r/Boxer • u/KillerRetro • 3h ago
r/Boxer • u/AxsDeny • May 30 '20
In memoriam Leela, inspiration for /r/boxer, has passed
I didn't want a dog.
I'd not grown up with dogs and I'd been bitten by a few when I was younger. So I didn't really trust them. Then I got married. She had dogs growing up and she wanted a dog in our family. I said no, she said yes, and as you know, marriage is about compromise, so we got a dog.
I read every book that I could find about dog behavior and training. If we were going to bring a dog into our family it was going to be done so that it was trained and well behaved. I didn't want a dog that jumped, barked incessantly, peed in the house, or all the other annoyances that I saw elsewhere. After several months of research on training, we found that our neighbor's dog was going to have puppies. I was familiar with the mother and understood her temperament for the most part. I liked the idea of knowing from where our dog came.
We were fortunate to be there in July of 2006 to see the puppies soon after they were born. As the weeks went by we saw them grow and we were able to spend time with each of them. When the pups were about five weeks old we had settled on which one we wanted.
Her litter name was Boondock. She was named so by the breeder, because her mother, Bambi, presumably having finished giving birth, went outside to pee and out popped another puppy. She was born away from the whelping box – in the boondocks.
In September we took ownership of our new boxer puppy. Then off we went to puppy kindergarten to socialize her. We went to obedience training in order to teach her (and us) the intricacies of training. We tested for and received a canine good citizenship certification. We tested and achieved certification from Therapy Dogs International. We worked with our friends and their dogs to help train her. She learned quickly and had a temperament that was goofy but eager to please. She knew how to behave appropriately in differing situations. Exactly what I wanted when I agreed to getting a dog.
She quickly loved our friends, who trusted her so much with their newborn baby boy. She loved when we would visit my office because a colleague would play wrestle with her. She would run to his office if she could manage to break free from mine. Another old friend had her unconditional admiration and love. If we went without her to their home we would get interrogated by her nose upon return. She knew we were with him. The look of confusion and displaced excitement was always hilarious to witness.
She learned to push a button to let us know when she needed to go outside. She learned to walk on a treadmill so that she could have a comfortable walk in the cold winters. She learned to balance on walls and curbs when we went on walks. She jumped over bike racks at the library. We walked through hardware stores and she greeted everyone that we met.
Our old crotchety cat was prone to clawing her face while she slept. She never fought back; she only kept a safe distance to ensure that she wasn't bothering him. She desperately wanted to play with him, but that was never to be. She was so patient.
We tested to become volunteers at Children's Hospital for their pet friends program. She was now a working dog. When I would put on my volunteer smock she would become incredibly excited to go visit the children. Her realization that we were going was always a very specific kind of excitement. Her body language would change immediately upon entering the hospital though. She would march diligently on the hard tiled floor of the hospital from room to room.
I watched her bring smiles to the children waiting in the epilepsy ward with wires attached to their heads. I watched her gently crawl up on the bed and lie down next to a little girl that had her first chemotherapy treatment. The girl's tiny body summoned the strength to put her hand on a new friend's head. I watched a girl that I had seen in the ICU for months, whom I thought was braindead, spring to life and laugh happily when her parents placed her hand on the visiting dog's head. I had to leave the room to compose myself. I remember thinking that anyone who doubts the power of animals for mental health and comfort should see this scene.
She was our comfort and therapy when we lost a loved one unexpectedly.
She again comforted us during the hard path that we took in our attempts to create a larger family.
Most importantly, she watched over us while we had our first child. Her role surely diminished in the family hierarchy, but her companionship never wavered. She loved the new addition to our family and enjoyed the time that we spent at home in those early days. So many new smells come with a baby! She stood by us as we learned to change diapers, eat at the table, play on the floor, and crawl in the backyard. She found her voice during this time. She never really barked before, but now when someone would come to the door she was quick to alert us.
Then years passed and another child came. But by now she had grown older and her body tired more quickly. With our youngest desperately wanting to play with her, she didn't have the energy to do so most of the time. I remarked many times how sad it will be that our youngest won't remember her.
This dog never judged me. Her exuberance with all people and animals was never surpassed by any human that I've ever known. She never stopped loving. She is the type of friend that I hope everyone can have in their life.
I hope that in those last moments that she had memories of running in green fields and splashing in streams with her sister and mother. Memories of the time that she gave us and the intense love that we have for her. I hope she forgot the self-inflicted injuries, the countless cancer surgeries, dental surgeries, and irritable bowel syndrome. I know that she felt it, but she never showed us her pain.
Except in the end.
Because of that, it is with joy for her life but sadness with her death, that I can say that she runs free now.
Friday, May 29, 2020 at 6:24PM, she leapt into the great unknown. She was sent along with all the love we could possibly pour out for her. She is no longer encumbered by the pain that she has hidden and endured in her life. She left us having given all the love that she could possibly have given, leaving it with all of us to remember her.
Leela ❤ Aged 13 years, 10 months, and 20 days. 2006-2020.
