I named her Amstel after a beer we drank in Europe. Amstel and I became one person. When she was given to me I was told that I had to take care of her. I had to train her, feed her, bathe her, show her, teach her the rules of the house. I had to get up in the middle of the night and teach her how to go in and out of the house to do her stuff. The first two weeks were sleepless nights. I then started on her social behavior. I trained her through her obedience titles. I trained her to get her breed championships and what a feat that was. We did this without cutting her ears to look like the others. She was a gracefully moving dog.
When she was 5 she was out running. She zigged when she should have zagged and came up with a back problem. She never quite moved the same after that. We had to quit her obedience training. We never got that top obedience title that I know she and I would have gotten had she not injured herself.
She became my best friend and companion. She always did what I asked and even talked back at times but she did it anyway.
In October '99 she came down with pyometra, an infection of the uterus. After much medication there was no change. Her uterus then proceeded to hemorrhage. At this point she quit eating. She was basically starving & bleeding to death.
The decision was finally made to say good-bye. She had suffered enough and was too weak to eat. Her final night was with her daddy by her side holding and hugging her as the hours went by. On Sunday at 11:00 A.M. November 7, 1999, Amstel was laid to rest and is now with her friends Lier, Liebe, and her breeder Karla.
She was my first Great Dane and what a GREAT FRIEND she was.
Good-bye my Amstel. Guard the gates and we will see you in due time.
A beautiful Chinese Tallow tree was planted one week later and some of Amstel's ashes scattered around the tree. As per tradition, a dedication was made and a toast of Absolut Vodka drunk in her memory.
