An ode to Cesar the Long Haired German Shepherd [photo-montage]

Cesar was with us for a long time, for a dog his size he lived to be a considerable age, he almost made it to fourteen. He was our beloved dog with so much personality and character. Always wanting to play or be scratched or just barking in his classic 'woo woo woo' wanting attention. Of course near the end of his days, we could see the declining line in his health; I thought I would see the end of his days sooner than we did. Earlier in December, I was out on the lake gathering water and heard him yelp, and ran back to find he had slipped off the porch. A day after that he wasn't able to walk for several days. I had to carry him outside so that he could do his business and it wasn't easy to pick him up off the floor. He really didn't like being carried around. He would put up with occasionally being picked up but that was about it. But he did eventually regain the ability to walk thankfully and we got to spend another few weeks with him. A couple days before he passed away, he was running around playing with our new dog, being fairly active for his state. Then suddenly, he wasn't the same anymore - we think he may have suffered from a stroke is the only logical explanation. It was such a contrast from the day before when he seemed full of life. Then he wasn't able to do anything, not even stand up.

Part of this life is death, as soon as we enter the world we are destined to pass. I meant to make this post earlier but didn't have a chance to properly sit down and dig through my old photo archives in search for all the pictures of him. Doing so was a great trip down memory lane, not just with Cesar but for myself, a great opportunity to reflect on times past, where I had been, what I was doing, how I felt, where I am headed, etc. It was certainly a good pause for reflection.

We also lost another dog the prior year, Kira which I will make a separate post for, who was also very beloved. I almost didn't want to have any more animals because of the hardship of seeing them in their old age, but I guess that is part of the package of owning a pet. And then lo and behold, now we have two other long haired German Shepherds, but more on that later.

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^{A younger Cesar and I in Rexdale, Toronto}

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^{Puppy Cesar}

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^{He always loved to fetch}

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Cesar and I	He was a good boy

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^{Here he is jumping for a stick}

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Sleeping	Waiting

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^{Hanging out on the porch}

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^{He enjoyed speaking a lot}

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^{Going on a walk with Kira}

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^{He enjoyed the cold, often wouldn't want to sleep inside}

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^{He was a happy man}

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^{For him, the only thing he wanted was a nice stick}

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^{This was kind of a ridiculous photo shoot of my family}

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^{With Cesar way up in the North}

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^{On a walk with Kira}

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^{Laying on his comfy mat}

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^{Out at the beach}

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^{Time for Stinky Wet Dog! He was a stinky sweet man}

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^{Hey! Time to let me in!}

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^{Making his cute puppy face}

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^{He was a man of the outdoors}

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^{kiedy pies je, nie szczeka}

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^{Just chilling out, man!}

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^{In his olden days, he wasn't so keen on walking}

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^{Going for a pee break}

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Thanks for taking the time to check out one of the coolest dogs that I've ever had the pleasure of knowing... nothing will really ever replace his curious character, and I'm glad I got to spend some time with him at learn some lessons from the wise old man.

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