Molly Mirrorshades CD CGC RTD
2/1/91-4/24/00
 Molly was born in 1991, we nicknamed her "Eeyore" because of her
droopy eyes, mopey disposition and a set of jowls that really made her look mopey,
even when she's happy as a clam - and remember, Eeyore's tail was
only pinned on. She was a "newspaper puppy" whose breeder verbally
guaranteed against genetic defects - unfortunately, she was mildly
dysplastic, had entropic eyelids, a heart condition and a thyroid
problem - all inherited genetic disorders. Also, unfortunately, her
breeder did not decide to live up to her verbal guarantee. We
would never have given Molly up, all we asked was a refund in the
amount of her spaying costs, at which point the breeder decided it
was easier to just not return calls and letters. ALWAYS get
a written contract. Even though the contract is only as good
as the person behind it, with a written contract you have something
to take to court. And NEVER take the word of a breeder about
OFA or other health certifications - Molly's breeder assured us that
both her sire and dam were OFA'd, we found out later that her sire
never passed an OFA exam. |
| Molly had an incredible disposition, and was dearly loved by our entire family. Molly achieved her CD in 1994, her CGC in 1996, she was a registered therapy dog and worked with Alzheimers patients, but retired due to age related illnesses in 1998. She loved to backpack and pull carts, and she thought bedtime should always come at 8pm. |
Molly's Millenium Photo
Op |
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"V" rated in our hearts
- where it matters |
Molly was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, in November of 1999. Due to her dysplasia and heart condition, amputation was not an option. We were not sure if she would make it to the millenium, thus the photo above. We knew that each day was a gift, but like greedy children, we wished for more Molly took rimadyl daily for pain management and prednisone when she had bad days. She was maintained on a cancer starving diet put together with invaluable suggestions from Lew Olsen of B-Naturals and Dr. Susan Wynn. We also recieved incredible support from the members of the Canine Cancer e-mail list. |
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Molly left us on April 24, 2000. Following is her memorial tribute. Molly was dx'd in November with osteosarcoma. We chose not to amputate or take other extreme measures due to her heart condition and dysplasia. Last Saturday she stopped eating, and on Sunday she decided that she really didn't want to walk anymore, so we let her go on Monday morning. Molly was my "mistake" dog :) I was on the wait list for a truly well bred puppy, but there weren't enough in the litter, so like a purebred idjit, I grabbed the Sunday paper and bought the first puppy I could find. I knew enough to ask about OFA and titles and guarantees, the breeder didn't have the OFA papers there, but assured me both parents were OFA'd, the sire had a CD, and she gave me a verbal guarantee. Didn't know enough to realize that people lie about these things. Looking back, I wouldn't change a thing - even though I will counsel people not to buy from BYB's, not to buy from people who don't have all their ducks in a row, buy a dog that is bred for the purpose you have chosen (in my case, SchH), I would still go back there to that cruddy little garage in Cambridge, WI and pick the mid-size model - Molly was out of a litter that was priced by size <G> |
Molly ended up spending years as the poster child for genetic disorders of the rottweiler - there were times when Joan Sweeney of WRR and I joked about putting little post it notes on all the parts of her body that were out of whack. She had sub-aortic stenosis, entropion, a thyroid condition, hip dysplasia and probably OCD of the shoulders and elbows, we never bothered to x-ray that part of her body!! She was oversized, had fly away ears, light eyes, poor angulation, a really poor topline and a bad bite. But her gums were dark!!! She was also a very nervous dog, with poor bladder control, we used to joke that if someone broke into the house Molly would kill them by peeing on the kitchen floor - the burglar would slip and break his neck :) Despite all that, she worked in SAR with me, attaining a couple of certifications before I wimped out on her, she achieved her CD, she endured my lengthy attempts to get something out of her on the SchH field, she got her RTD and worked with AIDS patients, Alzheimers patients and patients of the childrens ward at UW hospital. She backpacked for us and pulled carts and sleds, she raised my children, my puppies, and my cats, and this house and our lives are empty without her, but full because of her. I remember how she taught Val (my now eight year old son) to pull the cover off a VCR when he was about 10 months old, I will never forget the two of them looking up at me from the floor (teach me to leave expensive electronics on the floor!!!) and Val's cackle of delight. I remember taking her to Pike's Peak with Val before either of them were a year old and taking pictures of both on the outlook. I remember the night a friend stopped by to see our first litter of puppies and when Theresa walked in Molly peed on the floor and ran backwards all the way down the basement steps. I remember realizing that she failed a bunch of Novice trials because the drive was too long and she just HAD to catch a nap during the sit stay. I remember an Alzheimers patient who hadn't talked to anyone in months talking to her because her son had rotties. I remember how she'd pull when we hit the last leg of the Farmer's Market, despite her overloaded backpack, because she knew the buffalo meat stand was coming up and he always gave her jerky. One of my favorite pictures is a dark, fuzzy shot of me and Del, the day after Del was born, sleeping on the couch with Molly - she was always there for 2am feeding :) We used to call her Eeyore because her entropion always made her look so sad... and for some reason I always associated the A.A. Milne poem 'Halfway Down The Stairs' (the way my mother used to sing it), with her...maybe because she always stopped on the stairs on the way outside... |
"Halfway down the stairs is a stair where I sit. Halfway up the stairs isn't up, and isn't down. Molly will always be 'somewhere else instead' for us... thank you all for sharing her with us... |
We will always love you......... |
Molly made it to her ninth birthday on February
2, 2000. She got a heart shaped tofu cake which she did not share
with the kids!! (not that they really wanted any...)
