Romeo passed away on May 31, 2006. He is remembered by the volunteers at the Central IL GSD Rescue for his happy-go-lucky personality, his sweet disposition, and, of course, his love of the camera. We will miss you Romeo!

Thank you to Romeo's family for giving him all the opportunities to run, play, and enjoy life. Romeo's life was shorter than some, but fuller than most.

August 7, 2006

We have sad news, our Romeo passed away on May 31, 2006. He was only 3 yrs old. I miss him terribly. Romeo suffered from Aortic Stenosis and could not overcome the stresses that it placed on his heart. He was showing signs of the stress for about the last 6 months of his life. It was sad to see him not able to run and catch the frisbee or chase his bounzer ball during those months. However, I know we were able to bring out his best in the two years of his stronger days and thoses not so strong days.

Romeo was unlike any pet I have ever owned, the smartest by far. When we first found out he had severe aortic stenosis I was very upset that this was not discovered by the doctors of the rescue. We had just lost a GSD to a heart condition, 9 months prior. It did not take me long to realize there was a reason this was left unfound. If we had known about Romeo's condition, we may not have considered adopting him, since we had just experienced a traumatic loss. Now when I look back, it scares me to think what my life would have been like without ever knowing him, or what kind of life he would have had without knowing us. So, I am glad that we were not aware of his condition. We gave him a very good home with lots of love and toys. He gave us many memories of all the funny things he would do.

I will send a separate email and picture. Thank you so much for bringing Romeo into our lives and your continued efforts in finding homes for GSDs and more.

October 30, 2005

He loves the vaccuum, if you ask him "Do you want to play with your friend?" he goes directly to the closet where the vaccuum is kept. We bought him a baby crib mattress to sleep on, and he loves it of course. He has a new baby brother, and is even more protective of our house than he was before. He seems to be very proud of his new brother. The last picture is Romeo just waiting to play. He has so much energy, wants to play all of his waking hours.

Photos: Vacuum friend 2) baby mattress 3) Proud look over his new human, baby brother 4) Waiting to play!

November 2004

What a great dog he is, we love him so much!

July 2004

I just love seeing that big nose in the morning, oh, and the big ears too. He really enjoys his bath ...[with] a hose hooked up to soft water and it is temperature controlled.


Photo: He really enjoys his bath

Summer 2004

He is learning, or has learned Do you wanna go for a (walk, ride) He gets really excited! He loves going for rides, but is never that crazy about the destinations (does not really care for the pet stores) I think too much is going on at the pet stores and he can't keep a watchful eye on everything. He does, however, like the park.

He loves to play ball and can catch the frisbee. When playing ball/frisbee we tell him to 'drop it' and 'backup' he does both.

Just amazing what they can learn. We do crate him during the day when we are gone, but he has graduated to free roaming Romeo (just in the bedroom though) during bedtime. His crate is in our bedroom and the crate door is left open, so he can do as he pleases. He has done very well. We like knowing he can get up and stretch his legs if need be through the night. This morning he gently licked my hands to wake me up. So sweet!

He is really a joy to have, thanks for all your efforts in rescuing this beautiful breed.
      
Photos: 1-3) catching his loved frisbee. 4-9) favorite toy

July 2004

Romeo gets the best of everything, we love to spoil him!... We decided his birthday would be the same as our wedding anniversary!

Photos: 1) Do you want to play frisbee?" 2) ...getting ready to enjoy a birthday treat from Three Dog Bakery. 3) He has a morning routine of setting his Kong ball on our bed when he is ready to wake his people up...see our perspective!

April 27, 2004

On Easter we bought him some goodies from Three Dog Bakery. That is what you see him eating in the one picture. He is also very smart (like all GSDs!) We can tell him to get one of his four toys (frisbee, ball, rope, bone) and he will bring it to you. He knows the words water, breakfast, dinner. ..He is really a joy to have, thanks for all your efforts in rescuing this beautiful breed.

February 14, 2004

Romeo's family sent some photos that speak for themselves!

Photos: 1) Circus dog! 2) You called? 3) Aren't I cute? 4) Groceries for me?

Adopted December 21, 2003

Romeo was a black/tan, neutered, 6 month old German Shepherd Dog, puppy. He was handsome, sweet, and very puppy. Only families that were ready for a large and rambunctious addition to their family were asked to apply.

Click on a photo for a larger view.

Return to 2003 Alumni page.