REMEMBERING your Angel Doggy’s! – BEAUTIFUL BOY MAX!
TODAY WE ARE REMEMBERING THE SUPER GORGEOUS MAX!
At HAPPY DOGGY NEWS we have various way of writing little REMEMBERING STORIES for your doggy’s who have left for new adventures over the Rainbow Bridge. Quite often we are given lots of notes and we create a story from these notes. Other times we have a chat over Facetime! Sometimes we post stories as written by doggy parents!
This one is slightly different! MAX’s Mum and Dad, Nicky and Ben were asked some questions to answer about MAX!
They were the first people to send back in a word document! We had a little think as to whether to write in our own words but thought that we really couldn’t write any better than it was presented! We then thought about publishing Nicky and Ben’s answers just as they had written in a story format! – However, we are going to delivery MAX’S story in a slightly different way today! We just loved the format as received!
It is presented today exactly how we interacted – we will call this our interview format!
We love this and know you will too!
Thank you so much Nicky and Ben!
HAPPY DOGGY NEWS: Did you have MAX as a puppy?
NICKY AND BEN: No not as a puppy, Max was around 8 months when we brought him home. He wasn’t very nicely treated, didn’t have the best start off to life. When we went to see him at the flat he was kept in a shared medium size crate with his brother and there was another crate next to that for the dad. The dad had a muzzle on and was kept on a lead and wasn’t too friendly with other people being around, so we all went out to the garden. We had another dog at the time called Fitch (also crossed rainbow bridge) so we took him to meet Max to make sure the two pups would get on well. I should also mention Max was called Tyson when we first met him. Because he was a gentle giant we just thought it was too much of a big name for him and wanted something softer to suit his character.
HAPPY DOGGY NEWS: How did MAX settle with you when you first got him home?
NICKY AND BEN: We immediately fell in love and he and Fitch got along like a house on fire and we instantly knew we were not leaving that flat without him. We paid the £100 the man was asking for him, and we popped them both in the car and brought him home. The first night was bizarre, it was as if Fitch and Max had been together in another life and knew each other. They played in the garden for a bit then at bed time they snuggled up on the sofa beside each other and went to sleep. They did not leave each others side from that day on. It was like he had always been a part of our family we just had not found him yet 💙
HAPPY DOGGY NEWS: What were MAX’S favourite things to do?
NICKY AND BEN: Max absolutely loved the beach. He loved the outdoors and fresh air and he 100% loved to swim in the sea. He would get out the car and bound towards the sand then straight down to the water. He also loved paw massages, he would sit in front of you and his big spade paw would come up and onto your knee waiting to be stroked.
He loved being a family dog and loyal companion, he lived for being there for us all but especially our daughter Jessica who he adored and protected.
HAPPY DOGGY NEWS: Did MAX do anything quirky?
NICKY AND BEN: You would say ‘shut’ to him and point to the open door and he would use his shovel sized paw to push it closed.
Anytime Max would come out of the water and onto grass he would roll around on his back making the most satisfying of noises as if he was scratching a bad itch, this always made us giggle.
HAPPY DOGGY NEWS: Is there anything MAX did on an occasion that still makes you laugh when you think about it?
NICKY AND BEN: Many things Max would do that would make us giggle. The closing of doors is probably my favourite memory that makes me laugh every time. However, he would also sleep in the most uncomfortable positions. My daughters Dad, Ben used to have this gaming bean bag chair in our old house, and Max claimed this as his bed. The positions he would sleep in was hilarious. Once I looked over to him and he was laying on his back and his head was hanging off the bean bag, upside down and his chops were flapped open.
He would also dream a lot and his little face would make these weird, funny movements.
Max would also stop, drop and roll in the most inappropriate places. For example, I was visiting the crematorium where my Mum lays to rest and he decided to roll around on his back on the grass next to my mums plaque while I stood embarrassed but laughed a little and had to take a video. When my brother was looking after him for me once, he sent me a video of him doing the exact same thing.
HAPPY DOGGY NEWS: Was MAX a people person as well as a doggy one?
