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12 October, 2005. Pimu's ravaged body could take no more. Degenerative Myelopathy had ravished her lower spine, hips and leg muscles. She was but a shell of the awesome athletic animal which predicated most of her life. It is the same disease that took Peto at about the same age. It is one of the diseases to which German Shepherds are pre-disposed. As a little over 9 year old German Shepherd, her equivalent GSD/Human age was slightly more than 58. I have turned her regular page into past tense. In reading it you can gain a sense of her awesome athleticism. I often think that she drove herself, actually over-achieved to compensate for her lack of assertiveness and confidence in social circumstances. She would have been a poor personal protection dog. She lacked confidence, even lacked courage. During her training we exposed her to a mock attack against her and her handler (me). Rather than standing her ground or even counter-attacking as most GSDs would, she cowered, shrank into herself and tried to hide behind my legs. My joke for years was that I would get more protection from a goldfish. She was also antisocial. She had few friends among her own pack. Jassu in earlier years and Hex later were her only friends. The others would gang up on her. Dogs will do that against one they perceive as weak. Fights would have been frequent, so she spent most of her life alone in her kennel/run. In her early years we worked and played together often, but in her declining years I suffered debilitating conditions in my own legs resulting in less time spent with her, isolating her even further. In some ways Pimu lived a lonely life. But let there be no doubt, these problems in no way detracted from what she did so well. As I said, I think her problems drove her to even greater achievements. Her problems were social. Athletically she was unmatched. -And I loved her. |
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PIMU
| PIMU's DATA | PIMU's TRAINING | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Kennel Name: ONZA vom LEERBURG | Imprinting | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Call Name: PIMU | Beginning Schutzhund | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Finnish Meaning: Little Teenage Tramp | Beginning Obedience | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sex: Female | Basic Obedience | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coloring: Red Sable | Obstacle Negotiation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DOB: August 2, 1996 ~ Died: October 12, 2005 | Advanced Obedience | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of Birth: Menomonie, Wisconsin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Acquired: December, 1996 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Breeder: Leerburg Kennels | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dam: Holly ~ Sire: Chucho | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PIMU's Pedigree. Through 5th generation. ~ Courtesy Bergsteiger's Kennels. ~ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
OK. Eveybody's mad at me fer brokin' Daddy's hand. But, honest - it wuz accident an evun Daddy sez it wuz hiz fawlt. Me an Daddy done this a hunnert times before and never had a probem till last Satdaday (6/5/99). heerz wha' happend. i had th tug in my mouth and was runnin' fas as i kin toward Dad. He grabs th ends wid his hands and swings me around while i hang on. Its really fun! Well, dis time we wuz showin' off fer Steve, Dad's hooman son, who wuz visitin'. So, i'm runnin' full speed an dad's got his hands out like usual, but stead o watchin' me and movin' his hands to meet me, he looks up to see if Steve is watchin. Nex thing i know is - whap-I hits the end of hiz thumb wid my forhead - rite between my eyz. wow half inch, i cuda losted one. I heer's dis loud crack and den sees Daddy holdin hiz hand. Eben tho i'm a little woozie, i goes back to see what hoppened an if'n he'z awrite. (i didn't even drop the tug :-). Dad checks me to see if i'm awright. i am, jes a little stunned. But it seemz Daddy's thumb is broked an' worse a ligamunt is tored. Th bone is jes cracked but th ligamunt thing is gonna' need sergery ta' fix. See, that's wot happen. Dad ain't mad at me. So pleas don't everybudy else be. It wuz real accident.
PIMU was our other HIGH DRIVE GSD. She was bred from West German and East German stock, for the same genetic drives and qualities as Hukka. I had never
seen such a high drive bitch. Annie called her hectic, I just said she's 'driven'. Her ball drive was awesome. She preferred tennis balls over anything else, even food. She had the same alert attitude as Hukka.
