The Final Chapter...

 It's been a long time since we have posted to this Blog, a very long time.... almost 11 years to be exact.

While we don't anticipate anyone is still reading this blog, we need to finish this story.

Rogue: February 16, 2025

We are sad to report that On February 21, 2025; Rogue took her trip over the Rainbow Bridge.  It was a difficult loss for our family after 11.5 years with Rogue who saw a best friend to our children, a sort-of guard dog for our home and a calming friend to our entire family.

If you go back in this blog, you will be able to read the story of Rogues tough start to life as a Puppy mill mom, likely released in Clark County in the summer of 2013 when State of Wisconsin Puppy Mill Laws went into effect.  Making Rogue a family pet and indoor dog was a struggle for the first few years. But we persisted and we are the better for it.

About a year ago, we saw Rogue's age starting to show.  While we don't know her exact birthdate, when we adopted her in August of 2013, we gave her the same birthday as our Yellow Lab, Ike, July 27th.  We knew that she was 2-3 years old when we adopted her, so we assume that she turned 14 this past summer.  That's a long life for a great dog.

Last Summer Rogue was jumping on to the deck (about 12") and when she landed, she hurt her leg.  A trip to the vet and we learned that she had ruptured her CCL, essentially the ACL in a dog.  At this point she was quite old and slowing down and no surgery was required, though she would be on pain medication for the remainder of her days.  She struggled a bit more with stairs, but still did fine.

Earlier in 2024, we talked to the Vet about Rogue seeming confused sometimes, she was diagnosed with Canine Cognitive Disorder, essentially the dog version of Alzheimer's disease.  Again, no specific treatment was required, but we did see Rogue continue to decline throughout 2024.

By the summer of 2024, we were preparing for Rogue to leave us.  Based on her activity level and health issues, we thought she may not make it to Labor day, but she did.  Then Halloween came and went...and Thanksgiving and then Christmas and New Years.  Rogue continued to slow down, but she was still going outside to go to the bathroom and was still able to make it up and down the stairs, albeit with more and more help.

In early February, we knew that her body was outlasting her mind.  She no longer recognized us, would get stuck in a corner or behind a chair.  She was also becoming unstable and fell a few times while walking.

We made the most difficult decision a pet owner needs to make.  We could no longer delay our sadness by continuing to let her decline.  She no longer did many of the things that made her "Rogue". The reptilian part of her brain continued to work and keep her alive, but the parts of her brain that made her Rogue were gone.  We talked to our vet and changed an upcoming veterinary appointment to instead be our last goodbye.

A week before her trip across the rainbow bridge, Brianna came home to say her goodbyes.  Gracie came home to make the difficult trip to the Vet and to be with Rogue at the end.  Tyler and Alex were also with Rogue on her last day.

On Friday, February 21, 2025, Rogue crossed the Rainbow Bridge at 4PM, closing this chapter of our lives.

Who would have thought that a stray dog from Clark County would end up with her own blog, a multiple page story in a local magazine and a family for over 11 years, well Rogue did.  However what she returned to us, patience, loyalty and love; were far more valuable and we will forever be grateful
for our time with Rogue and will see her again someday.

Until then, she now gets to play with our past dogs and family members who are gaining one hell of a dog in heaven; because we all know that All Dogs Go to Heaven.

Getting Old

Ike is now 11 1/2 years old.  Over the last year, or so, he has really started to slow down.  Today when I let him out he seemed to "lock-up" and I thought I would have to go get him.  I think the problem is his hips, which for a Lab is pretty typical.

Ike always was in whatever room we were in, but over the last six months or so, he has started to stay in the same place.  He will still come up stairs, but tends to stay there once he comes up.  I think the steps are getting hard for him.

Still, sometime he jumps, runs and acts perfectly fine.  I suspect arthritis or the start of hip dysplasia, but we will see.

Over the last year I have thought about that day when Ike will leave us.  Ike came into our family when our last dog, Tylor (the dog, not the kid) was getting older.  He was the puppy that was going to learn from the old dog while we still had him.  It was this same thinking that led me to think about a second dog last summer, which resulted in our adoption of Rogue. Ike is the first dog for Grace, Alex and Tyler (kid not dog) and the first that Brianna clearly remembers.  The day he leaves will be a very tough day.

My mission is to delay that day as long as possible.  After spending part of the day researching, I ordered Glucosamine liquid.  Reading reviews from people online, this seems to be a miracle supplement for many dogs.  So, I ordered some on Amazon and we are finishing our first bottle (about a month).  So far, so good.  No "lock-ups" since we started, though Ike is still not excited to go upstairs at night and would prefer to stay in the living room.

Here is a video of Rogue working on commands this summer with Grace.  Ike needed some camera time too.

