Professional Photography  by Photographer Lewie Krueger of
"I Shoot Dogs"^sm
in Omaha NE

For those of you who follow our website and rescue and those of you who are friends I wanted to let you know of the passing of one of our rescue mascots, my own dog, Daniel.  Those of you who met Daniel or saw his picture in articles before are familiar with him and his sweet nature and so I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you a little about him.

Daniel came to live with us in March of 2006.  We had two Dobermans at the time, Gracie, 2 ½, and Audrey Hepburn who was going on 13.  We weren’t really planning to get a 3^rd dog, it just happened.  I really didn’t even know anything about Doberman Rescue of Nebraska until a friend put me onto their website one day and there was his picture, this cute fawn boy.  I have always personally been very partial to the fawn coloring for reasons I cannot begin to explain.  Kirk and I found ourselves drawn to this boy and the next thing we knew we had adopted him!  He was even more wonderful in person than his picture and story on the website at the time.

Daniel was abandoned at a shelter just after his first birthday and would have died there had rescue not taken him in.  He never forgot that he had been abandoned but he also lived his life with humor and love for all.  He was primarily a clown.  He knew how to push Sister Gracie’s buttons and then “laugh” with his eyes when she blew a gasket.  He knew how to play and love and be absolutely a wonderful PR dog for the breed, the rescue and his family.

Every evening Daniel knew how to relax and there was nothing he loved more than snuggling in his favorite chair with his blanket.  He loved it even more if Kirk or snuggled with him.  He could have taught a class in relaxation because no matter how hard the day was, Daniel took time to decompress – a lesson I am still learning.  He knew the value of doing such a thing.

He liked to meet the public and his canine friends and liked being a part of Doberman Rescue pictures and memos.  He didn’t mind any of that as long as I did the typing!  He gladly donated me to the rescue (which I joined shortly after his adoption) and listened to all of the stories of other dogs who had been spared because people cared.

Daniel lived every day to the fullest and loved life but in February he became ill and it took many weeks to figure out that he was in end stage liver failure.  Even as he got his diagnosis, he took it with an eager face and a wagging tail and told me not to get upset.  He just wanted to enjoy life.  Life went quickly after that diagnosis. He lost 20% of his body weight in two weeks and began to suffer.  When his suffering came to a point where we could no longer do anything for it we had to let him go and he left this world very peacefully in our arms.

The vets think that Daniel was born with an abnormally small liver and he had probably compensated for it until he no longer could.  It is known that the Doberman breed does have a higher rate of Chronic Active Hepatitis and Copper Storage Disease.  It is not known why this occurs.

In the end it doesn’t matter.  We had 3 wonderful years with our boy and would not trade any of it.  We are so glad he came to us and although we are hurting so very much right now we do plan to adopt another rescue dog very soon.  Daniel would want to see others saved and that is what rescue is about.  We may have saved Daniel but really, who saved whom?  He was a priceless treasure and there are so many like him out there just waiting for a chance.

I thank all of you for your kind thoughts and prayers.  You have all been so wonderful.  Although there is nothing you can do to help Daniel, he would be very happy to see you support rescue in whatever capacity you are able.  Make your next adoption a rescue dog.  Give a dog a second chance.

Any memorials can be sent to DRON, POB 390684, OMAHA, NE  68139 as a tax-deductible donation.  It will help the rescue to save other “Daniels” out there who need our help.

Sincerely, 

Holli Sampson, President
Doberman Rescue of Nebraska