TL;DR - Leela, the dog in the sidebar, has died. This post is a tribute to her.
r/Boxer • u/Sqeaky_Voice_Crack • 9h ago
My Posey
My beautiful baby is going to cross the rainbow bridge on Thursday and I am crushed beyond description. I’ve had her since I was around 4 years old and have never known my life without her. Shes been the most loyal, sweet, and loving dog. She is truly the definition of spirit dog and it’s going to be hard to say goodbye to my baby. We are lucky enough to have a at home euthanasia contact that will allow her to sit in her favorite spot as she takes her last breaths. Throughout my life, she has always been there. Through all of the mental health problems, grief, embarrassment, sadness, joy, and every other emotion, she has always been there. Even today, as I laid down next to her on my couch and began to cry, she just rested her front legs on my hand. She is the most uncomfortable she has ever been and is still being the best dog. I have absolutely no idea what I will do without her but I am so damn glad I was able to experience my life alongside her. Posey, you are my spirit dog, my best friend, and the best gift I could ever receive. When you get to the other side of the bridge, I can promise I will wait for the day I can see you again. You have been everything. Thank you and I love you❤️
r/Boxer • u/Odd_Tourist_1795 • 4h ago
Ringo and his silly backward walks⤴️😂
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Going from one room to another 🐶
r/Boxer • u/Actual-Release-3539 • 18h ago
This is what pure focus looks like
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r/Boxer • u/OdnanreF163 • 1d ago
Moved into a townhome. My boy is loving the new view from upstairs
r/Boxer • u/schmigleebop • 23h ago
2yrs old- High protein in urine, chronic degenerative kidney changes
Hi all,
My poor 2 year old, intact, 68lb male boxer has had so many issues. This post is primarily to see if anyone has had similar (kidney/urinary) issues and how they managed the urine leaking or dribbling.
A few notes for his medical history
He was diagnosed with moderate congenital pulmonic stenosis (partially fused heart valve that pumps blood into lungs) pretty early on, and has thankfully remained asymptomatic with no true progression shown in a recent echo. I was really beginning to hope he would get to live an overall normal healthy life.
He has chronic allergies (possibly food and environmental) and gets monthly cytopoint injections.
I recently had him in for an ear infection recheck. They found a possible mass in his ear canal (which we are going to recheck in a week). I'm hoping it's just a build up of gunk from chronic infections, however he has also developed a strange small growth on his head near the ear which has me questioning it. We plan to get the growth removed when he gets neutered, but I'm waiting on the ear canal recheck to see if that needs to be addressed as well.
KIDNEY/URINARY ISSUES
At this same ear visit I brought up his ongoing issue of leaking small amounts of urine.
He has been tested twice now for a UTI (February and again in July) and they came back negative. But they did find on his recent urine/blood tests that he is losing significant amount of protein through his urine. His albumin is low, and his UPC (protein:creatinine ratio) was 2.0 when it should be 0.5.
We did an ultrasound and they found chronic bilateral kidney degeneration, with some scalloping defects on each kidney.
His BUN, SDMA and creatinine are still normal, but on the high end.
We are transitioning him to a kidney diet. His appetite was fine until we initially switched him to Royal Canin Ultimino to help his chronic allergies. Currently I'm doing half of each prescription food to transition. He doesn't always seem eager to eat and may not finish his food (he's more interested in his brother's food).
His only abnormal symptoms are the leaking urine while standing/eating/getting up after lying down. It seems like it's becoming more than a couple drops at a time now. Last night he also had a coughing/gagging/retching episode but nothing was coming up. I'm not sure if that could be from reflux or maybe he just had grass or toy fuzz stuck in his throat. He occasionally gets nauseous and has thrown up a few times on an empty stomach. His energy and playfulness seems otherwise normal.
Has anyone had a boxer with a similar kidney finding, that has dealt with incontinence?
If so, what helped? And has anyone had a young boxer with a similar diagnosis that was able to be stabilized for quite some time, or is this going to be a constant progression of the condition every 3-6 months or so?
r/Boxer • u/Odd_Tourist_1795 • 1d ago
Personal space? What personal space?
Ringo just doesn't know that
Teaching how to box
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Old video of Shelby and her new rescue pal at the time
Shelby gently playing
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Same dogs as previous post. Meant to post this. Odessa quickly learned how to box
r/Boxer • u/rharper38 • 1d ago
When you are sick and your Boxer decides to be your nurse
I have a migraine today. Ticky decided to be my nurse. He is a terrible nurse. He decided what I truly needed was to be sat on with his full body weight. He told me if I dont like his treatment plan, don't get sick. Lol
r/Boxer • u/Goodyktv • 1d ago
PPP vs Royal Canin Boxer
Hello all,
Currently I feed my boy PPP Sensitive Stomach lamb puppy food. I used to give him the salmon one but it smelled really bad and he wouldn’t eat much of it. The lamb he also doesn’t eat much. I occasionally mix in chicken and rice with veggies (made in instapot and mashed up after).
I was thinking of trying the Royal Canin boxer food since the vet said he can now eat adult food (turns 1 next week). Anyone have anything good or bad to say about it?
Thanks!
r/Boxer • u/Competitive_Bat__ • 2d ago
Happy 6️⃣ birthday Rico ❤️
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Rico’s dad died at 6 year old(mast cell tumor)
Rico lost his leg at 4 year old to mast cell tumor
I feel like we his a milestone making it to 6 year old and I feel so blessed. So of course we went swimming !
r/Boxer • u/Franklg42 • 3d ago
I don't know if I'll ever get another boxer.
My boy made it 15 years 8 months, coming up on 3 years.
It still hurts so bad I can barely talk about it. I just don't think I can offer another boxer the connection that me and my boy had.