Paying it forward!

by Cheryl Berry
(Desert Hot Springs,CA)

'Reindeer' Max at 9 months

‘Reindeer’ Max at 9 months

'Reindeer' Max at 9 months

Max by the creek at 7 months

Max at 1 year.... and friend :)

Who rescued who?

In Oct 2011 I adopted Max who at the time was named Marcus at 7 months old from a small rescue group when my 11 1/2 rottie passed away and I was just overwhelmed with grief, Max was very quiet and shy and somewhat small for his age but I was informed that he had been very sick when they took him out of the shelter and at one point thought of putting him down due to the overwhelming vet cost for such a small rescue group, but the woman Robin that did the rescue never gave up and told me he was a real trooper and has such a will to live and she knew he would someday do great things!

I myself suffer from severe panic attacks when I leave my home and surroundings but I started by enrolling Max in a dog training class which pushed me out as well as him, the trainer instructed me to keep him social he needed to be out and about around people ,activities etc..we started with daily walks, then the street fairs, then restaurants that were pet friendly, in Sept 2012 he became my service dog for emotional support.

In Dec 2012 Max received his AKC Good Citizen Award and then 2 weeks ago passed his eval for the Therapy Dog Program with the Visiting Nurses Hospice Program!

He has to complete 10 sessions of hands on to get his full certification.

I got involved not only for myself and Max but to show others that this breed is pretty amazing and hopefully will see them in a different way.

Comments for Paying it forward!

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Mar 07, 2014

Lee & Grace NEW
by: Cheryl & Max

Thank you so much for your encouragement, but Max and I could not do the therapy program I found out that since Max is my service dog for emotional support I have PTS and severe anxiety when I go out in public, dogs can’t be certified as both, but I have a friend that just adopted a 1 1/2yr rottie and I am working with her for the therapy program and he will do wonders for others,I met her under unusual situation,she just lost her rottie of 11yrs and adopted another and I know the person that does all the pet cremetation and she got us together and now we have both dogs in a new training class I wanted them to meet on neutral grounds and eventually do outings together,since Max is almost 3yrs it is good for him to be back in class with other dogs he was starting to loose his social skills,check out our other post “my big handsome boy is almost 2 1/2,may god bless you


May 23, 2013

MAX A MILLON NEW
by: AUNTIE LORI

I GOT THE PRIVLAGE OF HOUSE SITTING MAX AND I NICK NAMED HIM MAX A MILLON….. I USE TO BE AFRAID OF ROTTWEILERS, BUT AFTER CARING FOR MAX AND HIS BROTHER THEY ARE LOVES!!!!!!!! HE LOVES HIS BALLS AND BONES, HE WILL SURE LET YOU KNOW IF ONE IS UNDER A CHAIR. HE LOVES HIS MOM AND A GOOD BOY…. LOVE YA MAX XXO


May 23, 2013

MAX A MILLON NEW
by: AUNTIE LORI

I GOT THE PRIVLAGE OF HOUSE SITTING MAX AND I NICK NAMED HIM MAX A MILLON….. I USE TO BE AFRAID OF ROTTWEILERS, BUT AFTER CARING FOR MAX AND HIS BROTHER THEY ARE LOVES!!!!!!!! HE LOVES HIS BALLS AND BONES, HE WILL SURE LET YOU KNOW IF ONE IS UNDER A CHAIR. HE LOVES HIS MOM AND A GOOD BOY…. LOVE YA MAX XXO


Feb 27, 2013

LOVIN’ THE MAX
by: Marlena Heinrich

I am a friend and one of Max’s greatest fans. He is so awesome and in his classes ( I have observed personally ) he is the MOST obedient guy there !!
Keep up the good work, Max and Cheryl….You guys are truely awesome !!!


Feb 27, 2013

fantastic
by: lee and Grace

Great news for the rottie breed as many people give them a bad wrap in Britain they dont get good press. This is due to lack of training and idiots who own them.What you have done is fantastic you have found the natural flair that these have they love to keep busy when its possible and if they please you it makes there day .
My Grace is now 3 years old when not working she is as mad as a box of frogs
She is trained to take me up and down stairs ,take my socks off,tell me when post has arrived she knows when I am about to have a bad time .As I suffer with Chronic Benign Essential Tremor Syndrome and I have partial loss of feeling in my right arm and right leg .She is more than a dog to me she is my soul mate .keep up your fantastic work
lee and grace


Feb 26, 2013

He is amazing!
by: Robin

Thank you Cheryl for sharing Max’s aka Marcus story…he went from the PTS list for having a severe URI to an amazing service dog. I always knew how special he was and he will always be a poster boy for dogs that have been discarded and left to die. You go Max you truly are a great ambassador of the breed…


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About The Rotty lover 2159 Articles
My name is Dr. Winnie. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Duke University, a Masters of Science in Biology from St Georges University, and graduated from the University of Pretoria Veterinary School in South Africa. I have been an animal lover and owners all my life having owned a Rottweiler named Duke, a Pekingese named Athena and now a Bull Mastiff named George, also known as big G! I'm also an amateur equestrian and love working with horses. I'm a full-time Veterinarian in South Africa specializing in internal medicine for large breed dogs. I enjoy spending time with my husband, 2 kids and Big G in my free time. Author and Contribturor at SeniorTailWaggers, A Love of Rottweilers, DogsCatsPets and TheDogsBone