You Magazine

You Magazine

A big thank you to the fine folks over at You Magazine for publishing this article about our family and this blog!  Anything we can do to encourage adoption of rescued pets makes us all very happy!

Check out a copy, available for free all over town.  Look for one at the Medical Complex, grocery stores or any place else you see newspapers.  It FREE.

We're going to be posting an update this week on Rogue, who is doing fantastic.  Then, Jodi and I are off to DC for a week.  Don't worry, though Ike and Rogue are not going with us, Grandma and Grandpa Tessen will be staying to watch after Tyler and the four legged kids.

Again, a big thank you to Breanna Speth, who wrote the story and Megan McCormick who took the photos (and worked with our crazy schedule to find a time when we were all home together to do it).  Also, thank you to Gannett for publishing free periodicals like this that serve to bring information about our community to area residents.

History of Dogs: Smokey and Folgers

It was 1981.  Smokey was a shelty/miniature collie mix.  I remember him coming home as a puppy, and as I recall, he was probably way too young to be separated from his mom.  He was white and black.

Smokey came from a friend whose dog had puppies.  Like cuddles, and all of our dogs as a kid, Smokey was an outside dog.  I remember running home from school to play with Smokey.

In 1982 my family moved to Sheboygan and Smokey came with us. It was the summer between kindergarten and first grade.  While we were in Sheboygan, we got a second dog, an Irish Wolfhound...yes, a Wolfhound.  He was a puppy and we got him from a neighbor.  I'm sure he was a mixed breed, but as a first grader, I simply can't remember.

I remember getting him in Spring and sitting on the steps on the back of the two story duplex we owned with my dad trying to pick a name.  Smokey was by us and was getting to know the new puppy.

After thinking and thinking, I was silent, unable to come up with a name.  The puppy was a dark brown, almost black color.  Sitting on the steps, the rain gutter was dripping beside me and there was a coffee can on the concrete catching the drips.  It was a metal Folgers can.  I said "Folgers", and so it was.  I can still remember that morning so clearly.  It's amazing that some moments are seared into memory so deeply you can remember them decades later, yet I don't remember what I had for lunch today.

So Folgers and Smokey were our dogs.  Backyard, sort of junkyard dogs.  It's not what I would want for any dog, but it was what we had.

Our stay in Sheboygan was short lived.  After moving there in the summer of 1981 we were moving back over the summer of 1983.  I moved up to stay with family over The summer of 1983 as my parents moved.

When my parents returned, Smokey came along, but Folgers was gone.  I was told that he got loose in a thunderstorm and ran away.  I don't know if that is what really happened, but we were a one dog family again.  I wonder what happened to Folgers.  I hope he found a good home.

Smokey needed a new place to live and I spent time with my aunt Cleo building a dog house in her garage.  It was crude, made with 2x2s and wrapped with some aluminum siding, but it was a home for smokey.

I don't recall what happened to smokey.  It seems odd that I can't remember, but I do know that it was shortly after moving back that we were dogless.  In the spring of 1984 we got a new dog, Lady.  Lady was the sister or Smokey, having come from the same friend.

Lady would be a long term dog for us, and the dog I remember most from my early childhood.  More on that to come...

Bonus vacation

With temperatures well below zero, the kids are very excited to have an extra day off tomorrow.

Remember that pets need to be warm too.  All pets should be inside, in my opinion, but if yours is not, do everything you can to keep them warm.  Fresh water, heat lights, wind breaks, etc...

Of course, you could just bring them inside too.  Rogue and Ike seems to like being inside...

 

History of Dogs: Cuddles

While answering questions for an upcoming article, I was asked how Rogue has changed our lives.  That got me thinking...a lot...and feeling a bit philosophical.  Like most things that get me thinking like this, the answer has to start out a long time before Rogue entered the picture and the answer is fairly long.

As for me, well, I've always had a dog.  There are very few times in my life that I have not had a dog.  They really all serve as timeline markers in my life.  For some people it is cars that help them determine when a particular photo was taken (hey, that's grandmas old Lincoln, it must be about 1975).  For me, it was and is dogs.

Now the first thing you should know is that as a kid, we only had "outside dogs".  I'm generally against the idea of "outside dogs" in the same manner I am against "outside kids", it's cruel.  They are meant to be part of the family and live with you, if they don't, you are really missing the whole point of having a dog!

The next few blog posts will be dedicated to my past dogs.  Unfortunately, I have very few pictures, but will do some digging to see what I can find.

Dog #1 - Cuddles (~1977-1979) Age Unknown

Cuddles was a beagle-ish dog.  I don't remember when we got her, probably around 1977 or 1978, but she is the first dog I remember owning. She was an outside dog, and like many outside dogs, the cold winter would be her end.  I don't know for certain when she died, but this was pre-kindergarten for me.  Probably around 1979.

