Cojo was surrendered to an animal shelter. The animal shelter had Cojo up for adoption, but because she was surrendered at 51 pounds, her immune system could not help her fight the bugs at the shelter. The shelter asked rescue to help Cojo. A wonderful volunteer family picked Cojo up a few days before Christmas. Her health deteriorated quickly and her pnemonia was so severe, her only hope would be to have a portion of her lung removed. We thought a lot about what was right for Cojo, so the rescue committee decided to let Cojo go over the Rainbow Bridge. Her foster home was with her when she passed. While it was very hard for them, it was the best thing for Cojo. Because of the foster home, Cojo got to spend a couple of days in a loving home and she did not have to die in the shelter.

Blue was surrendered by his owners when he was two years old. A two year old blue male is usually an easy to place Weim, and Blue was no exception. Blue's new people are repeat Weim adopters. They have seen it all in the Weim world. One of their Weims passed from bloat, another of their Weims had pretty severe separation anxiety. Blue's family was ready for anything he could throw at them. Their female Weim slowly warmed up to Blue and they became friends. Blue was diagnosed with Canine Lymphoma. Unfortunately, this is a disease that is very hard to beat. His people did all they could for him, but ultimately had to let him go over the bridge instead of having him suffer. The female Weim took the loss hard as well. Next spring, this family will look for another Weim friend to bring into the family.

Max would be very proud to be here in the Mile High Weimaraner Rescue Rainbow Bridge page, as he had many friends in Rescue and these friends certainly saved his life. I first met Max 2 years ago, after he had been through a rough patch. He knew that we were meant for one another long before I did, as the first time I came to visit, he jumped into my car and settled in the back seat before I even had a chance to climb out. As he was a pretty big fellow, and I have some disabilities, I resisted his charms for as long as possible; but in the end I was putty in his paws. What sealed my fate was his extreme skill at tail wagging - body wagging, really. I was looking at him somewhat skeptically during my second visit, but as soon as our eyes met, he started wagging so hard that I thought he might take off like a helicopter. Thus began our love affair; and I would adopt him all over again in a New York minute.

Maxie had a lot of heart, and a lot of physical courage. Over the years, he had severely injured both hocks struggling to escape cages due to unremitting separation fears; when the hocks were imaged, no one understood how he could even stand. But Max had never seen his radiology reports, so he stood, walked, trotted and ran just fine, thank you. And also leapt, rolled and splashed quite well, too. He excelled in Weimie spirit, was an extremely gentle and grateful spirit, and tried so very, very hard to be good. He eventually even managed to overcome his separation fears, which was a great victory for him.

It is with a heavy heart that I report that Maxie died at 8 1/2 years old, just a few weeks ago. He had a very rapid, very deadly form of cancer; however, it was still quite possible for him to die a good death filled to the brim with love and companionship. Unfortunately, I was too eager to believe some veterinary specialists when they claimed that he might still be helped; and Max, although continuing to feel wonderful right up until admission to the hospital 8 days after diagnosis, died a very hard death in the hospital on day 9. God bless you, my dear friend.

I had the rare instance to be with my dog when he was born and when he died. George was born to a litter of 11 dogs in my backyard in South Carolina. As the pups were weaned, George would wake us in the morning howling for food. After all of his brothers and sisters were gone, George, the runt of the litter, was still around. He had this unbelievable zest for life, was curious, and hence his name George. Wherever we went, people loved George. He was so sweet, and funny. His personality shone through like a sunshine breaking through on a stormy day. Always happy! George knew when to console me with his head on my lap, and when to leave me alone. He loved hunting, chasing deer, ducks and fox. Near the end, he would come out of the bushes with a three or four foot bull snake in his mouth, and bring it to me. George, always the dutiful dog.

He could out run every dog, but he would sometimes let them win, or let them get the ball as we played fetch. George loved bread, and to gulp down bowls of water. He loved to swim, and he loved to walk me. He noticed planes in the sky and bugs and worms on the ground, and fish in a pond. He was with me during some of my brightest times and my gloomiest ones too! Those of you, who know me, know that I believe in Angels. George was as close to being an Angel on earth as I’ve ever seen. The night he died he entertained me with his antics of sleeping on his back, tip toeing around the house and pointing bunny rabbits.

After his kidney’s failed, he rallied to come home and for 10 days, I got to share a last time with George. He did not make me take him anywhere to leave us. He died on his bed, in my house, in a sweet and peaceful manner. He taught me a lot. His greatest lesson was that of unconditional love. Dogs know how to do that. He left just as he came, quiet and peaceful, in my presence. But oh, oh did he live!

Jaime was given up to rescue after her owners were evicted from their home. Jaime was 10 years old, a very sweet girl, but was in very bad shape. Her owners had not provided Jaime with the proper veterinary care for several years, and among other ailments and infections, Jaime had a very large, malignant tumor on the back of her neck. Despite being in obvious pain, Jaime would move just to be near a human and receive attention. Jaime spent her time in a hospice home, as it was determined that her medical condition was not treatable. Jaime needed kindness and humanity, and that’s what rescue provided.

