Baron Von Shotzee, III was a big boy of 93 pounds when we fostered him in July 2009.  We had recently lost our Aussie, Mocha, and our Chancy girl was extremely lonely.  We intended to foster Baron until his forever family came along, as we were not yet emotionally ready to adopt another dog.  On August 21, however, we realized we could not let him go and we became his forever family. 

We got all of Baron’s records, as well as a “tell” sheet about his habits, likes, and dislikes, but we found out his quirks for ourselves.  We started taking him to the doggie park on a daily basis to chase the ball and Frisbee, which he loved.   He decided to claim the Frisbee as “his” and he didn’t want to share it or give it back.  He would drop the Frisbee only long enough to pick up the ball, and then pick up the Frisbee too.   When we tried using a second Frisbee as a decoy, he claimed both of them and the ball.  He eventually leaned to share ONE of his Frisbees.  We thought he didn’t like water, but found out that wasn’t true when he went happy crazy at the doggie pool at CRCG.  He howled like a banshee when it was time to go home.  Within 8 months, our Baron boy was a healthy, svelte 70-pound Weim, with a distinguishable waist and a lot of muscle.

Baron had very deep “Old Soul” eyes.  They were a “tell” that he had been through a lot, even though he was only 4 years old.   He was the most calm, empathetic dog we had ever shared our lives with.   Even our pushy, assertive, female could not sway him, or make him loose his temper.  Only when we adopted our 4-month old pup, Ace, did Baron’s steady calm give way to a warning growl now and then.

Along about December 2012, we started noticing little things.  One eye pupil would not constrict completely and was dilated most of the time; he started slowing down and would not chase the Frisbee as long or hard.  Gradually, he would not chase the Frisbee at all; his toes started knocking into the front of the stairs.  As his symptoms slowly progressed without resolution, our Veterinarian suggested a neurologist was in order.  After finally getting him scheduled and seen in a preliminary exam, we then made arrangements for an MRI at the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Fort Collins.  Before we could get Baron to his test, he had a severe seizure.  

With hearts breaking, we said good-byes to our handsome Bear Bear on June 10, 2013.  He is survived by his forever parents, his 11-year old sister, and his 2-year old brother.  We only had 4 years with Baron, but he captured our hearts and filled them to overflowing.  He was always there to put a head on a lap when we were sick and lean into our knees when we came home from work.  We loved him dearly, and will miss him always.