Jazmine wasn’t a LEARN alum, but her brother Jack was and so is Gunnar and through Jack I began to volunteer – so Jazmine became a part of the LEARN family too. After all, she put up with those young whipper-snapper foster dogs we took in.

Jazmine passed away on 5/7/10 after allowing me to be her Mom for 13 years. She passed from a bad case of pneumonia that she couldn’t fight off because of the diabetes she came down with the previous December. Jazmine was around b

efore I met my husband and after he came along, she graciously gave him her spot in my bed and adopted him for her Dad.

Being known for her gentle and skittish nature she was allowed at my work. She followed me around and when she couldn’t find me, she would race around the building looking for me – it got so the other employees would call for me so Jazmine could find me. She learned how to dig a ball out from under a pallet, swatted the Giggly Wiggly ball around on the concrete, and in general sat patiently waiting at every break and lunch for her ‘dues’ in being the company dog. Everyone would ask where she was whenever she wasn’t there with me and she would get horribly depressed when she had to be left at home.

As spoiled as Jazmine was, she gave back to me tenfold. I can’t tell you how many times she comforted me over the years or made me laugh in her enthusiasm. My father said he never saw a dog so quick on her feet, that he didn’t even want to be in the state when she passed, and he knew that if I died first Jazmine would follow me a week later. Barton loved to make her dance when trying to catch her paws – he said she was the “fastest ‘slinger in the west”.

As Jazmine got into her golden years the hip displaysia came on, pickiness about her food, she tore her ACL when she was 10, and the arthritis was hard to watch sometimes. Over the last year and a half it was a regular occurrence to lift her back end while the front end walked up the stairs. When she was determined to be with you, nothing you could say would make her wait until you got there to help her. The pneumonia came on so fast and hard that none of us really got a breath. The end of March Jazmine weighed 69lbs., when she started getting really picky with her food again I didn’t think anything of it but we were sure working at enticing her. I finally took her in when she started having accidents again and threw up for no reason or warning. The verdict came in of pneumonia and nothing we could have done would have prevented it. In 13 years she never had a UTI either, but now she had one on top of it all and scariest of all she had dropped 15 lbs. I took her home that night and Barton and I anxiously awaited the news on her blood panel. I wasn’t expecting for the news to actually be decent, I was expecting that her kidneys and liver would be failing her also, but when the results were negative we had a chance to save her. She was put on the best and strongest antibiotic the vet had at the initial visit on a Monday, she was put on IV fluids on Wednesday where I found she had dropped another couple of pounds. By the end of the week she was struggling to breathe and we knew the antibiotics weren’t working. We didn’t want her to continue to suffer and struggle, so we did the best thing for her.

The house doesn’t feel “right” with her gone, I miss my “pooh bear.” Jazmine, you will never be forgotten. I know you are now in a better place, your hips are fine, no arthritis, no more needles, no more struggling with stairs, and you have Jack to show you the ropes and play tug-o-war with until I arrive. No other dog will take your place.

Normally all the lovable LEARN labs find their way into the homes and hearts of their foster family and then into the homes and hearts of a forever family. I want to share a little about our wonderful foster dog, Fanta, who touched our lives but recently lost his battle with cancer.

Fanta joined our family as a large guy (140 pounds) with a personality we immediately fell in love with. He wanted to be part of the family from moment one – trying to climb into bed with us that first night, wanting to lay/sit next to you no matter the size of the furniture (remember he was a BIG guy!), and never being out of arms reach to receive those all important pets.

LEARN always sends new intakes to the vet to make sure they are up to date on shots, spayed/neutered, and understand any medical issues before a lab is adopted by a new owner. During our first vet visit we had the doctor examine a seemingly insignificant lump about the size of the tip of your pinky on his chest that when tested turned out to be a Mast Cell Tumor (MCT). Fanta had surgery to remove the tumor and his recovery went well except for another tumor that appeared about 10 days after the first surgery – again another MCT. He enjoyed a few fun filled days with no activity restrictions and then had the second tumor removed. Sadly after the second surgery 2 more MCT appeared and the vet advised that the removal of the first 2 tumors had not slowed the progress of the cancer and removing these wouldn’t help prolong his life. Fanta always maintained his positive attitude as he underwent two surgeries to remove tumors and even when the cancer had began to overtake his body and affect the quality of his life. The only thing he wanted from us during the whole time was to be loved.

