The Good Years With Cindy, My Lovely Rottweiler Lady

(Last Updated On: July 30, 2021)

 

Lovely Cindy, the kindest dog in my life

 

 

Cindy, at the age of 12 and a half years, has left. She has gone to dog heaven where bones are big and earth is loose, ideal to dig holes in. She has been the kindest dog I spent many years of my life with. I would like to tell you her story.

 

 

My Spanish Farm

Zahor, my previous dog had died, and as I live on a farm one needs a dog. It is only to be warned that somebody is coming for the rest of the day all my dogs would do what they want. During daytime that is mainly sleeping and at night time make her rounds on the property and now and then talk to the other dogs living in the neighborhood. A couple of quick barks, all is ok here.

 

 

Meeting Cindy

In January 2007, I decided to go to AAA, a dog shelter close to Marbella on the Costa del Sol. On arrival, I was met with a concert. Over 100 boys, paws on the fence, they were asking, can you take me home? It was heartbreaking, but I had decided I wanted a girl

Boys are handsful as I had especially noticed with Zahor. He loved to escape and if necessary dig himself out under the fence. My neighbor Christina had 4 lovely girls Zahor wanted to visit.

Once my neighbor got cross with me. She had wanted to have babies from her water dog, but Zahor was there before. Her dog got the morning-after pill. That was the time I decided Zahor needed an operation, he was 6 years old at that time.

He never minded being operated on and continued his naughty behavior, but at least it had no consequences.

I bought a nice bed for Cindy, which she nearly enjoyed for a full year. Your pet will appreciate your gift, I am sure.

 

 

I asked the people at AAA if they had girls and was told there were only 3. I suddenly saw a big dog, Rottweiler, not my favorite. I know there are so many dog races from tiny to small, so it will be possible to find one you like. Those people who like small dogs should have a look at Mini Schnauzers.

Cindy was walking around freely as she was a kind dog. I was told they even allowed her to go where the cats were being treated. That sounded good. When I was then told a couple had taken her home to bring her back, only one week later because she was too nice, I knew I had found my dog.

They had found her in Altos de Marbella, and she had a chip, but they could not trace the owner. She had been operated on, was around 1-year-old and after doing the paperwork I took her home. Perhaps you might think a Rottweiler is too big, so perhaps you care to look at a smaller dog like a Border Terrier.

 

 

The first 2 weeks at home

Cindy turned out to be a very nervous and sensitive dog. As the property is quite big, I found it better to keep her tied up in the garage. Every day I took her for 3 long walks over the property so she could get acquainted. There was absolutely no problem when she would see one of my cats, all cool.

The second week I let her loose during the day and in the third week, she was free to do as she pleased. It was so exciting the first night when I heard her bark, I could follow the sound. She was making her round on the property, letting everybody know this is a guarded place. She also established barking rituals with the dogs in the neighborhood.

The first time she came into the house, she ran upstairs to my workroom. It was obvious she was used to staircases. We got into the habit that in the evening she would sit with me, watching TV. In wintertime, she would love to ly in front of the small fireplace I have in my workroom. Going to bed, I would let her out with a good night cookie.

 

 

Getting to know the vet

I have a very nice Spanish vet called Francisco who works together with Antonio, his partner. As Cindy was a big dog, I could not transport her in my small Peugeot Cabrio so Antonio would come to visit. I was told she was not a pureblood Rottweiler, there might be a little Boxer there. In her passport, it states so. She always had good health, so the visits were limited to once a year for the important injections.

 

 

Cindy on the property

In general, she used to not do naughty things like digging holes where it is forbidden. She would love to go for a walk/swim in the big fishpond behind the house. This was especially nice in the warm summers. She was not so fond to get a bath and if she could escape would love to roll in the sand, so I had to rinse her off again.

In 2011 I was away for 22 days, Miguel the gardener told me she had been lying in a flower bed on the patio. That was forbidden. She knew it very well but insisted. When I came back she tried it once more so I told her off and it stopped. Cindy would always follow me in the garden where I would be working, watching from a distance to see what I was doing.

I found out she did not like men. Perhaps she had some terrible experiences in her first year. In her younger years, she would jump the fence to visit the neighboring avocado farms. I know it is said that avocado is not good for dogs, but she ate them whenever she had a chance.

During the avocado season, she would get visibly fatter, and in the morning bringing breakfast, I would find a pile of peels in her bed. Another of her favorites would be the fallen walnuts. One had to go and harvest them from the ground every day, otherwise, she would eat them.

