A sad anniversary

January 4, 2001 was the day we lost our first Rottweiler. Old Man Luke was the first Rottweiler that ever lived with us. And here is his story.
Sashka had lived with us for about 6 months. Every time we left the house, Sashka barked, howled, cried, pee’d and pooped in the house. Nothing helped her. I contacted the shelter in Delta about fostering a dog and they said, bring Sash out and let her meet a couple of the older dogs they had in care.
The first one was a Dalmatian. This guy was spun out and Sashka hated him. Then came out a shepherd. We couldn’t even get them in the same run. Then they brought out this big old Rottweiler. My first reaction was NO WAY!!!! I was scared of rotties. All I had ever heard about them was the bad stuff. They were people eaters. They would kill my little dog. Rottweilers would turn on you with no notice. They could not be trusted.
The shelter girls told me to trust them. Luke was calm and good natured. We let the dogs sniff thru the runs and for once Sashka was pretty calm. Then we put them in the runs together. After only a moment of sniffing, Luke went and lay down. Sashka went to him, gently licked his face and sat next to him. The bond was that quick. And we brought him home to foster.
Old Man Luke was 12 when we brought him home. He had been thru 5 homes that we were able to trace thru his tattoo. He certainly wasn’t the prettiest example of a Rottweiler. And he wasn’t always the nicest dog but he showed me a side of rottweilers that I had never imagined. Luke loved unconditionally. He loved Jim and I and he adored Sashka. He was protective but was willing to stand back and let us handle any situation. He was amazing with children but standoffish with adults. Some dogs he liked and some he didn’t but he was always appropriate when telling them off.
We eventually adopted Old Man Luke so we could provide the kind of care we thought he needed. Lots of love, good food and gentle exercise and he started to bloom. There was nothing he liked better than a good game of tug. And of course, food. He would eat anything anytime. There were things he didn’t like. He hated walking in the rain and would actually just lie down so you couldn’t get him to go any further unless you were turning towards home.
Luke lived with us for a year and a half before he let me know that he had had enough. On January 4, 2001, we held him gently while our vet helped him pass.
Old Man Luke taught me so much about this wonderful breed. And since that time there has never been another breed that we have wanted to share our life with. To this day, Sashka tends to dislike most dogs but bring a well mannered Rottweiler into our home and she thrives. We have always looked for the rotties that would have a hard time finding a home. The older ones, the ones with physical challenges, the ones no one wanted. Old Man Luke was the first and without him teaching me about this breed, WCRR would most likely not exist.
Run free my dear friend. We will meet again