BRAUN was adopted from Colorado Sheltie Rescue in January of 2004. We had no idea how old he was, or what he had been through before being picked up off the streets. As you can see from the pictures taken shortly after his arrival in rescue Braun was severely arthritic.
We think there was some divine intervention at work when Sandy came across Braun's picture and bio on our website. Sandy is an agility trainer and competitor. Braun was not exactly the kind of dog is she usually attracted to. For some reason he touched her heart and went to live with her. Two and a half years later Braun has passed away, but not before touching many lives as you can read in his eulogy written by Sandy's friend Jay.
Friends,
It is with sadness,
humbleness, and GRATITUDE, that I am
sending this message to you all. I know most of you don't know us,
but most of you do know Sandy Chiavelli. Last night, Aug. 1st about an
hour before we were to go to her place for our agility class, Sandy called
us in tears, to let us know that she was cancelling class. Her "Old
Man", a rescue Shelti named Braun had taken a dramatic turn for the
worse, and she was going to have to help him find the Rainbow Bridge.
Although she and Braun were only together for a short 2 1/2 years, it
was quite a blow for her and my wife both. Braun was just such a Gentleman,
in everyway that a dog could be. And although we will never really know
all of the abuses and neglect he had to go through before comming to live
with Sandy, we do know, that he tought us a whole new side to the meaning
of the word Gratitude. He was never pesty for pets, treats, or much of
anything else, but, he could say OH THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH, in more ways
then any of us even have words for. Braun was very quiet, and when he
did bark, my wife thought that he sounded like Nevell Brand in a dog suite.
He would dance his version of the "Tornado" when he got excited,
or was about to get dinner, of get pets, or just to say THANK YOU FOR
NOTICING ME. Braun was the kind of guy that everyone seemed to just fall
in love with right away, and it was because he loved you first. We don't
really have any idea how old he was, he sometimes seemed to be about 9000
some days, and 2 on others. He was deaf, had almost no teeth, could hardly
see, and crippled up so bad that sometimes he almost couldn't get up or
down the stairs just to do his business. But no matter how bad it got,
he always had a way of telling you just how special he thought you were.
When we got to Sandy's last night, he was lying in her lap on the floor,
and although he was so very near the end of his time, he still managed
to stand up and take a couple of steps towards me before he fell over.
He was nearly gone and suffering, and his thoughts were to great me. He
cuddled my shoulder, and gave me kisses on the way out to my truck, and
spent the last minutes of his time here on earth, softly embrassed in
Sandy's lap, with Marianne and I both petting and loving him. His last
act, was to give his love to us one more time. He will be missed. Say
hi to all of our friends on the other side of the bridge for us Braun.
See you later. Jay Brigham, at Curly Flats