After a trip to the local human's society in March 1989 Max can into our lives. He was just a little black ball of fur, jet black eyes and 4 large feet. We got him on my lunch hour and gave him french fries from McDonalds as his first meal with us. He was only 6 weeks old. That first summer we watched him grow, tried to teach him manors and had many fun hours playing with him. Late in the summer one weekend we let him outside to go to the bathroom. At the time we had only been married for a year and were living in a little duplex that had no fence. Max always stayed in the yard, but not this time. After yelling his name for 15 minutes he was no were to be found. Standing next to the back door I heard the phone ring and debated if I should go in and answer it. I choose to with surprising results. It was a friend of mine that was back in town for the weekend. Dan had only seen Max once about 2 months earlier. Unbelievable my friend ask me if we had lost our dog because he thinks it is at his Grandparents house. His Grandparents lived on the other side of town about 2 miles away. We went over and sure enough it was Max. We never figured out how a 6 month old puppy covered that much ground, crossing at least one major street and ended up at Dan's Grandparents house over 2 miles away. But we sure were glad to have found him.
Max was a true moto dog. I would take him to the local track when I went riding. Everyone knew Max and would pet him and give him water when he was thirsty. Max would run all over the track, but never run in front of the bikes. At times he would run next to a straight-a-away you were coming down as if to say I can go faster then you. At the end of the night after the riding was done, Max would get a little drink of beer from my riding buddy Roger who affectionately called him "Max the beer dog". Max always wagged his tail and was at Rogers side at the track or when he came over to the house. On the way home from the track Max would curl up on the floor board and go fast to sleep. Each time I went riding I would ask Max, "Max do you want to go the motorcycle track". His ears would perk up and he would wait by the door until I was ready, then run to the truck with a impatient look in his eyes that says lets go, I'm ready.
During Max's second year he got out of the fence in the back yard of the house we had moved into, and again we could not find him. He hated to wear his collar with the dog tags and was good at getting the collar off. We called the dog pound and they had a dog that met Max's description. Arriving at the do pound we could hear Max barking inside. He sure was glad to see us. It cost $25 for dog bail, but again we very happy to have him home.
Max was turning into a really good dog, Mrs Sawblade taught him to set, laydown, roll over, shake hands and stand on his back legs and beg for a treat. Just before little Sawtooth was born we were headed out the door to go to Lama's class. Max bolted out the door with only the enthusiasm a young dog can have. I chased him around the neighborhood for 45 minutes until I cornered him in the neighbors carport. He thought it was a game, but I was not amused as we were very late for lama's class by now. The next day we took Max to the vet and will, his manhood was taken away. Shortly there after, little Sawtooth was born. Max was never jealous of the new baby and you could tell a bond between the new baby and puppy was forming fast. As little Sawtooth grew into a walking talking toddler, Max was always by his side. When I would play with little Sawtooth Max was always right there, and would put his paw on my leg if he felt the rough housing was a little to much. This was a trait Max never lost. Later in Max's second year my father in law would come over and get Max to take him walking with him. One day as they were walking down the side of a street a car came speeding down the street close to the curb. Max was just grazed by the car (that never stopped) and thrown into the ditch. My father in law carried him home not knowing the extend of his injuries. We took him to the vet and were relieved to find out he had no broken bones or major injuries. Just bruised and a limp in his back left leg. The vet said his leg would get better, but as he grew older it would become stiff with arthritis. Being a young dog, he bounced right back and was his playful self in no time.
As my career started to take off with the company I work for we found ourselves moving from our home state of Kansas to Little Rock Arkansas. While in Little Rock, at times late at night we would let Max out the front door to run a little bit. It was never a problem as all the neighbors knew and seemed to like Max. One night he didn't come home. We looked for him for two hours, but couldn't find him. For the third time we though we had lost Max, but to my surprise the next morning he was laying on the front steps of the house.
Max moved with us through four different states, and countless in state moves over the years. Always eager to go "bye bye". I remember driving down Interstate 70 in Missouri with Max setting in the passenger seat of the Ryder truck, ears perked looking down the road anxious to stop so he could leave his mark and smell for other dogs that had done the same.
The years rolled on and Max started to slow down little by little. A few years ago he developed a skin rash that we had a hard time keeping under control. During the hot summer months we would shave his thick coat of fur and give him medicine to help relieve the itching, but the rash continued to get worse each passing year. As Max turned 12 years old he had become a old man dog. Many of his teeth had fallen out and he was becoming a old silver back. Every once in a while Max would get playful, but those moments were few and long past as he spent the days sleeping and only wanting to go outside long enough to water and fertilize the grass. In Max's thirteenth year his hearing had gone and you had to lay your hand on him to let him know it was time to go outside. The arthritis in his hind legs had taken hold from the car that hit him years ago as a young dog and made it hard for him to get up and done. His back legs shuck when he walked, and stairs were becoming hard to go up and down. A few months ago we started talking about Max and all his pains. It was hard to talking about putting him to sleep as Max was the best dog I every had. After many discussions, and watching Max become worse we could not bear to watch him suffer any long. Even though we didn't want to we knew he was in much pain and didn't want to see him suffer any longer. Tuesday night we took Max for one last late night roam around the neighborhood. At times you could still see his old fun loving traits, but his age and weakness severely slowed him down. Before going to bed that night we gave Max a bowl of chocolate ice cream. He laid on the floor and we all enjoyed watching him enjoy this treat. On Wednesday evening we took Max on one last ride. This time it would be his last ride. We were with him to the end, all three of us holding him as Max slipped away to a better place. One with no pain, the days are sunny and the track is loamy with no dust.