Opie was a Weim that came into rescue at just under 10 years of age. Opie came to us with numerous tumors, kidney problems, liver problems, urinary leaking, and arthritis. Despite all of these problems, his foster family did not want to send him over the bridge. He had a lot of love left to give and still had life in him that he wanted to experience. His wonderful foster family kept and cared for him during his four months in rescue. Despite Opie's failing health, he enjoyed short walks every day. He was very easygoing and a sweet, loving good boy. He'll join the foster home's other Weims over the bridge - Otto, Gretchen and Jake will welcome Opie into their pack.

Opie incurred over $1500 in vet bills during his hospice care. Justifying expenses like Opie's is a difficult one. Had Opie been one of our personal dogs, paying that kind of money to keep him comfortable and knowing what he was facing wouldn't even be a consideration. Because of Opie's foster parents belief in him and what life he had left to give, they have paid for many of those bills. We would very much like to reimburse them for the care they provided. If you have been wanting to donate to rescue to help the dogs currently in need, don't forget about the dogs who needed rescues help, not in finding a new home, but giving them that last final act of kindness we can provide.

Rex was a very sweet boy who was left on a road in Wyoming next to a gas station. A very nice person picked up Rex and took him to her home and contacted rescue to help find Rex's home (because who would dump such a sweet boy on the side of the road???) or a new home if his original home couldn't be located. Rex was not microchipped and had only a slip-chain around his neck. Rex was the perfect gentleman and quickly won over the household as well as the resident female Lab. This nice family took Rex to their vet where they looked him over, guessed his age to be around 5 years old, and did a basic exam. Unfortunately, Rex appeared to be in end-stage cancer of some kind. His belly was filled with fluid and it was just a matter of time. Within three weeks of being found at the gas station, Rex crossed the rainbow bridge. We can not thank this wonderful family (a non-Weim familty at that) for caring for Rex during his final days. While we'll never know Rex's real name, or his age, or the life he had before being found at the gas station, we know that he had a great last three weeks in a home who treated him as if he were their own.

If you have been wanting to donate to rescue to help the dogs currently in need, don't forget about the dogs who needed rescues help, not in finding a new home, but giving them that last final act of kindness we can provide.

Cinnamon was a 4 year old, gray female weim. Cinnamon was used as a breeding Weim and recently dumped at a vet's office because she failed to produce a litter. A rescue group took in Cinnamon and was treating her for heartworm and getting her spayed. Cinnamon would have arrived in Colorado on June 13th, and had a foster home lined up. Cinnamon lived outside her entire life, and during her treatment was learning house-training and crate-training, and basic obedience. Cinnamon had a rough life and died in a kennel run with people trying to help her to have a better life.

Bohdi was a 10 year old gray female weim. She had been living in the garage for the last 5 months, and her owners felt it would be best for Bodhi to find a loving home instead of continuing to live in the garage. Bodhi had growled and shown her teeth to the family's toddler, and to prevent a potential incident, Bodhi was moved to the garage. Bodhi enjoyed fetch, walks, car rides and being with her people. She'd always been on the mellow side for a weim, and was easy-going and laid back. Bohdi went in for a medical check and it was determined that she had an inoperable tumor, so her family sent her over the Rainbow Bridge.

Aiden came into rescue as a 1.5 year old male from a local shelter. He spent a few weeks in a foster home with cats, kids, and other dogs. He was placed in a home with a young couple. Aiden lived with the young couple for over a year. His new family had a child and contacted us to take Aiden back onto rescue. Rescue was very busy at this time, so Aiden was placed in boarding and then moved through a few foster homes. After a couple of months in foster care, a family from Arizona showed interest in adopting him. We typically do not adopt out of state, but this family sounded like a good fit and we had someone driving to Arizona that could give him a ride. It was love at first sight for the first couple of weeks, and then the love affair ended. Aiden was showing signs of stress and the family had a hard time with him. After two months of trying to work with Aiden, they requested that we take him back. Aiden was taken in by Rebecca Kapp who runs Arizona Weimaraner Rescue. She held onto Aiden until Michelle flew to Arizona to get him in January 2006. At this point, Aiden was between 4 and 5 years old. Without knowing if Aiden was placeable, a joint foster program was put in place. Aiden spent time with Michelle and her family, but most of the time was spent with Cindy and Andrew's family. Aiden turned out to be very stressed. He was on edge and very barky. He was always on patrol. We introduced some calmative drugs and saw a change in behavior. We then consulted with an animal communicator and what she shared with us was gut-wrenching. Aiden had shared with her that he almost wished he was dead. He was very confused and couldn't understand why no one wanted him. Living in foster care was even harder for him. We removed him from an available dog and just decided to work with him. Because he had conveyed to the communicator that the drugs were making him feel even more unbalanced, we took him off them. We then started a dog class to help Aiden deal with his irrational fears. He knew he was being irrational, but couldn't control himself. Class was beneficial, but we still couldn't put him at ease. Aiden spent the fall and winter on weekend hunting trips to the mountains and the plains. During one such hunting trip, Aiden went through some barbed-wire. He was stapled up and given some anti-biotics. While on the anti-biotics, he cut back on eating. Cindy and Andrew hoped that once off the anti-biotics, he'd start eating again. Over the weekend, he stopped eating at all and was listless. On Monday when he went to the vet, some bloodwork was taken and it showed that Aiden was in kidney failure. There was nothing that we could do but let him go without any more pain. Aiden touched many of us in rescue and will forever leave a whole in our hearts. Here is his picture with foster dad Andrew and foster brother Jake in the background.