back in 2003 a friend gave me a rottweiler puppy, i took it because richard had said he wanted a rottie. i took her home to him and he named her cher, at first he didnt want anything to do with her because rainer wasnt doing so well and he was focused on her. so i took the daily routine of taking care of her, she was a handful tearing everything up shoes, pillows and tearing the drapes off the wall. after having her a few months it came time to put rainer down because of her age and she was no longer able to get around, you see she had clipped knees and was put on deramaxx for pain which it worked, but long term use of it kills the liver, we were not told that.
after rainers passing richard still refused to have anything to do with cher, cher tried and tried to get him to come around, but he had stated he didnt think we wanted another dog after rainer, so i didnt push the matter, i figured i would keep her, in 2004 we moved to this place, we had k, bennie and cher, i figured a new enviroment would maybe help richard, after being here for about a year he began doing stuff with cher. in 2006 he got his own place and the night he moved out he asked me if it was ok if he took her, i told him i got her for him and yes to take her.
i could tell they were becoming close.
he used to take cher outside and let her play outside for a while, he stayed out there with her. one evening he had her out and he heard something at the edge of the woods by his house, it was dusk out, as the sound drew closer he realized it was 3 dogs charging him, cher was standing in front of him looking at him, suddenly she turned around and ran the dogs off, she had become very protective of richard.
he lived there in his place for a while it was right down the road from me so he brought cher over everyday to play with k.
in 2009 he moved to texas with his bf, he his pets with him, things didnt work out and on jan 26 2010 he came back here and thats when he moved in with me and jonh and helped us because john was going in for surgery feb 9 so richard stayed here with then animals and took care of them and "held the fort down"
cher was like the alpha dog she was a very good dog she was sweet loved attention, she loved playing ball, richard would go to pet smart and buy her balls, he had a bucket full of balls for her and he would dump them out on the floor and what fun she had collecting them. when she wanted you to throw the ball she would bring it to you.
cher lived to be 10 she became sick nov 24 at 4 am we were up with her it was a weekend so we had to pull through that sunday, that morning we took her to the vet and they determined that she had a uti that went on to cause her to go septic. we talked it over and decided not to let her suffer, you see she also had arthritis in her hips and had hip dysplasia and was having trouble getting around. it really tore richard up he never really got over it, i remember that morning so vividly he had a wash cloth he was keeping her face clean, after everything was over he told me the wash cloth had her smell and not to take it away from him. jan 26 2014 when i found him that morning her had the washcloth with him.