In the two short months we had Fanta he gave us many lasting memories of this special guy. He was a true lab: always happy when I grabbed the leash for a walk, the puppy like uncontrollable excitement Fanta had when he was going for car rides, his true love for playing in water coming out of the garden hose, his willingness to help me dig holes in my garden, and his desire to soak up as much human attention and contact as possible (a few good nudges would remind you to keep petting him) will be remembered. His enthusiasm displayed with our vacation at the cabin with not be forgotten. Especially his fetching the snorkel off my nephews head while they were swimming!

We are thankful for having the opportunity to welcome Fanta into our home and hearts and cherish all the wonderful memories he gave us.

I want to say thank you so much to Sam’s foster mom, Mary, who was willing to drive to us. Her sympathy to the difficulties of driving long distances with a toddler was symbolic of the generosity and compassion of L.E.A.R.N. in general. Christine and Mary have both been so supportive and attentive to our needs before and after adopting Sam. As with any adoption, there is an adjustment that can be tough on the dog and on the family. Thankfully, we had nothing but a few minor adjustments to work out but we never felt we were working on them alone. We are so happy to be part of the L.E.A.R.N. family. It is a network of committed, generous, resourceful, and compassionate people. It plays such an important role to our community and it has played such a special role in our lives and in Sam’s. Thank you.

~The Lutz Family

We adopted Dakota (formerly known as Cassie) from LEARN on December 12, 1999. She was a great dog. Enjoyed going for boat rides, napping, the snow, playing with the neighbor kids, napping and waiting for people to drop food. Oh, did we mention napping.

It is with very heavy hearts that we let you know that Dakota passed away on April 21, 2009. She had kidney failure. After 2 long days at the vet, trying to help her get over this infection. Dakota could not fight anymore. It was the hardest thing Bryan and I have ever had to do. Not a day goes by that we don’t think of her.

We have some comfort in knowing we did everything we could for her. She is in a better place, and we look forward to the day we can see her again. 

~Bryan and Joan Manthe

It is with much sadness that we are telling you about the passing of our black lab, Sparky. We adopted Patrick, which we renamed Sparky, from LEARN in March of 2000. Our boys were 2 and 5 at the time and they loved having the new member of our family. Sparky was such a great dog! He loved being outside with us, going for walks, going to the dog park running around, playing in the snow, whatever it was as long as he was with us, he was happy!

Sparky was a very laid back and loving dog. Everyone who knew him, loved him! In January of 2007, when I was petting Sparky, I found a lump on him. After having 4 lumps removed, we were told Sparky had cancer. Our vet told us he would have about a month to a year left to be with us. Well, Sparky was a fighter and wasn’t going to give up….we were given another year and 10 months with him. He has now lost the battle. We had to put him down last week. He will forever be in our hearts. We will never forget all the good times we had with him!

Thank you for introducing us to such a wonderful friend, companion and member of our family we will always have in our hearts.

Tammy, Bill, Billy, & Tyler Whaley

We had adopted Sandy from LEARN in 3/05. We recently had lost our SandyGirl to Liver Disease in 7/08. Please see the tribute letter below and attached photo we’d like to add to your Tribute Page on the Website.

 Just over 3 years is not long enough time that we had to spend with our Sandy. We adopted her from LEARN in March of 2005 and from that day she came home, our lives changed forever. This tribute letter is a small token of our appreciation and affection toward Sandy as she made such a lasting impression and bountiful love in our hearts.

My husband had come across the LEARN website by mistake. From that 1st day, he saw Sandy’s photo sitting on a bed, with those eyes just looking right at him saying “you found me! Now come and meet me!”. It was love at 1st sight. She was around 8yrs young, and we decided that our other lab, Odie needed a buddy to be his partner in crime, companion and most of all, an extra set of lab kisses to be widely shared. From her foster mom, we found out a lot of information that was available about Sandy and her previous life. It was not a pretty tale and we wanted to make sure her “Golden years” were much more memorable than the 1st 8yrs she had before in that previous life.

On Good Friday, March 25th, 2005, we went up to Wisconsin and picked up Sandy. She literally sat in the back seat and just stared out the window with the look on her face of “where am I going to now”. Well, little did she know she was coming home to where she was given more love and affection (and treats) than she’d ever known. Her and Odie instantly made a bond and she made it known that she was a respectful lady who was not in the mood for a 5yr old Lab and his games! But when she saw that tennis ball, it was “GAME ON!” and literally tired Odie out to where he actually gave up.