The last two days have been very difficult without Max. The house is not the same without him. We close on our new house in two weeks, so we are hoping with this major change in our lifes, the new house will feel like a home with Max in our hearts. Max was a great dog, just a mix of German Shepard, Elkhound, and a little Chow. The best $20 we every spend was that warm spring day at the human's society in 1989, on that little black ball of fur, with jet black eyes and 4 large feet. Max was his name, he was a good dog that I loved more then I realized.
Max was a true moto dog. I would take him to the local track when I went riding. Everyone knew Max and would pet him and give him water when he was thirsty. Max would run all over the track, but never run in front of the bikes. At times he would run next to a straight-a-away you were coming down as if to say I can go faster then you. At the end of the night after the riding was done, Max would get a little drink of beer from my riding buddy Roger who affectionately called him "Max the beer dog". Max always wagged his tail and was at Rogers side at the track or when he came over to the house. On the way home from the track Max would curl up on the floor board and go fast to sleep. Each time I went riding I would ask Max, "Max do you want to go the motorcycle track". His ears would perk up and he would wait by the door until I was ready, then run to the truck with a impatient look in his eyes that says lets go, I'm ready.
During Max's second year he got out of the fence in the back yard of the house we had moved into, and again we could not find him. He hated to wear his collar with the dog tags and was good at getting the collar off. We called the dog pound and they had a dog that met Max's description. Arriving at the do pound we could hear Max barking inside. He sure was glad to see us. It cost $25 for dog bail, but again we very happy to have him home.
Max was turning into a really good dog, Mrs Sawblade taught him to set, laydown, roll over, shake hands and stand on his back legs and beg for a treat. Just before little Sawtooth was born we were headed out the door to go to Lama's class. Max bolted out the door with only the enthusiasm a young dog can have. I chased him around the neighborhood for 45 minutes until I cornered him in the neighbors carport. He thought it was a game, but I was not amused as we were very late for lama's class by now. The next day we took Max to the vet and will, his manhood was taken away. Shortly there after, little Sawtooth was born. Max was never jealous of the new baby and you could tell a bond between the new baby and puppy was forming fast. As little Sawtooth grew into a walking talking toddler, Max was always by his side. When I would play with little Sawtooth Max was always right there, and would put his paw on my leg if he felt the rough housing was a little to much. This was a trait Max never lost. Later in Max's second year my father in law would come over and get Max to take him walking with him. One day as they were walking down the side of a street a car came speeding down the street close to the curb. Max was just grazed by the car (that never stopped) and thrown into the ditch. My father in law carried him home not knowing the extend of his injuries. We took him to the vet and were relieved to find out he had no broken bones or major injuries. Just bruised and a limp in his back left leg. The vet said his leg would get better, but as he grew older it would become stiff with arthritis. Being a young dog, he bounced right back and was his playful self in no time.
As my career started to take off with the company I work for we found ourselves moving from our home state of Kansas to Little Rock Arkansas. While in Little Rock, at times late at night we would let Max out the front door to run a little bit. It was never a problem as all the neighbors knew and seemed to like Max. One night he didn't come home. We looked for him for two hours, but couldn't find him. For the third time we though we had lost Max, but to my surprise the next morning he was laying on the front steps of the house.
Max moved with us through four different states, and countless in state moves over the years. Always eager to go "bye bye". I remember driving down Interstate 70 in Missouri with Max setting in the passenger seat of the Ryder truck, ears perked looking down the road anxious to stop so he could leave his mark and smell for other dogs that had done the same.
The years rolled on and Max started to slow down little by little. A few years ago he developed a skin rash that we had a hard time keeping under control. During the hot summer months we would shave his thick coat of fur and give him medicine to help relieve the itching, but the rash continued to get worse each passing year. As Max turned 12 years old he had become a old man dog. Many of his teeth had fallen out and he was becoming a old silver back. Every once in a while Max would get playful, but those moments were few and long past as he spent the days sleeping and only wanting to go outside long enough to water and fertilize the grass. In Max's thirteenth year his hearing had gone and you had to lay your hand on him to let him know it was time to go outside. The arthritis in his hind legs had taken hold from the car that hit him years ago as a young dog and made it hard for him to get up and done. His back legs shuck when he walked, and stairs were becoming hard to go up and down. A few months ago we started talking about Max and all his pains. It was hard to talking about putting him to sleep as Max was the best dog I every had. After many discussions, and watching Max become worse we could not bear to watch him suffer any long. Even though we didn't want to we knew he was in much pain and didn't want to see him suffer any longer. Tuesday night we took Max for one last late night roam around the neighborhood. At times you could still see his old fun loving traits, but his age and weakness severely slowed him down. Before going to bed that night we gave Max a bowl of chocolate ice cream. He laid on the floor and we all enjoyed watching him enjoy this treat. On Wednesday evening we took Max on one last ride. This time it would be his last ride. We were with him to the end, all three of us holding him as Max slipped away to a better place. One with no pain, the days are sunny and the track is loamy with no dust.
The last two days have been very difficult without Max. The house is not the same without him. We close on our new house in two weeks, so we are hoping with this major change in our lifes, the new house will feel like a home with Max in our hearts. Max was a great dog, just a mix of German Shepard, Elkhound, and a little Chow. The best $20 we every spend was that warm spring day at the human's society in 1989, on that little black ball of fur, with jet black eyes and 4 large feet. Max was his name, he was a good dog that I loved more then I realized.
