Greta, my love...

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This is the photo album of a very special dog! She passed away due to bone cancer on October 23rd, 2006. She's was here for me since 1997 in times of grief, frustration and on those rare occasions where we had peace and quiet together! She was my best friend and the most unfaltering personality I have ever known.

Let me tell you a little bit about Greta. She is more than special. She is intelligent and fabulous. Greta does a few unusual things. I've had many dogs during my lifetime (I grew up with several of them). None of them were like Greta. I have another dog, raised the same way as Greta and he is her constant companion, but he is not like Greta.Never believe your dog cannot view two dimensional objects, such as photographs, pictures in magazines and pictures you've drawn. Greta can! My son drew a picture of a black cat. He colored it with crayon sitting with its tail curled up next to it. Greta looked at it. We asked her, "Where's the kitty!" She tipped her head to the side, looking at the drawing my son held up and she began whining. She rushed forward and grabbed the paper, stomping on it!

Greta likes to look at animal pictures on the computer screen. She especially loves photos of her and Lou, my other dog. She whines and shakes and tips her head when I show them to her.

Greta also likes television. She watched this movie called, "The Ogre" in which John Malkovic plays a French soldier who recruits Nazi youth. It was a long, independent film with nothing interesting to it for a dog. Greta watched the entire thing. I assumed she must have a crush on John Malkovic. Next, she likes the movie "Cats & Dogs". Loved it! She also watched "Legally Blonde Two" the other day. But, her very favorite is the home video of her and Lou playing on the shores of Lake Koocanusa in Montana.

Greta listens intently while I talk to her. She likes it and she is careful to pick out certain words she recognizes. I know, beyond a doubt, she could learn many more words. Sometimes I amaze my friends, because I don't always use direct commands. I just casually speak a sentence as if I would to another person, without any of the "doggie trainer" intonation in my speech and Greta does exactly as I ask. I tell her to "go around the other side of the bed and try to get up there." She does it! I also motion to her casually with my hand and she gets up and comes over to me. My friends are amazed that a dog can pick up on such subtle cues!

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For those, like me, who've treated their dogs like part of the family and equal in intellect, you may see the same thing. I know it must be something a little more than that, though. Greta is simply very intelligent and in tune with her human counterparts. She acts like she wants to be a part of it all, while my other dog just plops down and lies there. Greta wants to get the clay from us when we play the game "Cranium". She wants to move the pieces in the game "Balderdash". She is polite visiting me in the kitchen when I prepare one of our nightly Asian meals. I give her chunks of cucumber, tomato, lettuce, zuccini and sometimes pieces of fruit. Yet, she never begs

Greta was there for me when my grandmother passed away. No one else was around and I couldn't talk to anyone about how I was feeling, so I took Greta to the a park in Edmonds, WA. There was a path leading to the top of a hill with a tree. I could see the Sound from the site under the tree. I sat down and I could not cry because I was just numb and frustrated. I sat there all evening with my arm around Greta as she leaned gently against me. She was calm and didn't move a muscle, never faltering to provide that much needed strength and support. Her demeanor was much needed on that day. I'm glad she is a rottweiler with her muscular neck and silky fur around her face. I felt she was protecting me and she didn't ask anything of me that day. We just sat until the sun set and I thought about life.

One time a crazy man went on a killing spree when we lived in Shoreline. He came up off the freeway after hitting a motorcyclist, severing his leg. He tried to come into the house where my 85 year old grandfather sat watching television in the front room. The dogs went to the door. They were "raising hell" my grandfather said. He was practically deaf, so he didn't know what was going on, but he wasn't expecting anyone. The man crossed the street and beat the neighbor woman to death, then beat other people. He ended up being shot by a SWAT team after holding up in a house with an arsenal of weapons. Greta and Lou saved my grandfather from a very disturbing and violent person.

I've had many friends over the years tell me that I need to "get rid of those damn dogs" and that I "spend too much money on them" and that they "hamper my freedom". I would do anything for my dogs. They are what keeps me "hoping" for better as I am currently stuck in Spokane, unemployed and feeling worthless often.