In June of 2006, we were blessed with our son, Mason. Odie and Sandy both became very aware of their new duties of protecting and giving love to their ‘human little brother’. Because Sandy was a cuddler and loved her belly rubs, Mason and her bonded quickly. We called her ‘Nurse Sandy’ because when it came to nightly feeding the baby, she was right there next to my feet keeping me company and making sure we were ok. As Mason grew older and became mobile, Sandy would follow him and make sure he didn’t get into trouble or climb the stairs. At this point, she had a few extra pounds on her and knew that this kid couldn’t climb over her and the stairs to make his way upstairs. One of Mason’s 1st words was “Za Za”. He knew how to cuddle with her and give her extra love because she was starting to not feel well and not be as active as she once was.

In Feb/March of 2008, we noticed Sandy’s behavior toward food and overall was not her norm. We took her to the vet and after tests were ran, her liver enzymes were elevated beyond normal. After series of tests, meds and different food, she seemed to come back to her norm of being a non picky eater and more active. Even our vet changed her diagnosis from ‘not good’ to an indefinite life span going forward. So we kept her on the medication to maintain the liver function. In June, however she started to not respond to the meds and go back to being lethargic, inactive and not as spunky as she was known to be.

She had lost so much weight and with the arthritis, it hurt us as much as it was hurting her. We tried one more time with whatever the vet thought may work to help her and that didn’t even change her at all. It was time we needed to make a decision; it was one that was our hardest and most emotional decision. I took her to see the vet on July 11th to see if there was anything remotely possible to help her. At that point, she was starting to suffer and be in a lot of pain. I couldn’t do it by myself. We decided to wait and enjoyed the weekend as a family, one last time. We were blessed with a very beautiful weekend so we were outside most of the days-that was Sandy’s favorite thing to do-sleep under ‘her tree’, in the shade with her family nearby. My husband BBQ’d everything that we knew she loved and we didn’t deny her anything she would like to eat. She turned down the dog treats (Odie helped her with that) and she happily ate all that we gave her off the grill.

We took turns and spent the nights sleeping next to her downstairs as she was too frail to go up the stairs. We just spent whatever moments we could with our Sandy. She knew in the end, that we loved her with all our hearts and made sure her ‘golden years’ were golden. We laid her to rest on Monday, July 14th. We made the decision to be with her at that moment so she knew as she crossed over the Rainbow bridge, her thoughts were from happiness on earth to happiness in heaven.

We have all tried to regain our strength and move on with our home missing an important part of the family. Sandy is home with us now, but in a different way. We have dedicated the tree she always snoozed under and made a memorial plaque that hangs above to remind us of how special she was. As the saying goes, time does heal wounds. Our hearts are still missing her dearly, but we know that we did everything medically possible to help her and it was time. Sandy was 11 1/2 years old when she passed. She will always be remembered as our feisty, get the last word in, you gonna eat that?, wanna play ball?, pet me kinda girl.

We are so happy that we had the opportunity to adopt/save a Lab from LEARN. It was an experience that we will never forget and always cherish in our hearts. Thank you very much to all the volunteers and love that LEARN provides to the dogs. It’s because of you all that we found our SandyGirl.

Sincerely,

Harold, Kristene, Mason and Odie Likens

Patsy came to us at age 6 in 2005.  After sitting on the floor with us at Foster Mom’s, she eagerly bounded out of the house for the car.  Ever after that, she was always eager to get into the car. 

Patsy seemed to love everyone.  Donna noted one exception.   One time a stranger came to the alley fence in the back yard; Patsy gave a single loud warning bark and then all of her bristle summer hairs stood straight up on her back.  Until that time we had wondered if she would be protective.

Patsy loved parties—birthday (hers or someone else’s), Christmas, Thanksgiving.  There was always something interesting for the nose.   She loved to be with us, and then at some point in the evening, she would wander off to her own bed for the night.

Patsy loved the “Lake” where there were lots of smells, “frogin” and “stick.”  Launching off the pier for the orange, knobby, easy to carry plastic stick was a particular delight.   The action pictures from her run and swim are self explanatory. 

