Our beloved Ponder, aka Ms. P, left us for the Rainbow Bridge this afternoon, cradled in the arms of her Daddy, taking with her part of our hearts. Two and a half years ago, when she came to live with us at the age of almost 9, I thought we were getting this little old doddering girl who'd be with us for a few months and then.... Well, Ponder disproved all my assumptions.
She immediately saw that my two boys were sorely in need of training, and proceeded to roll up her sleeves and go to work. She whipped Vato and Cholo into shape, had them toeing the line and being her slobbering slaves in the process. She did adore her minions and they adored her!!!
She had a sense of presence and aplomp worthy of her diva status. She was totally unflappable. The day she came to live with us she walked into the back yard, allowed the boys to sniff and then followed them into the house with only a slight backward look like "Thanks for the ride, I'm home now"--and she was.
The most grievous injury that was ever done to Ponder was that her intelligence and ability was underutilized her entire life. At 9 years old, I considered doing competitive obedience with her, although I'd have had to train her from scratch until I found out that she absolutely despised small fluffy dogs. She despised them to the point that I soon realized that she'd never be trustworthy on a sit or down in the obedience ring. Such a waste though--she truly had OTCH or UD ability and brains. As for beauty--well, she had that in spades from both sides of her pedigree. While she was the spitting image of her mom, Tasha (CH. Natasha's Homestead Belle, CD), she was blessed with the the grace, presence and brains of her dad, Ch. Ealdwood's Aodhan, CDX.
As her paternal grandmother, Judi Wilson, says "I like my girls with a little spice"--and Ponder had spice. She would play the boys into the ground, guard her yard from bands of roving golfers bent on pillaging and burning, keep marauding squirrels from murdering us in our sleep and deploy her troops/minions with the precision of a four star general. We were always very safe in the capable paws of Ponder.
Ponder's capacity for love was boundless. She came to us fresh from a tragedy that robbed her of her family and uprooted her from everything she knew. Although she mourned, she was not bitter or impaired from her travails--far from it. She loved just the way she lived--all out, no holding back. And we were so blessed to have had that joy with her for two and a half years. I have found that I, too, prefer my girls with a little spice.
We are undendingly grateful for the lessons that Ponder brought us, and we will try to honor her for the rest of our days by living those lessons. We are also very grateful to her maternal grandma and grandpa, Patty and John Fisher, for allowing Ponder to live with us instead of returning to Florida. We can never repay Dr. Larry and Karen Bernstein of Natural Holistic Health Care, North Miami Beach, FL, for both the caring and the wondeful health care that Ponder received--without them she would have had more than a couple of bad days. Judge Ely Animal Hospital, Abilene, TX, has always been there for us with guidance, support and caring. We are grateful for their compassion and hope they know the extent of our regard and respect for them.
About a week ago, Ponder began to have less interest in eating and began to decline. In spite of all efforts, she couldn't be turned around over the Memorial Day weekend and today xrays showed that about 90% of her lungs and all of her heart were enveloped in a huge tumor. The tentative diagnosis was lymphosarcoma. There were no options available. With the certainty that her condition would only worsen, we chose to send her on, cradled in the arms that she loved best with assurances of our love going with her. Her special relationship with her daddy made it appropriate that his arms were the last thing she felt and his voice the last she heard as she began her journey.
Ponder is survived by her mom and dad, Celia Trimble and Billy Boone, her brothers: Cholo and Vato; her maternal grandparents, Patty and John Fisher, Homestead, FL; her paternal grandmother, Judi Wilson, Phoenix, AZ; a great nephew, Cuinn a great niece, Layla, a great-feline, Molly and many friends and admirers. There are candles lit tonight to illuminate her way to the Rainbow Bridge and a reunion with loved ones gone before, including Tasha, Aodhan, Largo, Sierra, Jack, Diggity, Storm and many more.
"Ponder's path to your care and home had a story, and I might be selfish in asking you to recap Ponder's herstory on Her tribute page.
I think RESCUE tends to be linked with abused and neglected dogs, and folks might fear offering to foster if they perceive their foster comes from that sort of background.
Many, MANY dogs for foster or rescue come from homes broken by age, illnesss, death, disaster, and these dogs have a "story" of a loving home.
Ponder's herstory bears this out and I'd love to see her "story " as part of her tribute."
