I want to post this as a tribute to him and to Ann's kindness to animals.
They saved each other.
Posted on 07/20/2004 9:11:30 PM PDT by kanawa
About five years ago my husband and I heard about this “loser” dog. Loser because he was a Pitbull/Amstaff that wouldn’t fight! We had two rescues at this time, a Rottie and an Amstaff, so we weren’t looking for another dog, but something made us call these people to find out about Norton. The owner said thanks but they’d already found a home for him.
Two days later we got a call from this person saying Norton had been returned and asking if we’d like to come and see him. We loaded our dogs into the car and told ourselves that we were just going to look but that it would be a good idea to see if there was a chance all the dogs would get along. I won’t go into the horror we saw or the condition Norton was in, but we knew immediately that we couldn’t leave this 6-month-old pup there. His scars weren’t just physical; he suffered from severe separation anxiety as well. Norton could not be left alone; he would eat his way out of any enclosure or room he was left in. He had to be with people or he panicked. We were lucky enough to be able to have my husband take him to work every day, but on the rare occasion we had to leave him alone he had to be heavily tranquilized. We tried all sorts of training and medications but nothing worked. We resigned ourselves to the fact that wherever we went, Norton came too. Then tragedy struck. Within three months we lost our Amstaff to a stroke and our Rottie to old age. We were devastated but it was worse for Norton, he lost important members of his pack! The separation anxiety got worse, he followed us everywhere, he took to sleeping in our walk-in closet as long as the door was open and he could see us in bed.
We knew we needed another dog and for the first time in my life I wanted to buy the breed I’d always loved. I found a beautiful Amstaff pup at Barberycoast Kennels in Nova Scotia. I was still reeling from the loss of my other dog so I knew how Norton must have been feeling. Maybe a pup would be good for him and make him feel he had a larger pack to depend on. During all this our city passed a bylaw restricting Pitbulls but allowing pedigreed Amstaffs (go figure!). We would be allowed to keep Norton if he could pass a Good Citizenship test (temperament test). Norton may have his problems but bad temperament isn’t one of them, he passed with flying colours, after all, we were there so he felt safe. He was ‘grandfathered’ and the only restriction was that he had to wear a large tag saying, “restricted” on it. Oh, he also had to be neutered and microchipped but we had already done that as soon as we got him.
One night about a month after we got our new pup Haley, I got up to go to the bathroom making sure the bedroom door was shut behind me so that Haley wouldn’t wander out and have an accident on the carpet. While I was in the bathroom I was bitten by a spider. I was on medication at the time and it inhibited my body from producing any antihistamines, so I went into anaphylactic shock. My throat closed and I got very light-headed, I felt like I was being put under an anesthetic, I couldn’t make it out of the bathroom and I couldn’t make a sound.
For some unknown reason, Norton got up from his bed in the closet and went over to my sleeping husband and kept pushing him with his nose until Barrie woke up. When Barrie saw how upset Norton was and that I wasn’t there he went looking for me and found me almost unconscious. He called the paramedics and by the time they arrived I had stopped breathing. I spent 2 days in intensive care and a week at home recovering from a simple non-poisonous spider bite.
To this day I don’t know how Norton knew one of his pack was in trouble, but I do know that I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for him. We had rescued him from a bad home and he took returning the favour very seriously.
Norton was inducted into the Purina Animal Hall of Fame in 1999 for his heroic act. We received a beautiful oil portrait of Norton from Purina and Norton got a medal and a year’s supply of dog food. He had a wonderful time for the three days we were in Toronto with him. He had his own stretch limo to take him to the awards banquet and the TV studios and he was allowed everywhere we went.
The Toronto Humane Society honoured Norton a couple of months later for his heroic act, and Norton received another medal, more press coverage and a month’s supply of treats. Boy, for a restricted dog he sure is a good ambassador for his breed.
As for his breed, I don’t have a pedigree for him so who knows? All I know is that he’s my hero and I owe him my life. Everyday is a precious gift he gave me.
Time, love and Haley have done wonders for his separation anxiety, we can now leave him home with Haley for four or five hours without causing him stress, and it’s getting longer all the time.
Could you ping the Doggie list?
Laura Ingrahm has the theory that consevatives tend to be dog people. This isn't to say we are all dog people, or that cat people are libs, just that we tend to be dog people.
I loved the story, thanks, and THANKS NORTON!!!!
Thanks for sharing this story.
Sorry for Anns loss.
Know the joy and rewards of Norton's 'rescued' life will help; but how terribly painful his passing must be to Ann; and her husband as well.
We have three dogs.. .left; all wonderful and incredible. I have a very, Liberal friend; she has never had any animal but cats. Her husband, a Conservative, always has wanted a dog. My sister-in-law; used to be a Liberal; she had only cats. Now she is more Conservative. . .and she is a 'born again' dog lover.
Could be just a 'self-validation'; Conservatives being friends; and dog lovers being the same; in which case; most of one's friends would be. ..both!
Of course, this does not explain my sister-in-law. . .
Got four of'em.
Great story about big hearted folks with a big hearted dog...a loss all around. Thanks for the post
And some of us are dog and cat people....hard to chose between my four legged critters
It is difficult to choose a message to attach this ping to.
If you feel that reading a good dog story will make you feel better, then try these.
Subday I met a little Jack Russell Terrior/Schipperke cross named Oso. He is the companion of an elderly man who has lost the use of an arm and a leg. When Norman fell walking in the field, Oso brought help back.
Every morning Oso drags Norman's shoes over to the bed so that he can put them on. When Norman is feeling poorly and doesn't make his bed, Oso does his best to make it for him. Norman sometimes falls alseep in his chair. Oso promptly awakens him after and hour and insists he go to bed.
Once Norman could hear cries but couldn't locate Oso. He thought that his recliner must be blocking the doggie door and tried to move it. He fell. As he lay on the floor, Oso rushed out from under the bed and started licking his face. In Oso's doggie bed under Norman's big bed, Norman saw that Oso had brought in baby bunnies and was keeping them in his bed. (Oso is a fixed male.)
What a wonderous little fellow Oso is. It was a privilege to have met him.
Thanks for the ping. What a wonderful story. The end had me near tears though. How sad for Ann.
Hero dog bump!
Sorry for the loss of a truly heroic dog.
Don't know about how true that is that dog lovers are conservative and cat people liberals. I've been both at one time or another and have never wanted cats when liberal or dogs when conservative. Have a dog now because I have an enclosed back yard for the animal.
Never heard of the breed Amstaff. What does it look.
bump for a good dog story
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