Usually. Sometimes she couldn't understand why she couldn't always run with the big dogs. But, I did let her occasionally. She loved to romp with Jassu in her earlier years. In her later years she found a true friend in Hex.
"Why're you pointin' that camera at me?" She was also capable of the same piercing stare as Susi.
We faced the same responsibilities with Pimu as we did with Hukka. She also had the high genetic drives. What she did with them, how far she went, was up to me.
Poor Pimu! I just didn't have the time to devote to her that I'd have liked. I really believe if I'd had the time and Annie's teaching skills, Pimu could have been taught virtually any Working Dog skill at top level. With my limited time and ability, her accomplishments were still awesome!
Two different styles of 'come', either verbal or silent. "Come" brought her happily, at full speed to a tail-wagging 'sitz'. "HIER! and she came flying to a tussle at the end. I could 'platz' (down) or 'sitz' (sit) her from a hundred feet or more or at any time in the middle of either 'Come' or 'Hier'. From the same distance I could yell 'tunnel', 'jump' or 'ladder' and she would head for the appropriate obstacle and do it. We even achieved it with silent signals. There was more, but you get the idea.
LIKE THIS
SUMMER '97 PICTURES
| Pimu became one tough looking bitch! July and August 97. | |
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| An October Outing at Historic St. Mary's City | |
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 Sitting on a log. |  Are ya' done with th' pictures? Can we get down now? |
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A Story For Our Time A Tale of Courage and Grit ~ With a Twist  A Rousing Adventure
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| Pimu Bite Training With Rick. June 1998 | |
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 Initial Contact |  Counter |
| Relaxin' in th' shade with Dad afta werken on trainin him on a hot June evenin. He's not doin' bad fer a hooman. |  |
 Mommy and Daddy have an Expedition and an Explorer. Now I have a truck.. |
 To the practice trials, driver. And watch the bumps!! |
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Unfortunately, I hafta' share my truck with that Son of a Bitch, Hukka. He really is an S.O.B. and it ain't even an insult. | |
| Did y'all think I was kidding with the animated graphic back up the page? TAKE A LOOK! | |
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| Pimu really was an agile animal. She was our most athletic GSD. I really loved that little girl! | |
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In this day and age of naked terrorism, earthquakes, hurricanes and floods there is no balance sheet that can justify much time spent on the eulogy of a dog. Particularly one who carried no certifications nor acknowledgments as a K-9 public servant. She was just mine. My dog and I, her human. I taught her, I trained her. I made her into what she was. Perhaps even her shortcomings were my doing. We shared a bond that only other dog handlers will understand. -And now she is gone. -And now I grieve. They used a new (to me) methodology this time. Instead of a single shot doing the entire job at once, they put her to sleep with a strong tranquilizer. Then afterward while she slept the final shot was given. After the tranquilizer shot it took between 5 and 10 minutes for her to go into a deep enough sleep. As she lay there I struggled to the floor and set her head on my thigh. Gratefully she snuggled against me as I petted and whispered to her. Eventually I realized she was no longer aware of me, but I continued to pet her. Finally the Doctor returned and assured me that despite the slow rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, she could no longer see or hear me. He offered for me to stay through the second stage, but I declined. Her mind would no longer register my presence. Besides, I was already choked up and breaking down. Pimu is gone, we are down to 4 German Shepherds now. She was the first of the second generation of our current pack to go. Jassu of the first generation still remains as does 2nd generation Hukka and third generation Jolla and Hex. Farewell Pimu. Meet your predecessors at The Rainbow Bridge. You will all be friends now. I have been asked why I do this. Why don't I just drop them off and leave. I strongly feel that for all they have given me, the least I can do is ensure that the last thing they see, hear or feel is someone that loves them. The many times I have been through this and the things I have seen convinces me it is the right thing to do. |
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Pimu: Brown Sugar!
Photos by Annie
Photo editing by Charlie
Paw Print Graphic from:
Lissa Jane's Dogicons
Paw Print modified by Charlie
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