Then suddenly a dog who loved food became very picky.  Almost nothing tasted good to her anymore.  X-rays and ultrasound divulged a tumor either in or on her digestive tract plus the pancreas was inflamed.  Medication and bland diet, including chicken and rice (which was acceptable for a while) seemed to turn the tide.  She then had a relapse, from which she would not return. 

Patsy was not yet 9, but still acted like a two year old, and we though we would have her “for ever,” certainly another five years.  It hurts terribly to lose her, but we would not have traded the time we did have with her. 

Hercules was adopted into our lives on January 19, 2003. Right from the start we loved his gentle personality. It didn’t matter to us that he didn’t like to swim or know how to catch a ball. Having Hercules lay by us or follow us around where ever we went brought us lots of happiness. Whether we went on walks, long car rides, bike rides or snuggled on the sofa, Herc always wanted to be close. At night Hercules would often visit a number of bedrooms before deciding who he would fall asleep next to. His gentle ways and patience with children made him a favorite “pet therapy” dog at the Children’s unit at our area hospital for over 3 years!

A few weeks ago, Hercules became ill following a minor back injury that lead to many complications. After 2 weeks of fighting to get better, a massive seizure gave us the sign Herc needed to be put down. On September 24, 2007, with a sunny and breezy day just the way Herc loved, Hercules left us.

We will never forget our nearly 5 years with “Herky-Perky”. How he could steal food from counters or plates faster than you could turn around (peanut butter was one of his favorite). How he would open doors by wiggling the door handle with his nose just so he could be close to someone. How he would come up and lean his body against you so you wouldn’t forger to pet him. How he made the children at the hospital laugh just by running through a tunnel to get a treat. How he would gently stand still and let you pet him, then lift his nose to your face to give you his famous “sniff” (like a kiss). How he loved standing very close to the people he met in wheelchairs. And of course, we will never forget how he would lift his head up and search for you with his cute and caring eyes.

Hercules, we will miss you! There will never be another dog like you. We are thankful that LEARN brought us to you and know some day we will see you again.

The Gruen’s: Catherine, Mark, Katie, Emily and Ali

From the moment we met Bailey, we knew we were made for each other. On a warm summer day last August, she claimed us. She quietly leaned against our legs, wiggled her whole body as she wagged her tail, and rolled over for belly scratches. Our yellow lab, Callie, gave us the seal of approval – Bailey would join our home. All sixty-five pounds of her snuggled in my lap on the way back to our house!

For the past ten months, Bailey continued to amaze us with her enthusiasm for life. In spite of her past hardships, she welcomed all the attention that we gave her. When playing in the dog park, she raced to greet other dogs – we thought she was telling them of her good fortune! She had found a family to love her! She made friends with Callie and shadowed her everywhere in our yard. Our home became the center of the neighborhood for dog visits – everyone played in our yard with Bailey and Callie They were inseparable–our “chocolate and vanilla scoops” of sweet labs!

Our home has forever been enriched by having had Bailey here with us. She will remain locked in our hearts and we will visit her in our dreams. We’ll always love you, Bailey!

Love, Teresa

Tucker was just shy of sixteen months when we met him at the Gensons’, the home where he was being fostered. The day is easy to remember. It was September 10, 2001. We picked him up to take him home two days later.

He was an AKC certified Yellow Lab who didn’t meet the expectations of the couple who bought him as a puppy. After a traumatic stay at a Humane Society in Minnesota he was less than a day away from being put to sleep. L.E.A.R.N. found out and saved him for us.

This huge guy was pretty intimidating to Garrett, who was not quite eleven and small for his age. Tucker was always incredibly enthusiastic (or hyper,) when meeting friends and new people. At 78 pounds he outweighed Garrett by twenty and eventually topped out at 102. We took Tucker for a walk to settle him down and got to know him enough to begin to love him. We decided on the way home he would be a great dog for us.

We crated him for a short time. However, he proved to be an incredibly trustworthy house dog and spent his days guarding our home from front to back door. He knew the only place he could dig at inside was the large pickle crock where we stored his toys. His favorites included tuggy ropes, squeaky toys and his Kong.

Tucker loved long walks, car rides and swims. We lived in a house which had an indoor pool and Tucker would swim to the point of exhaustion. But there was a catch. He would only enter the water if a tennis ball was thrown to the center of the deep end so he could do a full body dive at it and swim it to the edge.

We eventually moved to the country which cost us the pool, but opened up the back yard to empty fields where he could go out and run as much as he wanted.

