Yesterday, the Wiggle Butt Weim family lost a beloved furry-butt brother, Grayangel Kaiser von Bakhaus. He is the last of the original three Michigan Weimaraners our family had the pleasure of owning. When I find a picture of all three, I'll update this post.
Here is a little background on why I am calling him one of the three "Michigan Weimaraners". Around 1993, my parents bought their first Weimaraner, Hogan Baker's Ace. Soon after, they rescued Jake. For many years, it was just the two of them. In 1999, they bought Stewart - our family had a thing for naming our dogs after famous golfers. Stewart was named after the one and only, Payne Stewart, who had tragically died in an airplane accident that same year. After Stewart started showing signs of pneumonia, my parents took him to the vet to see what was going on. They found a tumor between the heart lining and muscle causing him to go into congestive heart failure at just a few months old. My parents made the decision to put him to rest and end his suffering. When our Stewart passed away, that put an end to naming our dogs after famous golfers. Stewart was such a smart, gentle, old soul. It was hard to imagine getting another Weim after he passed. However, the breeder from which my parents got Hogan and Stewart offered them a pup from their next litter. Hogan and Stewart had great bloodlines but this litter came from a championship bloodline; it was a tough offer to turn down. Thankfully, they accepted and brought home Kaiser in 2000. Fast-forward to the summer of 2001. My mom had been offered a fantastic position in Phoenix. The timing could not have been more perfect. My dad had just graduated with his teaching degree and I had graduated from high school. So, my parents up and relocated the nest and my 3 furry-butt brothers from Michigan to Phoenix.
No tears yet?
Just wait!
Fast-forward to this week. My parents and sister were in Kauai for two weeks enjoying all the glory and splendor the island has to offer. My sister flew home very late Monday night, arriving into Phoenix very early on Tuesday. Kaiser, Tasha (little, bitty Wiggle Butt), and Duke (my sister's border collie mix) were being doggy-sat in my parent's home by one of the old vet techs from their vet's office. When Melissa got home very early, it appeared that the dogs had not yet been fed, so she fed them. For as long as my parents have owned Weims, they have always fed them with their bowls raised off the ground and their food mixed with a bit of water to help prevent bloat. My sister fed them in this same way. All of the dogs were very excited to see one of their people was home, butts were a-wigglin'. But even in their excitement, they all ate their breakfast, some quicker than others.
Soon after Kaiser ate, my sister noticed that he was acting a little funny. In my sister's words, "He wasn't sure if he wanted to poop or puke". Then, he started foaming at the mouth. She noticed that his neck was just covered in drool. So, she called my dad, who was enjoying his last day on the island, to let him know she was taking Kaiser to the vet.
Turns out that he had a case of bloat and his stomach had gotten so twisted up that the vet felt it was very unlikely that Kaiser would survive the surgery. Kaiser is my dad's "boy" and my sister knew that there was no way that Kaiser or my dad could rest peacefully without being given the chance to say goodbye. So, my sister called my dad back and put the phone up to Kaiser's ear so that he could hear my dad say goodbye.
In many ways, Kaiser was your typical Weimaraner. My sister described him so eloquently,
"Kaiser was such a lively force of nature in our family. He was the typical weimaraner, especially as a pup; just full of energy, life, and willing to do anything to make his owners happy. Even in his old age it took a lot to slow him down (especially if you had a ball in hand to play fetch with or a towel to signify a swim in the pool)."
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| Kaiser with his favorite pool toy. |
You couldn't walk past Kaiser without him giving you a big, goofy grin. And how could we NOT give him a big, goofy grin back followed with lots of love. He drooled BUCKETS, even for an ice cube. He loved hunting birds and going for hikes. My mom couldn't lace up her hiking boots without his teeth chattering, low grumbles, and whining, all the while dancing around her so she wouldn't forget to take him along. When being petted, he would lean all 90 lbs or so right into you, while stepping on your foot to make sure you didn't go anywhere until he got a good rub out of you first.
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| That's his signature goofy, grin. |
There were many things that I loved about Kaiser-butt. Yes, my family also has a thing for adding "butt" to the end of most names as a suffix..it's just what we do. The thing that I loved most about Kaiser was his ability to love my son as if he had grown up beside him all along. Kaiser met Logan for the first time last June. Logan was just beginning to crawl and was very interested in his new surroundings. Kaiser let Logan be. On our trip to Phoenix this past January, Kaiser protected Logan as if he were an older brother. Here is where I talked more about that. I absolutely LOVED the fact that Kaiser had NEVER been around infants or toddlers in all of his 12 years and he didn't bat an eye when Logan pulled his ears, or tried to poke him in the eyes, or tried to sit on him. He never left Logan's side when he was around the pool--neither did I, but that's to be expected. Kaiser just had the most gentle and easy-going spirit. It's very difficult to find all of those fantastic characteristics in one dog, let alone in a crazy, high-energy Weimaraner.
This is getting lengthy, I apologize. I know that our sweet Kaiser-butt is frolicking somewhere over the Rainbow Bridge. In my mind's eye, he has met up with Hogan and Jake at the ce-ment pond where there is an abundance of tennis balls, kong toys, and treats. Oh, and someone to dispense an endless amount of ice cubes. There will never be another Weimaraner like him. Our family will always hold a very dear place in our hearts for this special dog. The Phoenix nest will never be the same without you, dear Kaiser. We LOVE you!
*Thank you Mom and Dad for allowing us to grow up with these fantastic furry-butt brothers!