And so..here's Ponder's story, as told by the one person who loved her for her entire life and went to great lengths to see that Ponder was taken care of..a truly remarkable and totally responsible breeder, of which there are too few. The names and locations have been redacted to protect people's privacy since this was a post that went to a private email list for Gulfstream Rottweiler Club.
Dearest Celia and Billy,
There are no words to convey our sadness for her loss, or the gratitude we feel for the wonderful home you gave Ponder.
I can't help but think of the lessons learned and taken to heart, from this precious girl. The first lesson was in appreciating the value of each life we choose to bring into this world and fully accepting the responsibility for those lives. For those who do not know Ponder's story, I would like to share once more.
Ponder's first owner was not all she seemed. We had checked her thoroughly, she came well recommended and had waited an entire year for a puppy from Tasha. But, eventually, this person started evading my calls to her, then finally admitted to me that she had sold Ponder (then known as "Zima") (for twice what she had paid for her). After much prodding, I got contact info on the new owner who had given her a new name, Ponder - fortunately, he checked out, and truly seemed to love her. Things were fine for a few years, then I received a call from him saying he could no longer keep her. His new wife had recently had a baby and did not want the dogs around anymore. So, at 4 yrs. old, she came to stay with us. 6 mos. later, ***************** called me, knowing I was looking for a good home for her. She gave me the names of a couple in ******* County, but warned that they lived on a boat and were concerned that no one would place a dog with them because of the lack of a yard. I thought of a dear friend who has always had Dobermans in her NYC apartment, who once explained to me that her dogs probably got more attention than those with big yards, since she had to take them for walks several times a day, and spent a lot of quality time with them. I called **** & *********, and finally took her to visit on the boat to see if she liked them and the lifestyle. Well, the "boat" was actually a 58' Hattaras yacht, and the minute Ponder came aboard, she made herself quite at home. They were equally happy to have her there. So began Ponder's life in the lap of luxury- 6 mos. of the year travelling around the Caribbean, the other 6 mos. on an 80 acre ranch in Montana, adored by her new owners- not a bad dog's life. During the time they had her, these wonderful people anonymously donated $30,000 to Rottweiler Rescue in Ponder's honor and in memory of their departed boy, ******. Then tragically, the unthinkable happened- a horrible accident on the boat which took both their lives. Thankfully, they had not allowed Ponder into the engine area, which is why she was spared the same fate. *******'s brother decided to take her back with him to ********, **, but those small fluffly dog issues she had soon meant she was again coming back to me. Now 9 yrs. old, I figured she would just live out her remaining years here and we would find a way to make it work. Just before I was to leave to pick her up, I received a call from Celia, asking about this old girl "rescue" she had heard of from her friend, who happened to be *******'s sister. Of course I told her she wasn't really a rescue, but Tasha's daughter. Celia asked if I would consider allowing Ponder to join her family. She and Billy had recently lost their beautiful Zoie and upon hearing about Ponder, decided to share their home with an old one.
Somehow, it seemed that in these incredible circumstances, Ponder was being guided to Celia, Billy and boys. We have always felt that this was far more than chance- the odds of Ponder finding her way from me in Florida to Celia in Texas were frankly astronomical. I truly believe that something beyond understanding was at work- that somehow, the spirits of Zoie, ****** and ********* worked together to bring Ponder HOME, where she could be happy and bring happiness in return.
Celia called me not long after Ponder arrived to tell me that **********'s brother and Mom had come by to bring her water bowl and blanket from her home in Montana. Well, the "water bowl" turned out to be a sterling silver chafing dish, which prompted Billy to apologize to "poor" Ponder for being reduced to having to live in the "trailer park by the golf course" after her life of luxury on "her" yacht.
Not long after Ponder moved in, Celia and Billy asked me to come visit- so I went for my "official home check"!! Home checked out JUST fine- I walked in the door and Ponder gave her patented welcome to the people she loved- the happiest smile you can imagine and a leap to grab you around the waist for a hug, with LOTS of kisses thrown in for good measure. I visited again this year, with the same exuberant greeting, a memory I will always treasure. All I can say is that I feel so blessed to have known and loved this girl. Of all the lessons I learned from her, I believe what I most take to heart are the reminders of finding resilience from adversity, acceptance of what life throws at you and showing everyone you love how MUCH you love them, always. My darling Ponder, you will always hold a big piece of our hearts. Again, many thanks Celia and Billy for allowing us to continue to be a part of her life- and what a life it was!
Godspeed, baby girl-