Misty was my first rottweiler.
When I got her I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I thought I was just getting myself a dog, a dog out of the newspaper at that. We were very lucky that she had that wonderful and correct rottweiler temperament. However,
Misty was born with 4 missing teeth, flyaway ears and light markings. She was diagnosed with mild elbow dysplasia when she was 3 and by the time she was 5 it had progressed to moderate. When she was six years old the cruciate ligaments in her right knee tore which resulted in a tibia plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) in January of 2002. Tragically, in May of 2003 Misty was diagnosed with lymphoma cancer.
Misty is the reason I got into competitive obedience and from there, learned about the other activities. Like most rottweilers, she needed a job to do or she would think of one or two on her own.
She earned her
CD when she was three. The elbow dysplasia slowed her down in earning the CDX. After her cruciate surgery and at seven years of age Misty earned her 3rd leg and title.
Shortly after
that she would be come lame even a short time on sheep due to her bad elbows.
When she was diagnosed with lymphoma, we decided to do chemotherapy. I also figured that like with people, if the dog is enjoying life, then they will live longer. I decide to let her "chase" sheep for awhile. Misty is very high drive, but very polite to the sheep. Her fun came from simply moving the sheep. Strange thing happened. Her elbows stopped bothering her.