Date of Death:
It is with tremendous sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Laci. It's taken some time in our grief to put thoughts into words so that we can write something as an honorable testament to her life.
Several years ago, as a representative of MAGSR, I went to a local shelter to evaluate a 6 year old female who was painted as a reactive, perhaps dog-aggressive dog who literally had one day to live before she was scheduled to be euthanized. Evidently, she was fighting with the other dog in her previous home. The staff thought the world of her but they were having a great deal of difficulty finding the right placement for her. Upon meeting her, I was greeted by an exuberant, friendly, energetic and very drivey dog.
It was immediately clear that she was bred from a strong working line. As I started giving her commands in German and used a ball as a reward for obeying those commands, she lit up like a Christmas tree as if to say "You know those words? I do, too! What do you want me to do next?". It didn't take long and we were connected. It literally happened that quickly.
When I told the staff that MAGSR could take her and that she was leaving the shelter with me, the ladies at the shelter were all in tears with relief. They knew she not only had been saved from euthanasia, but more importantly, she found someone who understands her needs who would help her thrive.
So up the road we went with her proudly sitting in the backseat of my truck wondering where we were headed to. True to her will, she was always up for the next challenge. To this day, that entire day lives so vividly in my memory.
Fast forward, she was not only in our home as our next foster, she had already nestled her way into our hearts and it didn't take long for us to decide to adopt her. Dogs with drive bring their own set of challenges but in return, provide rewards in so many ways. One of the things that she loved was tracking and she was a natural at it. She taught us a lot about scent detection and it was beautiful to watch her track. You could see her mind working when she was on a mission to find the scent article she was looking for. It was not a job for her. It was fun for her and for us humans to watch. Had she not already been 7 years old or so, she would have made an excellent search and rescue dog, this I am absolutely certain of. But our paths were not meant to cross until it was too late to start that journey together. So we fulfilled her need to work in the way we did. In addition to tracking, she had incredible ball drive and loved to chase and retrieve. She also loved swimming, was an excellent dock diver and loved floating on her raft in the pool or hanging out on the boat.
As with just about everything Laci did, as long as it was with us, she loved to ride in the car, eat her meals or meet new people. If I had to describe her in one word, it would be "intense". She did everything with intensity whether it was running full speed for her ball, tracking that scent like the Terminator until she found it or licking our face to show how much she loved us. Laci had such a wonderful, stable minded beautiful spirit. Everyday with her was a gift and there is an enormous void now that she is gone. Memories of her are attached to everything from the most mundane such as her love of ice cubes to the things she loved most in this world which was to enjoy life and celebrate each day. But she left us with an enduring legacy and given our grief, it has taken some time to put this into perspective.
When we adopted Maya (who came along after we had Laci for a few years), who was from a hoarding/abuse case, she was so traumatized and unsocialized, she had no idea how to play ball or how to live life in a home. But she quickly found kinship and comfort in Laci and those two became best of buddies. Laci and Maya could frequently be seen snuggling together on a dog bed. Laci taught Maya how to be a dog around us humans. Laci also taught Maya how to play and have fun. Now, after learning from Laci, Maya has developed strong ball drive as well and most recently, we added Zara who has also learned to play ball.
In hindsight, we adopted Laci about 8 years ago. But had no idea at the time that her presence might positively affect the lives of those who arrived after her for what hopefully will be another 8 years from now, if not longer. Laci taught us a lot in those years that we had and we shared a lot of beautiful memories together. She taught Maya and Zara how to carry on without her even after she was gone. Unfortunately, we humans are struggling to do the same. But we celebrate Laci's life and beautiful soul each day we play ball in the yard together with Maya and Zara. We owe that to her and that is what she would have wanted.
Monty and Sheri
