From Jennifer Merriman...

It's hard for me to write much detail because of the pain I still feel about that situation. Kellie contracted viral pneumonia somehow (she probably caught it from another dog riding in the van with her). She was never that well acting since I picked her up, but she had ups and downs, so I hoped it was just a matter of adjusting. By the end of the first week, Kellie seemed definitely sick, so I spoke with my vet. We arranged for Kellie to be seen the following Thursday. My vet tested her and gave Kellie a shot of an antibiotic, pills, eye drops, and a continued diet of rice and chicken (she had not been eating well since she arrived here). She seemed to improve the next day, then Saturday she still had no drive. That night she vomited. I took her temperature through out the morning (104), called my vet and finally thought Kellie was too ill to wait another day for hospital treatment...I drove her to a Pet ER. They admitted her.

Kellie remained there while they rehydrated her with an intravenous drip and a broader spectrum of antibiotics. She didn't respond to anything. The doctors finally called me to come in to talk face to face with them on Tuesday. They had done every test they could think of that made sense. They decided what she had was a viral pneumonia. When I saw Kellie for the first time in two days, I was astonished at how much worse she looked! She couldn't stand and was very sick...it was horrible! The doctors couldn't offer any help but to let the virus take its course and hope Kellie would make it through. I decided it was far kinder to Kellie to let her go at that point and stop her suffering. I didn't see any chance for her to have the strength to make it another day like that. I am bereft and alone again. She was such a good soul and the perfect dog, with a calm loving temperament.

From Marian Krause:

It is very sad news indeed. My wonderful pal and buddy for many years is gone. King was 13 – give or take a few months. He had been dealing with arthritis, dysplasia, and for the past few years, DM was taking its toll. His body was failing.

We adopted King in 2003 from MAGSR. He was undergoing treatment for HW at the time and after adoption, we found that he also had Lyme disease….and tapeworm….he was a mess! But a more gentle and sweet soul you could not find anywhere. He instantly fit into our large and noisy family as if he had always belonged. He was especially fond of a bossy, twitchy little black cocker spaniel named Lucy. She returned the feelings. Everyone loved King. He was always a gentleman to everyone – and even when he silently took the steak off the counter and chowed down on every morsel – leaving not even a trace except a very clean plate, we still loved him and ate out that night.

In his prime, King was gorgeous – Throughout his entire life he was a magnificent Shepherd and very representative of the breed. As he aged, he became more and more mellow – never losing that sense of humor, but definitely more forgiving as a seemingly non-ending parade of cats and foster puppies shared his home.

He was a loving and faithful friend and I will miss him – always.