Heidi was a long-haired German Shepherd who died
at the age of 14 due to heart failure. She was truly a family dog.
While living on an 140 acre farm, our children had quite a
long walk down our lane to the bus stop. Heidi would walk down
there with them everyday, and I could always tell when the bus was
coming because she'd know when it was time to "pick the kids up" and
I'd see her trotting on down the lane to meet them and bring them home.
It was her job, you see.
When my youngest was born, Heidi was 3 and appointed herself nanny.
Whenever the baby stirred, she was right there lettting me know.
If the baby cried, she became very anxious and would nudge the cradle.
I saw her pulling blankets on him. As the baby grew, Heidi was there
keeping him out of trouble by gently tugging on his diaper.
At nap time, I'd often find the baby curled up with Heidi, both of
them sleeping.
We moved to 3 different states in Heidi's life time. She went
from being a farm girl, to a city slicker to a laid back suburbanite.
She took all the moves in stride. As long as we were all together,
that was what mattered. She went on every vacation we took as a
family. Many times we had to plan our trips
on wether she'd be welcome or not.
Heidi aged very well for a German Shepherd...she did go
through some hard times. She had heartworm disease from when
we lived in the south. It was misdiagnosed by several vets...
but she went through the treatment and went on to live 8 more years.
She didn't have the common hip dysplasia that a lot of shepherds get,
but in her last year she did develop some arthritis. Our vet put her
on Rimadyl and it did wonders for her.
We knew when the end was coming for her,
she was losing kidney function, put on a special prescription diet,
labored breathing, heart meds, fluid in her lungs. One morning she
just couldn't get up. My husband and I knew it was time. My youngest
hadn't left for school yet; he could see how his beloved dog needed
help. It was him saying, "Mom, take her in to the vet, I can't stand
to see her suffer anymore." He couldn't go with us though...he elected
to go on to school. I was torn because the older kids had already left
and I didn't want to tell them at school what we had to do.
They knew it was coming...and I knew neither of them wanted to
be present. So, my husband & I took Heidi on her last car ride.
She slipped easily over the Rainbow Bridge with the help of our
veterinarian.
When my older kids came home and were told, they each went to
their own rooms to grieve. After all, Heidi was really "their" dog.
She was a Christmas present for them when they were just 3 & 4 years old. But my youngest, who had just turned 11 the week before took it hardest of all. He counted the hours that she was gone. He went to bed that night and he said, "Twelve hours without her, mom"
He'd wake up and say, "Twentyfour hours without her, mom" it went of
for 4 days of him counting the hours without her. It was so
hard...after all, as he said, "I never knew a day in my life without her."
He has a new dog now...after all, he never did have a puppy.
"Jasmine" is also a long-haired German Shepherd, but in no
way can compare to our ol' Heidi-Sheba the fearless attack dog.
(The "fearless attack dog" part was a joke) But she's learning...
she's only a year old, so she's got a long way to go.
We'll all hold Heidi close in our hearts, and hopefully we'll all see her again someday.
In Memory of Heidi VanIngles Schaff,
aka, Heidi-Sheba the Fearless Attack Dog, aka Heidi
Oct. 3, 1984 - Jan. 16, 1998