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Rottweiler Health Foundation Mission Statementimage: Trotting Rottweiler

To raise money to fund critical research into the genetic, communicable and acquired diseases that plague our beloved breed, the Rottweiler.

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Fall 2008
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SHARED REAL STORIES
Photo: Kobie

My Rottweiler 'Kobie'
Dealing with Lymphoma

Submitted by Robert Aratari on July 28, 2008

My boy was diagnosed on July 2, 2008 with lymphoma.  We took him in to the vet after I noticed a huge lump on his throat while laying with watching TV, like I always do.  We immediately took him to the vet, thinking it was an infection and the vet told he had cancer and that we needed to start chemo right away or he would be gone in days.

Well needless to say I was a wreck - thinking my baby boy was sick with cancer but I stayed strong and started giving him all the loving care that my vet said he would need with some great food and vitamin B-12 injections. I was cooking him sirloin steaks and sleeping on the floor with him most of the nights and he was starting to get better. I started to see the tumors go down to almost nothing and his energy stared to come back after the first and second week of chemo.

On the start of the third week we had to rush him in because I noticed he was not getting up and he was breathing hard. I spent the whole day with him inside his kennel (10 hours) while they gave him medicine and made his temperature come down. That was Saturday and we did get to go home, as he seemingly got better and my vet decided to continue his chemo on Wednesday and by Thursday night he was not getting up again and he didn’t get up to go outside to go to the bathroom.  He just eliminated where he was laying down, so I knew he was in very bad shape.

I screamed to wife that we had to get to the vet and we picked him up and took him in where we spent 7 hours trying to get him out of his condition and I cried so much because he kept turning his head around to look at me and just gave me his big beautiful eyes and stared me trying to tell me something and then he would try to get up but he was to weak to do so.

I insisted to the vet that he wanted to go outside so I picked him up and tried to stand him up to go outside but his legs collapsed, I began too break down and cry so the staff helped me put him back on the table. My vet turned to me and said “Robbie I think its time we stop his suffering”...these words I did not want to hear.

I then grabbed him with one arm around his him big beautiful head and hugged him, I whispered in his ear, "Kobie, I love you, my boy..." I then heard his breathing slow down and then stop.  I cried and held on to him for 15 minutes until my wife and several staff helped me pull myself away from him.

I  miss my “Bubba” that was his nickname so much that I am crying as I write this story... I will miss and love my boy forever.

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