Our Rebel

Lisa mentioned in the name stats thread in General Discussion, the names of dogs that we've had in our families, that are no longer with us, and I have been hunting thru old photo's to let you all see them, unfortunately, they were before the advent of digi cameras, so i'v been trying to take a photo of a photo....with varying degrees of success.
But the 2 that have worked well are of our boy Rebel,
I haven't talked about him at all on here because I find it very hard,
he was a German Shepard, an absolute diamond of a dog, and a real gentleman, My mum got him for me when I was a boy, then when I moved out and set up home with Lisa he came with us, he lived to the grand old age of 14, when eventually he developed Arthritis in his hips and spine, it had been progressing for a few years, and we had to make the single hardest decision we've ever made, It was me who carried him to the vets, and i'm not ashamed to admit I was crying the whole time, it was awful, but he was in so much pain at the end, it was the only thing we or the vet could do for him, We loved him so much, and still miss him like mad, you all would have loved him, he was such a teddy bear...a rather big one mind!! He loved nothing better than a good old belly scratch,
Here he is, I think he's around 6 or 7 in these pics...
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Thinking of you always big man :luv: :luv: :luv:

He looks a total softie:lotsaluv: no shame in crying when you have to make that decision, we had to make it for my old lad Chad (will try and get a pic of him for you) who was almost 10 when his MVD took an awful turn for the worse, he was everything to me, my first really good show dog, he gave me 2 beautiful daughters on whom my line is now based, but most importantly of all he was my soulmate, he knew exactly what mood I was in, when I was upset, when I was happy, he just knew! So it was an awfully hard decision to let him go, but the kindest thing we could have done, and yes even my OH was blubbing uncontrollably at the vets too. He lives on in all of our dogs, he left me with quite a legacy, even Crystal's little babies go back to him, they are his Gt.Gt.Gt.Grandchildren, and boy does Teddy have some of his attitude! Over the years we see the younger dogs suddenly do something, or strike a pose and you think "Gosh! Chad used to do that!"

Lovely to meet you Rebel, I am sure I would have loved to have met you for real, you certainly do look a very big, total softie and that's coming from some-one who was attacked by a GSD as a child! Thanks for sharing him with us Ryan! :lotsaluv: :hug:

He sounds like a fabulous dog.

Thankyou Cathryn,and Brid, he was very gentle, just a real sweetheart, I used to take him on my Paper round when I was still at school, and everyone on the round loved him......he got more tips at christmas than me a never ending supply o doggie biccies, even when Kieran came along, by which time he was in the later stages of his life, and Jake was the Young 1, he just took everthing in his stride...he would even share his basket with Kieran when he started to crawl :lol: It's funny, because even tho Jake is a completely different breed from Rebel, I see so much of them in oneanother, their natures are almost identical.....big soft goofy dogs, who just want to play and cuddle:luv: ...sorry to ramble on icon_blshing feels like i've been going on for ages

We would love to see a picture of your Chad, sounds like he was a total seetheart too :flwr:

OH what a sweetheart - 14 was a fantastic age for a GSD, a tribute to your loving care and attention.

Thank you so much for sharing Rebel with us - it does help to remember the happy things you did together and times you shared.

And yes, we both cried when our last Cavalier was put to sleep - we arranged for the vet to come out to our home, which made it easier on everyone.

I loved reading about Rebel. I just love hearing about dogs who are so loved. He sounded like a sweetheart. I know how hard your loss was. Thanks for sharing him with us.

Rebel looks beautiful and I am sure his personality was the same.:luv:

Ryan:

Thank you for sharing Rebel with us. I know how hard it was for you to do the right thing and let him go when his time came. I had a wonderful gentle giant too before the corgis. Her name was Leisl and she will always live on in my heart.

May Rebel and Leisl play together at the Rainbow Bridge as they wait for us. I'm a good bit older than you so Leisie's wait will be shorter, but you and Rebel will link up again some day, too.

:flwr: Beautiful boy.

Thanyou all so much for your kind words and thoughts for Reb, they really are greatly appreciated

So sorry for your loss Ryan. Rebel looks like a beautiful boy. And not a bit camera shy!