Max’s love set the doggie bar high
Max is a heart dog, a one-of-a-kind, soul-touching, unconditionally loved dog. He’s the dog his mom will spend the rest of her life comparing every other dog to because Max set the bar very high.
Max, a white Shepherd mixed breed boy, was adopted when he was nine months old by a kind, hyper-positive young veterinarian technician. She was told Max had been surrendered to the rescue organization by an older couple, who said he was too much for them to handle.
Max’s new mom made a lifetime commitment to Max to deal with anything he would throw her way. She quickly discovered he had the worst case of severe separation anxiety she had ever encountered. But she made it her mission to ensure Max lived a long, well-balanced, fulfilled life, and she proudly accomplished her goal.
When she adopted Max, she was in a long-term relationship, and when the union ended, Max left with his mom. When she moved across the country, Max was with her. When she met and fell in love with her soulmate, Max was with her. When she married her soulmate, Max was her bridesmaid. Years later, when she found out she was expecting her first child, Max was with her.
She said Max was her lifeline during every transition in her life. Even with his severe separation anxiety, his devotion to her was insurmountable. Because of his separation anxiety, she exercised Max as much as possible, took him for training and enrolled him in agility. Every Sunday, she would prepare seven large red Kongs with a combination of wet dog food and cottage cheese. She kept them in the freezer and Max would get one when she left the house for work.
Max’s separation anxiety was so bad he would chew door frames, shoes and even carpets. But, she always said Max gave back more, which was the trade-off.
Sometimes, Max went to doggy daycare during the day. If his mom had to work longer at the veterinarian clinic, she’d pick up Max from daycare and bring him back to work with her. She did everything humanly possible to help Max with his separation anxiety but, little did she know, she innocently stumbled across his remedy, and his anxiety vanished.
Before they married, her partner said he wanted to get another dog. They adopted a sweet female chocolate labrador retriever named Higbee. From the day Higbee moved in, Max’s separation anxiety moved out. At their wedding, Higbee played the role of a groomsman and the dogs were inseparable.
Max lived a long, fulfilling life, and this may not have happened if the sweetest veterinarian technician hadn’t adopted him. Dogs with separation anxiety struggle daily and it’s a horrible way for them to live. Luckily, Higbee sent all of Max’s anxiety away, forever.
Max’s mom said she knew he was a very gentle dog from the beginning. As such, one day at an off-leash dog park, Max saw a little girl and he bolted toward her. He stopped short, gave the little girl a gentle lick on her cheek and ran back to his mom, leaving the giggling girl behind. His mom said he was an amazing dog from the beginning of their life together, and he had a naturally sweet and loving disposition.
As the young couple embraced with great excitement the pending birth of their first child, Max became ill. They sadly lost Max one month before their son was born. The new mom wanted to honour her irreplaceable best friend; she made their son’s middle name Maxwell.
That is what a heart dog does to their family. Even though the couple now have two young children and they gave their beloved dog Higbee a new doggy friend named Nellie, Max still takes up most of the space in his mom’s heart.
That’s a heart dog.