Oh, but he was so much more...
About 12 years ago our daughter decided she wanted a dog. She had her reasons all thought out and she knew the right approach to get her dad on board. She wanted a dog to keep her company and keep her safe while she was walking or jogging. So that meant she needed a big dog. After much discussion, we agreed on a German Shepherd. We found a puppies in a town nearby and went to pick one out. He may not have been the pick of the litter, but he was big and appeared healthy.
She named him Ashton - I'm not sure where the name came from, but it sounded like royalty to me. I believe she spent the first night on the bathroom floor to keep him company since he was lonely for his litter mates. Ashton grew up and grew strong. He was really big for his breed, but he earned his keep as he accompanied my daughter on her walks and guarded our house.
There was only one small problem, Ashton started loosing the hair on his feet and face. It turned out he had some type of parasite that burrowed into his skin and caused such irritation that he lost his fur. We took him to the vet and were told of an unconventional remedy. There was a medication meant for swine and cattle as an injection. We were told to give him an oral dose daily and had to figure out how to deliver it. The medication was a thick liquid. The solution was to squirt the medication onto a slice of bread and spread it with peanut butter to disguise the taste. I don't know if it covered the taste, but Ashton ate his sandwich every day with enthusiasm. Eventually, his hair grew back; but according to the vet, it was only a matter of time until a flair up would happen again. There was supposedly no way of completely ridding Ashton of this parasite. Ultimately, Ashton lost the hair over his entire body. The good news was that once his entire body had lost hair, the parasites never returned to bother him again.
Ashton grew to be a great watchdog. He would often sleep during the day and patrol at night. He was well behaved and smart. We were very proud of him. He loved to play ball and even seemed to play soccer with his feet. At first we used a big basketball or soccer ball, but we realized he was wearing out his teeth so we got a smaller ball. He loved playing ball no matter what size it was.
The day came when our daughter went off to college. She would be living in a dorm so we knew Ashton was staying with us. We didn't spend as much time with him. I was at work and my husband was home dealing with major back problems. There were many times when my husband would call me at work and talk about his play time with Ashton. Ashton made him laugh and laughter is good medicine.
All of our family loved Ashton. My father-in-law would come over to see him since he had lost his own German Shepherd. We would have barbeque's in our back yard and Ashton was always well behaved around family and friends. He loved children especially and was very protective of them.
One day we realized that Ashton spent a lot of time alone and thought maybe we should get him a companion. We brought home Pete and they became best friends. Pete would run and Ashton would chase him - always. There was never a time when Pete would chase Ashton. They would stare across the pond, psyching each other out and then the race was on. The main object of their play? Keep away with the ball.
Over time, Ashton got older and slower. His hips started to give out when he ran. Pete seemed to realize to some extent and ran slower too. After doing some research on the Internet, I started giving Ashton a daily dose of condroiton and it really seemed to help. Thank God for peanut butter sandwiches.
Ashton lasted a full year beyond our expectations. He never complained or whined. He was always happy to see us and any friends who stopped by. He loved us with that simple loyalty that only a dog seems to have and he will be missed. So yeah, I'll cry for Ashton.
