Max

Max passed away on November 12th. He was put to sleep at the house in Jared's arms. I was with him all day and then picked up Rocco from school and rode bikes until the vet left. 

Max was a neighborhood puppy in Boulder Creek. At the time we had three cats, Daktari, Aker and Lander. Living in Boulder Creek I used to love going on walks. There was one trail that I did that was a few streets behind our house. I would walk passed a house that had a 1 year old large puppy. He was always chained up, lived in a messy kennel and didn't even have water at times let alone proper housing during the winter. He would stand up against the fence as I would walk by begging for some love. I would pet him and my hand would be black from all the dirt. He was a brown color. 

I eventually asked the owners if I could please take their dog on a walk, since he didn't seem to ever leave the kennel and I needed some company on my walks and a little protection too. He would love to come out of the kennel but hated going back in. He made it really hard to get him back in and I don't blame him. He was a strong and playful puppy, like most large year and half old puppies.  

We then heard they were giving away Max. He had nipped the little girl while she teased Max with his food.  Not a good idea when her parents didn't feed Max and he was under weight. He was guarding his food and his life. If he would have gone to the pound he probably would have been put done for food aggression and aggression towards other dogs. 

We took him even though we weren't really wanting another animal since we were renters at the time. I never wanted to be in the position of having to give away an animal. Plus we already had three cats. But he needed us and so we knocked on the door and said we heard you are giving away Max. They said yes take him and shut the door. They didn't even help us take him from their yard.

Adding Max to our family was one of the best things. He kept our cabin in Boulder Creek safe. He guarded it like he was guarding a palace. We knew when someone was at the gate before the person at the gate even knew we had a dog. He got us out of the house for years on beautiful healthy walks. Once a kid and dad walked by and I heard the kid tell his Dad, "that looks like Max." I turned with a smile and said, "It is Max." He had gotten a bath and his brown dirty fur changed to beautiful red orange. Who would have know this color without a little love. 

Jared was the pack leader in the house and Max loved him. He would get so excited once he heard Jared's car. He would kiss him all over and they loved to play together. He was skunked a few times, barked at almost every dog on walks and loved (tolerated) the neighborhood little dogs in Campbell. He would howl at the candy man, lead anyone in the kitchen to where  his bones were located and loved left overs. 

We got Max November 2002 He lived in three houses with us. He provided so much love, dedication and laughs. We miss him everyday. He was cremated and we spread his ashes in Boulder Creek and at the new house. You will never be forgotten Max-A-Ruine Mac-a-roni and cheesy. 

These pictures were taken two days before he passed.