 

 

Cindy and her love for cats

As I said there never was a problem, rather the contrary as she loved cats to bits. When Sasha was abandoned in Oct. 2010 at the age of 4 weeks and came to live here, they stuck up a great friendship. You know how young cats can be. A wagging tail can be so exciting! Cindy stood it with the most placid nature.

When Jasmin was saved from the road in Sept. 2013 the same happened all over again. They would love to cuddle up in front of the fireplace. Whenever the cats had some kind of argument, most of the time not being serious Cindy would watch and interfere when she thought it was enough.

Over the years there have been other cats, mainly tomcats, who would come and visit. Cindy would recognize them as not being family and half heartily chase them.

 

 

Christmas 2015

The years passed by and we both got older. She became used to men, but whenever there came friends to visit, it would take time for her to want to come close enough to be touched. It was just before Christmas when I discovered she had a lump in her armpit.

I consulted Francisco and when Antonio had seen it in situ; I decided not to have her operated on. Francisco said it might be good or bad, but if it stayed like this, it was probably best not to touch it. I started by giving her some special food for her health.

Vit D3 drops, Beer Yeast, Virgin olive oil, CBD drops, coconut oil, and some other things. All this I mixed into a spoon full of cat food and Cindy loved it. I could see she was getting older. She got gray hairs just like me. For a big dog, the age of 10 years is already a lot, and she still wanted to live.

You might ask if it is ok to give CBD to animals. Yes, it is a good idea as animals, the same as humans, will find relief by taking it. If you would like to find out more, then I have a nice website for you. You might even consider selling CBD yourself and have it as a business.

In 2017, in April, I was in contact with Janet, a lady who could do Distant Animal Energy Healing. She said Cindy was in pain and hoped the healing would help her. I did notice Cindy moved more, but some months later she started getting difficulty getting upstairs to my workroom.

I had to walk behind her and with Michael’s help, we would get her upstairs. When it was bedtime we helped her downstairs, taking care she would not slip on the steps.

Antonio came again, and I had some blood tests made. She was anemic and got some fortifying pills and liquids. All this kept her going for some more months, and she still enjoyed her life, was eating and drinking. She got slower and the lump in her armpit had grown, but one could not see much else.

 

 

The end is coming closer

The new year started with Cindy getting weaker, she could hardly manage to come upstairs anymore. She wanted to, but it was getting too difficult. There came the day she did not want to move anymore, so we called the vet. Antonio told us to get pain medication and gave her some shots.

This pepped her up quite a bit, so she was getting around again. In April I was on holiday for 2 weeks and Miguel, the gardener, told me everything had been ok.

Then came the time where again she would not want to walk. In the morning I could not find her and had to search for her in the garden. This would also happen when wanting to give her evening cookie. With flashlights, we would search the property being really worried.

It got bad again, and the vet came for some more pain medication. Antonio started saying he thought it would be soon time to let her go. The tumor had probably attacked some organs and that, together with her age, was probably the end.

The pain medication functioned, and she started to walk again. This caused her wrist to swell badly. 2 humid rags, each wrapped around a bottle in the freezer. I would take one, put it around her wrist. Half an hour later, I would squeeze it a bit and tie it again. Sometime later I would put the new one from the freezer.

At midday, I repeated the procedure and once more in the early evening. It definitely helped. In total, 6 wraps, and the next day, the swelling was gone. I knew her end was near, but I did not want to admit it.  When you have been together for so many years, gone through good and bad times together it is so hurtful.

 

 

Cindy’s last day

At the beginning of that week, she was hardly eating anymore and then some days later started to throw up. Francisco told me on the phone he could not do anything anymore. We arranged for Antonio to come Saturday morning. I sat with her that morning, waiting for the vet. She was weak, had not eaten or been drinking.

She looked at me and I am sure she knew what was happening. I said thank you for all the friendship and love she had given me during these many years.

When Antonio came to give her the injection, Michael and I, both held her while she left. She was completely quiet, just like a candle going out. We laid her to rest on the 7th of July 2018 in a nice grave in the garden.

There were times when I lived alone on the farm. It would be so comforting, on coming home, to see her standing on the driveway barking till she would recognize the car.  Cindy, you were the kindest dog who spent time with me; I miss you and I love you.

 

A very complete book

With over 450 breeds, this is a superb reference book. You will get a descriptive text and a brief history of the breed. Two-color photographs. One of the puppies and one of the adult dogs are very helpful. It is the most detailed book up to date currently available.  A marvelous book about dogs, a book to keep or give as a present.

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Source: My Life

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