Max

I lost my best friend yesterday.

My Dad had to put Max out of his misery yesterday morning. My Mom e-mailed me in the morning to inform me. I was in complete shock. My shoulders immediately hunkered down, my face dropped, I frowned and slumped all day. I’m still blue today.

Max was the biggest teddy bear of a dog. He was a huge Rottweiler who would lay at your feet and beg for a petting. We got Max when I was 17 years old. Mom and I were driving around in Katy and we spotted Rottweilers for sale in a store parking lot. Puppies sell themselves.

Our vet instructed us to take Max to obedience classes. She said the Rottweilers can become very mean dogs and attack humans if not trained and disciplined. Max didn’t have one mean bone in his body. He could easily scare someone, but the worst he would do is drench you with slobber.

I took Max to obedience classes in Katy on Tuesdays and Thursdays after Tae Kwon Do practice. I drove a Mitsubishi Eclipse at the time. It’s really funny to see a huge Rottweiler sitting in the front seat of a import. Nine out of ten times, Max would get a little upset in the car and vomit. It’s even more funny to see a guy in a Tae Kwon Do uniform shoveling Rottweiler vomit from an import on the side of the road.

Max learned to sit, lay down and stay. He eventually forgot the meanings of the commands. If you told him to sit, he’d just lay down on top of your feet and make you want to pet and hug him.

Unfortunately, I barely had a year with Max. I moved to Austin to go to college in August of 1994 and couldn’t really bring a huge dog to live with me in the dorm. Although Max would have been a far better roommate than the one I had. I always made it a point to spend time with Max and Lady every time I went home to see Mom and Dad. I wish I had spent more time with them.

Max was beginning to deteriorate. The inevitable began to sneak up quickly. The vet told us that most Rottweilers don’t make it past 10 years old. Max’s body was being attacked by cancerous tumors to the point where he was miserable and began collapsing. I don’t want to think or write about that though. I want to remember Max as the big, goofy teddy bear of a dog.

I really am going to miss him. I haven’t cried this much in a long time. It’s the worst feeling in the world, losing a friend.

I’ll miss you,Max. I love you.