Post by cat001 on Aug 15, 2016 16:47:50 GMT
Ruben may not have been my dog but he pops up in my thoughts every now and again since he passed away several years ago. I thought it might be an idea to take the time to share a little about Ruben and put down some of my memories of him.
Ruben belonged to a friend of my sisters, she saw him on the way home from work, the owners had bred their German Shepherd with their Doberman/GSD mix and were selling off the puppies. He was in such a state that she couldn't bare to leave him, so she took him home and immediately washed off the urine and faeces clinging to his fur. The owners were 6 in number and all men, Ruben didn't like males, in fact he was nervous of all strangers but loved to play with other dogs.
I first met Ruben when he was brought over to our house, the friend was visiting my sister with Ruben, her new puppy. He was wary of me and was slow to open up but eventually yielded to the invites to play.
IMG_1538 by cat.read, on Flickr
For a time my sisters friend would visit with Ruben each week, as he got more comfortable with us we'd take him out onto the field for some fun and games...
IMG_1473 by cat.read, on Flickr
Ruben the Cute Puppy by cat.read, on Flickr
IMG_1841 by cat.read, on Flickr
IMG_1826 by cat.read, on Flickr
I didn't get to see him very regularly but when he did come round I was happy to walk him. After about 4 or so weeks of regular visits I didn't see him again until he was several months old. He remembered me well and we were getting along at this point although signs of his early traumas were starting to surface with his severe separation anxiety and barking at strangers. On this visit I decided to take him out to the woods with the permission of the owner while she and my sister catch up on life.
IMG_2334 by cat.read, on Flickr
JUMP (Side view) by cat.read, on Flickr
German Shepherd Doberman Cross by cat.read, on Flickr
As he got older it became clear that Ruben couldn't tolerate stress, my sister shouted at him for entering the kitchen and he immediately coward and didn't like her approaching him. When she asked for his paw later that day (one of his tricks) he would look away and offer it reluctantly but when I requested him to do the same trick he couldn't raise his paw fast enough! I tried to explain to my sister that he's frightened by raised voices and she needs to be more tactful with him. Another example was when she petted him while he was eating and he growled, I did the same thing and no response, I could even pick up his food from under his nose without a murmur from him.
He was a fully grown adult when I saw him again, he loved seeing me because he knew it meant a trip to the field or woods, what he didn't know was that he was visiting this time for 5 days! I was asked to babysit him while my sister and her friend went away, my other family members were also on holiday so it was just me and the dog!
This is my kingdom by cat.read, on Flickr
Smiling dog by cat.read, on Flickr
Ruben in the field by cat.read, on Flickr
Ruben in sepia by cat.read, on Flickr
Ruben's anxiety meant that he couldn't be left anywhere by himself, I couldn't even take a shower without leaving the door open, luckily I was off work that week too. In the mornings he'd drop a toy on my face to wake me up, we'd play on the field then he'd have his breakfast. During midday it was exploring the overgrown area adjoined to the field and the afternoons were when we went to the woods. We had one incident when he barked at a jogger but I was very impressed with him when I saw a team of rugby players jogging down the lane, so I asked him to sit on my right side as they were passing on the left and he didn't even react!
Ruben chasing butterflies on the way to the woods...
When the owner came back to pick him up his reaction was very unexpected, he was initially pleased to see her but once he realised he was going home he wasn't pleased. She went to put his lead on and he growled! The first time he had ever growled at her. I think he enjoyed the routine of his stay so much that he didn't want to leave.
It was about 2 years later I saw him again when my sister and I went to visit her this time, my sister walked in first, Ruben greeted her, very happy, but when I walked in he got super excited, he jumped up at me and knocked me to the chair, he whimpered with excitement and didn't let me get back up. The owner said he'd never greeted anyone like that before, he'd never been so pleased to see anyone. We took him to the lake...
IMG_2854.CR2 by cat.read, on Flickr
IMG_2927.CR2 by cat.read, on Flickr
IMG_2826.CR2 by cat.read, on Flickr
IMG_2813.CR2 by cat.read, on Flickr
That was the last time I saw him. Some years later we heard that the owner came back from work one day and called Ruben over, he was lying on the bed and went to respond to her call but ended up collapsing on the floor, his legs were mostly immobile. He was taken to the vets where they said they could possibly keep him alive through treatment but it would be painful and take several weeks, and there's no guarantee he'd recover so she reluctantly opted to have him humanely put to sleep. At that point he could no longer move.
I believe it was botulism that claimed him, the owner isn't certain how he contracted it but suspects it may have been some out of date ham that was discarded by her partner that Ruben ate.
