Above and Beyond 5

NIKITA


            Necropsy     Full Report       
                                                                                                   

CHANCE E.      

Necropsy     Full Report

Maggie Mae was no more than a handful of white
fluff when we got her, but her personality was            
already apparent. She won the hearts of everyone
who met her, including our old grumpy Lab-Chow 
mix that had no desire to share his home with a
puppy. She won him over with her charm and her
wit, both of which served her well through the years.
She was a Canine Good Citizen and a Therapy
Dog, but more importantly the best friend of
many. Our next door neighbors and their Golden
fell in love with her; play dates soon turned into
sleep-overs, and we’d have to call and make them
send her home. Our neighbor also started taking
Maggie to see her Dad, home-bound with health
issues. He fell in love with her too.  He talks
about how on several occasions she woke him up
when he fell asleep with a lit cigarette in his hand.

My millennium dog, Fearghas, the Lad, passed his
Cadaver Dog certification at the age of 14 months. 
Five months later he was working to recover human
remains as part of the Response Team at the
Pentagon after the September 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks.  The 9-11 SAR Dog Study followed the
health of dogs working at The Pentagon, NYC, and
Shanksville, PA.  One facet of that study was a
yearly MRI provided by, the then, IAMS Imaging
Centers and the University of Pennsylvania.  In the
3^rd year Fearghas was found to have a lump on the
side of his skull which was removed and determined
to be an unknown cancer.  The subsequent help
from Dr. Julie Smith and Dr. Kim Schiller was so
important to his survival. That cancer returned
about 2.5 years ago and was the proximate cause
of his death.  He had an excellent career as a SAR
Dog with multiple finds in cadaver work.  In 2004
he received a Citizens Award from the Fairfax
County Police Department (Virginia).  He was called
to work cases for local, state, and federal law
enforcement agencies.  He was also a gentle giant,
very compliant, but when his ‘on button’ was pushed
he produced all the drive and focus you could want. 
What a gift to have a working dog like him, he went
from a quiet, compliant dog to fiercely driven working
dog with only a command and the appearance of his
search reward toys. Thank you Joanne and Lynda for
a wonderful dog, the best Lad.  He had the loudest
bark you can imagine, it would vibrate his training
subjects while he waited for me to arrive with his
reward.  He liked entertaining kids during ‘How to
Meet a Dog’ presentations.  He made dog friends
easily with his excellent calming signals.  All SAR
Dog partners are important, but this one was the                     
most special to me.                                                                

NIGEL  -  Loved by Annmarie Mikelski

Necropsy      Full Report

September 16, 2007 -  December 8, 2012

I adopted Nigel and his brother Nicky from a
rescue organization in Oklahoma.  The breeder
no longer wanted his pregnant mom and dad
and put them in a shelter to be euthanized. 
Luckily they were rescued.

Nigel was the love of my life. He was the
sweetest little boy ever and my snuggie bunny. 
He was always by my side and we were very
close.  He was only 5 years old.  This is my
favorite picture of him when he won the
"El Rey Fido" contest in 2009. El Rey Nigel
(King Nigel) will always be in my heart.

Love you and miss you my sweet, sweet boy.
Love,
Mom