NICKY AND BEN: Max was like a human trapped in a dog’s body, is what my mother in law would say. She was never fond of dogs but he was different and she loved him. He seemed to instinctively know what a person needed emotionally and physically and god knows he helped both me and Ben through the darkest times of our lives together and separately. He had such a protective instinct with my daughter who is 8 years old and grown up with Max always being there.
Max would watch you playing with Jessica, we would tickle her till she laughed uncontrollably and shouted stop, this would make Max think she was in need of his help and he would come over and push himself between the two of you and look at you as if to say, “that’s enough now”.
Max loved playing with other dogs. Things started to change in his behaviour as his illness took over and he became less interested in playing with others and became a bit possessive over his toys/bowl etc. But this was made clear why once we had a diagnosis for him, things started to make sense.
My brother had a collie/lab named Bex, who was not good with other dogs and was quite a nervous dog but loved all humans. We introduced him to Max a few years after we had Max, and they played together amazingly. It was like Bex knew Max was never going to hurt him. Max was then the only dog that Bex would go for walks with and play in the garden with.
HAPPY DOGGY NEWS: Did MAX have any favourite toys?
NICKY AND BEN: Max was never a big toy playing dog, but if you had a stick, or a ball …. then he was your best buddy. Once he found what he believed to be a stick, little did he realise it still had half of the bush attached to it ….. it did not stop him from picking it up and walking off. (Oh MAX ‘nothing to be looking at here’ moment! Lol! )
HAPPY DOGGY NEWS: How would you describe how MAX made your life lovelier?
NICKY AND BEN: Wow. This one is going to be emotional to say the least but, here goes. Ben has written that Max not only made his life better, he also gave it a different purpose from that of our daughter Jessica. He made him go out and run, take in new sights and locations while running up hills or along the coastline, without him there no run will ever be as enjoyable again.
For myself, like said previously, Max knew what you needed emotionally. He was there like no other person would have even been. Waking up in the morning and hearing his little chats (groaning) what we call Rotti talk. He has been like no other dog I have ever met. He made me feel protected at home and out for walks, if I had Max there I knew I was safe and secure. That was exactly how he changed my life for the better, security, protection, and unconditional love.
HAPPY DOGGY NEWS: Was MAX a clever boy?
NICKY AND BEN: Max was very intelligent, very smart, and by far a very clever puppy. He was loyal. You can walk him anywhere he stayed by your side and never wandered off. He was very easy to train, the saying is wrong. You can definitely teach old dogs, new tricks.
HAPPY DOGGY NEWS: Anything else you can think of about MAX to add to his story?
NICKY AND BEN: I always thought throughout the years, that Max would be an amazing therapy dog. No matter who he met, even those frightened or not keen on dogs, would say how lovely and friendly he was. Max also had a girlfriend (or we like to think they had that kind of relationship). Her name is Luna, she is a 9 year old husky and they loved to go for walks together. My friend and I would meet with the two of them and they would just light up the moment they seen each other, walking side my side. If Max did something to annoy Luna, she would give him a warning, a little grunt or growl as if to say “knock it off”. Just like in a real relationship haha.
Ben added, I am forever grateful that my life was graced with Max in it, forever grateful I got to experience his beautiful soul and forever grateful I got to call him my dog, my boy.”
My mum and brother loved Max. They both had this incredible bond with him. My brother looked after him a few times for me. Every time my mum would visit our house or we would take Max to visit her, he would lie across her feet so she couldn’t move. She was also the first one to sit for ages and stroke his paw. Starting the paw massage phase. My mum sadly passed of Lymphoma in 2018. I believe without a shadow of a doubt, that she was waiting for Max at the end of the rainbow bridge.
MAX you made the lives of all around you so much richer!
How lucky were you and your family to find each other!
We feel totally uplifting from your wonderful story and we know our Reader’s will feel exactly the same!
Your Angel Wings were so very much deserved gorgous boy! We know with your beautiful heart you are creating a beautiful World for all the other doggy’s over the Rainbow Bridge! – Keep them all loved and happy and entertained sweet one!
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts Nicky and Ben for allowing us to publish MAX’S story! We are honoured and so happy to have met you both! Thank you Jessica for your wonderful and truly ‘food for our souls’ photos!
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LOVE AND WOOFS!
ALISON AND JET (admin Chihuahua!)
