Today we heard the news that Slider had died. Slider joined our family after Jim and I picked her out at the breeder’s house when she was just six weeks old. She moved home with us at 10 weeks, on Memorial Day weekend, in May 2005. She was so cute! We taped her ears like good German Shepherd owners, but they never stayed up on their own.
When JT was born, Slider was amazing with him. She was protective right away, and took her place as number four. She was so calm with him crawling and grabbing and poking. When Haley was born, she fell to number five but maintained her cool. When the kids were babies, she would lie as close to them as possible. When we were at a park, she would whine if they were too far away from her perceived realm of protection.
We took Slider camping with us… a few times. She hated going to the bathroom away from home, so that was a struggle. And then there was the water, which she hated even more. And then there were people – and dogs – and children running through our campsite. She was so stressed and confused. We let her sleep in the tent with us, which she loved because she never got to sleep in our bedroom at home, and certainly not on the bed next to Jim. She edged me out a couple of times! Then we would wake up with dog hair on our faces and wonder what we were thinking.
We still lived on tiny property, and it was getting harder to make sure she had exercise and attention. She started acting out to get attention (cubes of butter, right off the counter!) but she never chewed anything that wasn’t hers to chew. We also had a neighbor dog who would pester her through the fence, but it was a little dog and so, when the fence boards broke and Slider got through, she was not very welcome on the other side. She never hurt another animal or person, but her size and bark made some people nervous. Of course, we loved that around the house when I was home alone! So in 2011, we made the tough decision to have Slider live at my uncle’s house. It was so hard to leave her.
She did so well there. Slider got so much more attention, so much more room to run, and people who could make her a priority. My uncle’s family were so incredibly kind to take her in, love on her, and make her their dog. We called it her retirement home. Like an open adoption, my cousins would take pictures of her and send them my way, just to keep us updated from time to time. It was the perfect situation.
Jim went and visited her about a month ago, when we heard she was declining, to say goodbye. Everyone thought it would be too hard for the kids and me, so we have the blessing of only healthy memories of Slider. And we have lots.
The Keene Family 