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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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Winter 2008
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SHARED REAL STORIES
Photo: Romeo

Our Rottweiler 'Romeo'
Dealing with Cancer

Submitted by the Janiszewski Family of Oak Lawn, IL on 05/20/06


On December 3, 1995, we drove about an hour outside of Chicago to get our first Rottweiler.  We'd gotten married three months earlier and wanted to "start our family."  We knew the puppy we were going to get would be named Romeo.  Turns out, we couldn't have picked a more suitable name. Born on September 23, 1995 to Heidi Vom Blowker and Boss Vom D'Biestse Hoeve, CD, BH, Romeo was bred for temperament.

We learned quickly that Romeo loved the sound of a woman's voice. He would rarely leave my side during the first few weeks (unbeknownst to me at the time, I was pregnant with our first daughter). Our family would be expanding faster than we had planned.   Romeo was always in great health -- up until a month ago, he was still able to lay in a "frog" position -- with his legs spread out behind him. He always lays down with this front legs crossed, like a perfect gentleman.

When our daughter was born, he protected her basinet. A low growl meant no one was allowed to bother her during naps. The same held true when our second daughter was born.   When he was about a year old, we had to keep him out of the living room after he tore a large piece of fabric off the couch.  We put a couple of baby gates up to keep him in the kitchen.  But every day we would come home from work and find a new section ripped off, or pillows tossed around, the coffee table moved across the room.  Strange things. So one day my husband set up a camera in the kitchen looking into the living room, and he "left" for work as usual. The door closes, and then you see the back of Romeo's head. He's looking over the couch, listening for the sound of fading footsteps.  Then he jumps over the couch, jumping on it, like a little kid. Suddenly, he hears daddy coming back.  He freezes, then jumps back over the couch to the other side of the gates just as daddy opens the door.  This happens about three times.  He always looked so innocent.  The video would be great to send in to AFV one day!

We moved to Oak Lawn, Illinois about 5 years ago and Romeo quickly found some friends. Guinness and Jake live next door to the right. Savannah is our neighbor to the left. There is a Husky in house behind us, two Rottweilers across the street, and three others around the block.  When the boys next door are out, Romeo asks to go out and play with them. Like most Rottweilers, Romeo has a good vocabulary of about 20-30 words and some hand signs.

I can go on for weeks about Romeo.  But because I'm even on this website, it can't be good.   Romeo, now almost 11 years old, was diagnosed just last month with cancer. It moved into his lungs pretty quickly and is virtually inoperable. Because of his age, a biopsy is risky enough. The medication he was given helped him for a while, giving him some strength and making him feel like his old self again. We tried cleansing and garlic pills and fed him the best steaks, chicken and other proteins.  He loved it for a while, but over the last week, he doesn't seem interested in any kind of food.  He still likes to snack on his favorite cookies, but he hasn't eaten anything else in the last two days.  We know we are close to the end.

Reading the stories that others have posted here gave me some hope that we would see him rebound. Although Romeo was our first child and he's been the most loyal and affectionate dog I have ever been blessed to have in my life.  Wwe can't bear to watch him suffer any longer than he has to. He is and will always be our son, our brother, our friend and our protector. We'll always remember him the way he was, and we are so grateful to him for being in our lives for almost 11 years.    This next week will be very difficult for our family as we realize we must make a decision to keep him from suffering.   

Update:  Our little prince, Romeo, was put to sleep on Friday, May 19, 2006.  He was so brave and fought very hard to stay with us.  He went peacefully with mommy and daddy by his side. He will always light up our hearts with memories. It was painful for us, but we know that he is happy and playing with his brothers and sisters who passed on before him.  Romeo touched many lives, and he leaves many friends, all of whom believe he will watch over us and protect us.   Thanks again for your website.  It is comforting to know that while many of us have suffered the loss of our pets, we eventually learn to love again.

The Janiszewski Family

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