I was very sad when I heard the news about Ruben's passing but honoured that he thought of me as someone that he could trust especially in spite of all his emotional traumas from his early days.
Ruben belonged to a friend of my sisters, she saw him on the way home from work, the owners had bred their German Shepherd with their Doberman/GSD mix and were selling off the puppies. He was in such a state that she couldn't bare to leave him, so she took him home and immediately washed off the urine and faeces clinging to his fur. The owners were 6 in number and all men, Ruben didn't like males, in fact he was nervous of all strangers but loved to play with other dogs.
I first met Ruben when he was brought over to our house, the friend was visiting my sister with Ruben, her new puppy. He was wary of me and was slow to open up but eventually yielded to the invites to play.
IMG_1538 by cat.read, on Flickr
For a time my sisters friend would visit with Ruben each week, as he got more comfortable with us we'd take him out onto the field for some fun and games...
IMG_1473 by cat.read, on Flickr
Ruben the Cute Puppy by cat.read, on Flickr
IMG_1841 by cat.read, on Flickr
IMG_1826 by cat.read, on Flickr
I didn't get to see him very regularly but when he did come round I was happy to walk him. After about 4 or so weeks of regular visits I didn't see him again until he was several months old. He remembered me well and we were getting along at this point although signs of his early traumas were starting to surface with his severe separation anxiety and barking at strangers. On this visit I decided to take him out to the woods with the permission of the owner while she and my sister catch up on life.
IMG_2334 by cat.read, on Flickr
JUMP (Side view) by cat.read, on Flickr
German Shepherd Doberman Cross by cat.read, on Flickr
As he got older it became clear that Ruben couldn't tolerate stress, my sister shouted at him for entering the kitchen and he immediately coward and didn't like her approaching him. When she asked for his paw later that day (one of his tricks) he would look away and offer it reluctantly but when I requested him to do the same trick he couldn't raise his paw fast enough! I tried to explain to my sister that he's frightened by raised voices and she needs to be more tactful with him. Another example was when she petted him while he was eating and he growled, I did the same thing and no response, I could even pick up his food from under his nose without a murmur from him.
He was a fully grown adult when I saw him again, he loved seeing me because he knew it meant a trip to the field or woods, what he didn't know was that he was visiting this time for 5 days! I was asked to babysit him while my sister and her friend went away, my other family members were also on holiday so it was just me and the dog!
This is my kingdom by cat.read, on Flickr
Smiling dog by cat.read, on Flickr
Ruben in the field by cat.read, on Flickr
Ruben in sepia by cat.read, on Flickr
Ruben's anxiety meant that he couldn't be left anywhere by himself, I couldn't even take a shower without leaving the door open, luckily I was off work that week too. In the mornings he'd drop a toy on my face to wake me up, we'd play on the field then he'd have his breakfast. During midday it was exploring the overgrown area adjoined to the field and the afternoons were when we went to the woods. We had one incident when he barked at a jogger but I was very impressed with him when I saw a team of rugby players jogging down the lane, so I asked him to sit on my right side as they were passing on the left and he didn't even react!
Ruben chasing butterflies on the way to the woods...
When the owner came back to pick him up his reaction was very unexpected, he was initially pleased to see her but once he realised he was going home he wasn't pleased. She went to put his lead on and he growled! The first time he had ever growled at her. I think he enjoyed the routine of his stay so much that he didn't want to leave.
It was about 2 years later I saw him again when my sister and I went to visit her this time, my sister walked in first, Ruben greeted her, very happy, but when I walked in he got super excited, he jumped up at me and knocked me to the chair, he whimpered with excitement and didn't let me get back up. The owner said he'd never greeted anyone like that before, he'd never been so pleased to see anyone. We took him to the lake...
IMG_2854.CR2 by cat.read, on Flickr
IMG_2927.CR2 by cat.read, on Flickr
IMG_2826.CR2 by cat.read, on Flickr
IMG_2813.CR2 by cat.read, on Flickr
That was the last time I saw him. Some years later we heard that the owner came back from work one day and called Ruben over, he was lying on the bed and went to respond to her call but ended up collapsing on the floor, his legs were mostly immobile. He was taken to the vets where they said they could possibly keep him alive through treatment but it would be painful and take several weeks, and there's no guarantee he'd recover so she reluctantly opted to have him humanely put to sleep. At that point he could no longer move.
I believe it was botulism that claimed him, the owner isn't certain how he contracted it but suspects it may have been some out of date ham that was discarded by her partner that Ruben ate.
I was very sad when I heard the news about Ruben's passing but honoured that he thought of me as someone that he could trust especially in spite of all his emotional traumas from his early days.