Katoba Dobermans ~ "You Rock My World"

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The Rock Star.

His gorgeous headpiece, commanding presence, engaging personality,
and predictable temperament made him THE social favorite.
Rock earned the recognition of an AKC Canine Good Citizen Certificate prior to any formal obedience training.
Additionally, he passed the Working Aptitude Evaluation on the first attempt, again, without exposure or preparation at all.
Rock was a CKC Best of Breed Winner - at his very first show - at just 6 months of age.
He was a multi Best of Breed / Best Puppy in Breed / Group placing Canadian Champion ...
... and was AKC pointed in limited showing.
He brought about many a smile and better day for those he knew ...
... and provided therapeutic visits at retirement centers & nursing homes.
Rock was an honorable ambassador of the breed ~ educating the young public & their families at schools and public events ~
about Dobermans and the overall responsibilities of proper canine pet care, socialization, and training ...
... not to mention exhibiting THE BEST of Doberman temperament & behavior.

January 18, 2004 ~ February 1, 2008

I will be forever grateful to our friend & Rock's breeder, Tammy Markey, for placing this dog in my life.
I went to her hoping to find a nice black bitch ... and I ended up with this wonderful red dog.
Go figure :)

Pat & Ivan, Tammy & Rock, Nina & Josie, Suzanne & Chico, Gina & Tyson

"Rock ~ my gentle giant, my snuggle-buddy ~ what could I have ever done to deserve the wondrous gift that was you??
May God bless you with wonderful grassy space to run, lots of bright yellow tennis balls, and an eternity of playtime with your best friend, Piper.
All who knew you loved you ... especially me. I will never forget you, Rockadoodle." ~ Mom

"... sweet child o' mine ..."
~ Guns & Roses

"Rock-N-Ceely"
Rock was a gorgeous puppy with nice bone & substance.
Unfortunately, Rock began to grow very quickly, which triggered an 18 month battle with Panosteitis.
Once he showed no more signs of lameness or discomfort, he re-entered the show ring.
Cathy Ceely was hired as agent ... re-training, encouraging, and handling Rock beautifully.
Rock did not particularly like the show ring, but he would do ANYTHING for Cathy ... he, truly, had a "canine crush" on her.
Rock & Cathy went Reserve Winners Dog to a 4 pt Major their first time in the ring as a team;
one of their last shows together, Rock went Winners Dog & Best of Opposite for 2 pts.
We are grateful to Cathy for the time, affection, and friendship she gave to Rock.

Rock had food allergies which we joyfully resolved with diet change ~ he struggled/suffered eating high quality kibbles, but thrived on the BARF/raw & fresh foods diet.
Other than that, he had always been the epitome of health ... of positive spirit; conditioning regularly; monitoring through regular testing; practicing preventative wellness care.
Late Spring 2007 ~ Rock went through the rigors of the annual check up ~ labs, blood work, Holter monitor, echo cardiogram ... all completely unremarkable ~ clear of issues.
Unfortunately, his health status began to change without much notice, beginning August 2007, at the PSDPC Specialty show.
I noticed Rock seemed to be strangely unanimated - unusual for Rock - not even enjoying his time with his favorite handler, Cathy Ceely.
That same night, and then for the next couple days, he refused to eat; his hair began to thin quickly and his eyes looked just "not right".
I took him to the vet who thought it may possibly be thyroid issues ... again we drew a full set of labs, and ran another Holter.
His thyroid was unremarkable, but the other lab results were daunting; and while the Holter Monitor was unremarkable - as it had been a few months prior...
... yet his cardiac enzymes were very concerning.
After additional re-testing, we found that Rock's liver function had plummeted, and his kidneys were in failure ... amongst other things.
We did what we thought was best for Rock - medicated him for quality and comfort.
We knew the result was inevitable, so we told Rock he could do anything he wanted to do ... but, Rock, being who 'Rock' was ...
... remaining stoic, confident, caring, humble, still the protector ... caring more about us than himself.
December 2007 - Developed Congestive Heart Failure. Liver enzymes remained increasingly elevated. Medicated.
January 2008 - Official diagnosis of a Cirrhotic Liver; Renal Failure; and had then suffered at least one CVA (stroke).
It seemed each week there was another 'event', as we witnessed this great boy deteriorate without any medicinal turn-around ... he was going from struggle to suffer.
I prayed that Rock could have just one great day - free from illness and struggle ... but, it did not come ... until the day he told me it was time to say goodbye.
Rock was laid to rest on February 1, 2008 ... A part of my soul died with him that day.
Official Cause of death - PTS, Multi System Organ Failure.

In memory of Rock, Katoba Dobermans wants to share our feelings on heath testing:
Health testing is vitally important to the beloved Doberman breed - whether your dog is to be bred OR NOT.
We feel baseline testing should be done beginning at or around 18 months/2 years for most issues; yes, even if your dog is showing no signs or symptoms of life-threatening ailments!
We hve learned that publicizing a cause of death is NOT revealing of the health of the Doberman, as ALL dogs die from cardiac arrest ... when the heart dies, so does the dog.
That said, "hit by car", "cancer", "arthritis" are all informative, but without a necropsy it is limited at best in describing the health of the dog at time of death.
That stated, remember that a health test is only a diagnostic tool; that each result is only a descriptor of the actual day the test was administered;
good test results are NEVER a guarantee of future or permanent health statistics; at tie of this writing, vWd is the only genetic DNA test we have to show permanent status.
Some choose to remain ignorant to the reality of their dogs true health by not testing at all; some choose to turn their dogs into "science experiments";
we choose to finnd ourselves somewhere in between the two. Each owner &/or breeder must choose what they feel is best ~ for themselves .. and for their dogs.
LOVE your dogs ... dismiss your fears ... test your dogs ... DON'T "play doctor" ... unless you are one - of the veterinary persuasion.
Lastly, be open and honest about the health statistics of the dogs you breed ~ it is what it is & it is not your "fault" ... as long as you act in the best interest of the breed.

AKC ptd.
Can Int'l CH Electron's Stray Cat Strut CGC WAC

ROCK

Rock was my best friend.
He was ever integral; consistently trustworthy; respectful in every setting; always forgiving; a constant & compassionate support.
I am amazingly proud of Rock - who he was, and the goodness he gave to me and to so many.
Rock was my soul dog ~ he would lean as if to hug, he never failed to make me laugh, and he always brought me peace.
How fun it was to watch him try ANYTHING; to have no regrets; to explore anything - anywhere - anytime.
If only I could be more like he was.
Not to be unmentioned ~ I am eternally grateful for Rock's imprinting on my puppies ... they will all grow to be EXTRA special because of him.
The world was a better place when Rock was in it.

6 weeks

3 months

6 months

19 months

2 years