Marco My Friend

by Joanne
(Ontario)

Marco – Dec 2006 to January 2012

Marco was our first boxer, and boy was he a handful. He was very high strung as well as very protective of his family.

He was very good at letting us know when his sister escaped from our yard. He always managed to let us know, so that we could get her back home.

We tried agility for a while and trained in a horse barn. His favourite activity was eating the horse patties! My trainer suggested taking some home and training off on him! Imagine what my husband thought when I brought home horse patties. I can tell you there was some question on my sanity, and of course it didn’t work in the barn.

The cats in the barn were also fun. I won’t forget diving to the ground so that I could stop Marco’s sprint towards a cat on a fence. How else do you stop a 70 lb torpedo?

Unfortunately, we got a diagnosis of spondylosis, when he was 2 years old, so we didn’t continue with the agility.

After that we enjoyed playing in the back yard, lots of walks and play dates at the beach.

Marco loved playing with sticks and ripping apart cardboard. We brought home a telescope that was packaged in a large cardboard box, Marco thought he has in heaven! It was hilarious to watch my husband trying to get the box away from Marco before he got through the box and damaged the telescope.

In April of 2011, when Marco first got sick, we thought we might lose him. But changing to a raw diet, adding herbs, and some traditional medicine helped him recover. Thank you to Sandra for all her help.

We enjoyed the summer and had a good fall. Everything seemed fine. I will never forget how Marco jumped on my bed after we got back from a trip in November. He laid beside me and would occasionally put his paw on my face as if to say, " I can’t believe you are home again ".

That memory has been keeping me going for the past month. In December his health turned, and despite trying different medications, he was not able to recover. We had to make the decision to end his suffering and send him to the Rainbow Bridge.

Marco was so stoic and brave in dealing with this nasty disease, but it was so obvious that he was in distress, and not enjoying life. I hope that when my time comes, that I can take his example and be as brave as Marco.


Marco, you will always be in my heart. I will never forget my beautiful brindle boy who was taken from me too soon. I hope that you are running and playing at the Rainbow Bridge. I am looking forward to seeing you again!

I miss you!


------------------------------------------------

Joanne,

Marco was such a big, beautiful boy and stuck on you, I might add!

I know we helped him to gain some extra time. The last time I saw him in the fall of 2011, I could see that the herbs had helped to reduce the obvious, rigid bumps along his spinal column.

But as Mike said the other day..." aid came too late ".

I so wish we could have started his herbal program and his good raw food diet earlier, when his condition had first been diagnosed. I feel sure he would be with us still. Five years with Marco just wasn't long enough!

However, life has a way of taking it's own path, and now our big, beautiful boy is waiting for you over the Rainbow Bridge. He will wait until you are ready to come.

So remember him fondly. He was a character!

You still have gorgeous, beautiful Jade to help your heart heal. She is so pretty and is welcome here anytime for a run and a play with our boys. They always look forward to a romp with a beautiful girl! Although Teddy sometimes has a hard time sharing his sticks, and Tuxedo sometimes has a problem with anyone sniffing his butt! Oh well Boys...c'est la vie!

Bless Marco's big, beautiful, brindle heart!

What a Boy!

Sandra