The Dogs Who Loved Me Series~ Mohave

The Dogs who Loved Me Series~Mohave’s Story

Mohave at 10 weeks

Mohave story is different than any of my other dogs. I usually pick the sickest dog to rehabilitate but I wanted to train a therapy dog and needed a dog that came with no issues. I needed a puppy. Not a purebred but a mutt.

At Four Months he thought he was still small

I live in a rural area, two miles up a dirt road.  So we do not get mail delivered to our house. On my birthday, in 2000 my neighbor and I went to town to get the mail.  On one of the vacant corners of town lots of people sell stuff.  We call it our swap meet.  When we passed this day, there were some people with dogs for sale.  David, my neighbor, wanted to stop and look at them.  I knew that I was not allowed to do that (because I always feel sorry for them and want to bring them all home.)  We did stop, he was driving, and there were two litters of puppies.  One being pure breed Chocolate Labrador puppies, the others were a mix of Chocolate Lab and Springer Spaniels.  I of course fell in love with all the puppies and called my husband and told him about them.

Us in class, me in the blue Mohave in the chocolate

Not really wanting a new dog, when we came back from town I made him go look at them anyway, after all it was my birthday (I used the trump card.) About an hour later he came home with the cutest little puppy, one of the mixes.   I just “knew” from the beginning that this small little chocolate guy with the soulful green eyes would be a great dog, helping other people, as well as myself.  God had just given me my next mission.

Ready for the Pool Party

I did not know what to name the little guy and soon a week went by.  The weekend came and I sat with the chocolate pup and went into meditation.  He told me that his name was Mohave, with an “H.” I know sounds crazy but my pets pick their names, you would have had to have been there.

Yep, he has his own book, now it is a memory book

The original route of travel into California from Arizona was called The Mojave Road.  This started with the Native Americans, as a foot path, trading with others and traveling to the coast.  When the car was invented this route became a two rut road.  Eventually, this road became Route 66, and with several different alignments, is now I-15.  Anyway once the Mojave Road crosses the Colorado River into Arizona it becomes the Mohave (with an “H“) Road.  The warm little angel told me that this was his name, in honor of the ancient ones who traveled this sacred road. I couldn’t argue and I named him Mohave with an “H.”

He wore many hats, literally

When Mohave was old enough he learned his basic commands, but at four months I hired a personal trainer for us.  I wanted to do Therapy Work with him and I knew he had to be well trained.  We trained and went to classes until he was about a year old.  Then I had surgery on my neck and I could not work him. We got him a brother, named Tyler (who was a feral dog but that is another story) so he would not be so lonely while I was incapacitated.

On a picnic

As soon as the doctor gave me an OK I was back to classes with my neck brace on. Once we paid for the personal training we were allowed to attend any and all classes the trainer held. We spent most Saturday’s at the park in class. He became good. We were asked to go to Humane Education Demo’s the trainer did at schools and meetings because he was so well trained.

He was featured in our local paper more than once

When he was one and a half he tested for and received his Canine Good Citizen Certificate, from the American Kennel Association.  When he was two he was tested and registered with Therapy Dogs Inc., but that was not enough.  I had heard about this reading program, called Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) we went for that and of course my now 90 pound laber-spaniel passed that, and we became a R.E.A.D. team.

Our First Parade

Mohave was so well trained I could leave him on a down stay and go into a store and he would still be there when I came out, wining but there. When we went to class we worked off lead and he was right there where he should be. He was also trained on hand commands and no verbal commands were needed. Very impressive, when giving an educational demonstration, and then with his costumes he wowed the crowd. He was featured on the front page of an pet insert in our local paper. He is shown lounging under an umbrella with his Doggles (dog goggles) on. He was a handsome guy and loved attention.

At a Library Demo

We did this work for close to six years. Although he was never fat he was a big guy and grew too be an even bigger guy. He reached 106 lbs, not fat but healthy. We visited nursing homes and went to Libraries, monthly, and also visited three schools twice a month.  We had a very busy schedule. Unfortunately both his health and mine made us slow down.  He brought great joy and happiness too many people, including myself.

Mohave on the Front Page

Mohave developed a cancerous tumor in his mouth in October 2009. There was nothing that could be done short of cutting off part of his jaw. We could not stop the bleeding from him biting the tumor. What a hard decision, but I know it was the right decision.

One of many letters Mohave received from his students

He was so well know in our little town they put a notice above the obituaries in the newspaper when they learned of his passing. I also got 45 cards of condolences from people whose lives he touched. I miss him very much but I know that God only loans us these angels for a short time.  I have learned a lot from him as well as all the other Dogs Who Have Loved Me.

Mohave’s Obituary

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