In addition to his hyperactivity we sensed he was getting lonely so we added Lady (a sweet Chocolate Lab,) in February of 2003. This made the family complete. He continued to attach himself to us when we were home and followed us everywhere, but he seemed much more content.

Late in the summer of 2006 Tuck became difficult to feed. After his initial weight gain early on he maintained himself in much the way a cat does. He didn’t over eat and was pretty picky about what he would eat. When he refused his food this time we figured he was being stubborn.

He slowly lost some pounds but still looked and behaved healthy so we didn’t worry much. We were just frustrated trying to find something for him he would like.

The weekend before Thanksgiving he barely ate or drank anything for almost three days. We noticed a yellowing of the eyes and took him to the vet who was instantly alarmed at his condition. Jaundice. Liver damage.

None of us saw this coming. We had Tucker at the vet to treat an open sore on his leg just a week before and Doc didn’t spot anything out of the ordinary.

The treatments began at once. Two liters of fluids were IV’d and a series of vitamins, Kaopectate, Pedialyte and prayers were administered in the hope his liver would rebound. Initially he felt better. He ate some on his own and displayed some energy. It was very tough on Sue and me to force feed him his pills and Pedialyte but we agreed it was in his best interest to do so.

Tucker returned to the vet on an almost daily basis for more fluids for about a week before we decided to do the IVs at home. Doc Williams left the stint in his leg and Sue used to be an EMT so we treated him at home. Every time Doc saw him he was heartened by his energy level and his willingness to fight for his life.

After Thanksgiving, this changed. The only way to get food into him was to water it down, put it into a syringe and shoot it to the back of his throat so he would swallow it. His belly swelled up with fluids which we had drained on the 28th. Again, he looked better and displayed surprising strength when I walked him to the car to come home.

The next day he slid steeply downhill. He couldn’t stand up very well and was not urinating at all. Garrett and I left for the evening and Sue spent that time talking to him while watching him labor for breath and go through convulsions. When we got home Tucker was in bad shape. He rose slowly from the floor to greet me one last time and I carried him to the hide-a-bed where we had spent much of the previous week caring for him. I cuddled him for a little while, knowing he was about to leave us and wanting desperately for him to make it through the night so we could get him to Doc Williams to put him to sleep.

A short while later it was obvious he was in misery and could not make it through the night so I called a 24/7 vet service in Middleton to have him put down at once. Garrett said his goodbyes, choked with tears. Sue and I wrapped Tucker in a blanket and ran him out to the Caravan where he had one more convulsion and died on his dog bed which we had placed there shortly before.

Sue sat with him briefly with a stethoscope to make sure he was truly gone before we shut the door. I wrapped him completely in the blanket and said my final goodbye. We took him to Doc the next morning to arrange Tucker’s cremation.

In retrospect (and after a lot of web research,) we are of the opinion Tucker suffered from a chronically upset stomach which led to ulcers and then the degradation of his liver. He was never a chow hound and ate a lot of grass in the yard, which we are told is an indication of a sour stomach. Over the last couple of months he ate less and cried more. We suspect the cries were because he was hurting and didn’t know how to tell us where the hurt was. By the time the more serious symptoms cropped up it was too late to save him.

It is amazing to us how much Tucker brought to our family in the five short years we had him. He didn’t play fetch, didn’t know a whole lot of tricks and didn’t particularly like to cuddle. But he showed unabashed love for his family and was our constant companion whenever we were together.

We will miss him jumping at the door to greet us, those big ears flopping up and down as he disappeared and reappeared in the window of the door. We will miss him bringing his Kong to us and making Darth Vader noises into it while he held it out for us to fill. We will miss “London Bridges” where he would run through our legs, circle around and repeat as long as we would let him. We will even miss the sometimes embarrassing spectacle of grabbing his bed with his teeth and humping it across the floor. We will miss him, period.

We all want to thank L.E.A.R.N. for all they did to set us up with both our dogs. Tucker is a part of our lives forever and we will meet him again someday.

Sue, Garrett and I greatly appreciate the opportunity to eulogize him here on the site where we first met him. We are eternally grateful to L.E.A.R.N. for helping to bring Tucker into our lives and into our hearts.

Sincerely, Carl, Sue, Garrett and Lady Gitchel

Tucker
May 22, 2000 – November 29, 2006