Sad News From Nanny 911 For Dogs

Dear Doggie Parents:

My Jetta died tonight. She was a FABULOUS dog and I will miss her so much.

I had a dog training lesson scheduled for 7 pm in a student’s home. I took her with me and we stopped on the way for her to run. She had a great time and ran like crazy.

I put her in the car and she was fine. Five minutes later I pulled up to my student’s house and I turned around to tell Jetta to wait for me and that I’d be back, but she was unresponsive.

I couldn’t get her to come out of her crate or to eat a treat. She seemed dazed. I ran in and told my student I had to take Jetta to the vet. Back in the car, I saw that she was drooling and panting.

The vet did blood work and took xrays and put her on an IV and oxygen but Jetta’s heart raced and her blood pressure was sky high. She did not respond to the drug the vet injected to try to slow down her heart.

Jetta was almost 11. The vet said her heart was enlarged and that she had had a heart attack. She said it didn’t look hopeful that she would either respond favorably or survive any attempts made to save her.

I petted Jetta as we discussed the options, but Jetta was not mentally present and while we debated what to do, she died.

 Jetta was an incredible dog.

 She was beautiful. On her pedigree, 25 of the 30 dogs were show Champions.

Jetta and I tested for, and obtained, her WAC certificate which proved she was mentally sound and had a stable temperament. I have heard that only about 25% of Dobermans worldwide can pass the WAC test. The day Jetta and I took that test, there were 12 dogs and only three of us passed.

I did trick shows at schools and nursing homes with Jetta, as I had done with Dancer before her. Most memorable was an hour-long show we did at Lamb Elementary School for 90 children in the library. The kids went crazy watching Jetta perform and she loved every minute of it – she was such a ham.

 Jetta was my kid.

When I got her, she was almost 3 years old. The breeder put her on a plane from Los Angeles and I picked her up at the Portland Airport. An employee in the cargo department wanted to walk her down to my car for me and I let her do that and Jetta ran on the stairs dragging this girl down the steps on her back.

As soon as we entered my apartment, she immediately ran into my kitchen and stepped onto a bench and then up onto my dining table. Her breeder said she loved being groomed and perhaps thought it was a grooming table.

She was a jumper! 70 pounds, wild and crazy and jumping on everybody. Before I could get her trained, she jumped up and slammed me in the face, giving me the only black eye I have ever had in my life.

Her breeder told me that two weeks before she sent her to me, Jetta jumped over a baby gate and landed on a four-month-old puppy and broke his leg.

She was wild! She ran into buildings and trees. She was very hard on her body.

We lived in an apartment most of the time that I had her. When I first got her, she barked at everything. Tenants driving in and out of the complex and walking up and down the stairs. Her barking was the first thing I worked on.

She turned out to be a really well-behaved dog and very quiet and easy to live. If other tenants had not seen her coming and going, they never would have known I had a dog.

I was very proud of Jetta.

Because we lived in an apartment, I took Jetta to the park to run every day. She never missed a single day of exercise. Before she tore her knee ligament, she used to pull me on a dog sport scooter. We flew!!!! You don’t see too many dogs pulling people on bikes or scooters. One time a woman chastised me as we raced past her, yelling that I was cruel to my dog.

I went back and asked what she meant. She said making my dog pull me on the scooter was cruel. I said, “It is impossible to push a dog with a rope.” LOL Jetta absolutely adored racing through the park, pulling me on that scooter.

What I will miss most is sleeping with Jetta. She always slept right beside me, under the covers.

My favorite photo of Jetta was the one I took of her on the Oregon coast when she was carrying her little friend, Mimi. This picture was in Dog Fancy’s calendar. (see my post from 4/26/12)

Jetta made a lot of friends in her life. I took her shopping and out and about on errands. It’s amazing how many businesses welcome well-behaved dogs.

 Jetta will be missed by many, especially by me.

 Tori (Jetta’s Mom)