal clock that is accurate to within minutes. You can't wear one out. Aussies are typically high-energy dogs that demand a lot of attention and love from their owners, but the rewards are immense. I've never heard of another breed called "Velcro" as the Aussies are. I can't walk 2 steps from the sofa without a full escort - they just appear to be sleeping. Any new object brought into the house is inspected. If they had opposable thumbs, Aussies would be downright dangerous!

[Andonius_99]

On the other hand, if Cash was a cat......

Person? What person?

[mupcat]

You may want to look at this link for various breeds that are acceptable for people with allergies.

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/allergy.htm

[wastedyears]

Maybe two or three of those breeds I’d be interested in. The Native American Indian Dog, even though it would be pretty huge for me, and maybe the Border Terrier.

[Darnright]

Congratulations on the new baby! My baby just left for college today. I do have a new puppy, however:

[TNdandelion]

I’m so sorry. I’ve got a Boxer who’s 13.5 years and our vet said last week....”Ya know, they don’t live this long.” Every day is a gift.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Adorable! Is s/he long-coated?

[garandgal]

I’d love a smaller medium-sized dog, but it stinks that I’m allergic to them. I don’t want something I can palm with one hand. I want something I can jog with.

My husband is very allergic to most dogs; he's not however allergic to our German Shorthair...doesn't bother him at all.

Females weigh 45-60 pounds; and boy will they jog...you might need to get yourself a cart.

Your motivation to jog will be very high, as well. Because if you don't run the energy out of this breed (we play frisbee for at least a half hour every night) neither they, nor you will be happy, LOL!

They are sweet-tempered, smart, friendly, and VERY attached to their families.

[wastedyears]

I like your dog’s name.

Did you have a family member that flew on her?

[garandgal]

I like your dog’s name. Did you have a family member that flew on her?

No, just a WWII collector...next one will be Lex or Lexi after the Lexington.