I have faint memories about Cuddles.  I remember we lived just west of Marshfield on Wren Road, the house is till there today.  We had a very old garage that looked like it was about ready to fall down (and I believe it is still there today too).  Behind that garage was Cuddles dog house.

In all honesty, it was a pretty good place for a dog house.  It was sheltered from the North and West by the garage and it had a big lilac bush that provided shade in the summer.  It was probably 50 feet from the back door and I remember going out in the morning to give Cuddles fresh water and the table scraps from the night before.

Behind our house was a barn, with cows that grazed right up to our backyard.  In the summer, we would play with cuddles on a long lead that was attached to her dog house.  It was just long enough that she could get under the fence and "attack" the cows.  I remember watching her laying perfect still until a cow got close. Then she would jump up and try to attack.  I don't think the cows ever really cared.

It would be that lilac bush that provided summer-time shade that would bring an end to Cuddles.  I get very sad when I see outside dogs that have a half circle of grass-less dirt around them that shows the extent of their world.  As Cuddles passed back and forth, the grass wore away and roots from that Lilac began to show.  One cold winter night, her chain got caught on a root, and that was the last night we had Cuddles.

This was my first experience dealing with death as a child and I honestly remember very little.  I do remember burring her right behind the garage (in the snow) where she lived most of her life and crying for a long time.  I know that sometime in the spring my dad buried her properly, but I wasn't part of that.

We didn't wait long before we got a new dog, it was probably mid spring.  I'll write about Smokey in my next post.

Resolutions

First off, I apologize for not blogging in a while.  I can't believe how time gets away from you and how surprised I am every time it does!

It happens to be New Years Eve.  Jodi is at work, Tyler is falling asleep, Brianna, Grace and Alex are at Moms and I'm watching a marathon of science shows on TV.  We don't have "typical nights" in our house :)

I was catching up on emails after being off work (mostly) since December 23rd.  One of those emails was from Breanna Speth, who wrote the Marshfield News-Herald article bout Rogue and this Blog.  She is working on an update for You Magazine and had emailed me a few questions.  One of them got me thinking about this blog and so I will blog about it here.  The question, "how has Rogue changed your life?"  Watch for this in the first post of 2014.

At least it is my New Years Resolution to do this...and I still have 2 hours before I risk breaking it...make that 90 minutes.

Happy New Years Everyone...Don't celebrate too much and end up with a picture like this being taken of you.

We're still here...

Once School starts, life becomes chaos at our house.  Between Girl Scouts, Basketball, boxing, Dance, guitar and Violin...we stay busy...so I apologize for not having anything new for several months.

The good news is that Rogue is doing great, even with our crazy schedule.

We will be doing some Family/Christmas things this weekend and I will make it a point to write a long-overdue blog post about it and include updates.

Jumper

It's been a long last couple of weeks, so I apologize for not blogging recently.

Rogue has had free roam of the house now that her house breaking is coming along well.  We've had a few accidents, but overall she is doing great!  We do close all bedroom doors, which really cuts down on the need to search the entire house when we get home looking for accidents.

You've read some of the blog posts about dragging bags of sugar all over the house, or eating the molding of the bathroom door, but those have slowed as well...mainly because Rogue has trained US not to leave those things out.

One thing we struggle with is her curiosity.  She has to be able to see everything.

In the living room, under the windows facing the road, we have a table.  On the table are pictures of family and a lamp.  Almost every time we come home that table has all of its contents knocked over and on the floor.  Rogue jumps up on the table so she can see out the window.

Now, this is getting frustrating.  I've replaced, I believe, 9 light bulbs now and still have broken light bulb shards in the carpet (found another one last night).  For the first time, Rogue did this in front of us the other night.  Unfortunately she got a very loud NO as soon as she did it and realized that it was wrong.  The problem is, we never see her do this, so it is tough to discipline her for something potentially hours after she did it.  I was somewhat happy I got to witness this so she got to experience that this action was not acceptable.

Of course, the next day things were knocked over again.

I sit in the living room sometimes, thinking of ways to correct this.  Should I put a coat of wax on the table and buff it until it is slick as ice?  Well, that would potentially cause her to get hurt and also likely slide into my TV which is next to the table.  Light bulbs aren't expensive, new TVs are.

I'm still stumped on how to correct this.  She knows she shouldn't do it.  I've even gone outside to the front of the house when I was leaving and waited, to see if she'd jump up...and she doesn't.  She waits until we are gone.  She's a sneaky dog.

When I stop home for lunch, I will post a follow-up photo to show what, if any, damage she caused.

A Dogs Life...

Everyone is aware of Rogue's story as a super dog, protecting her puppies against any and all harm in a ditch.

She's moved on...and relaxed.

Since being in her new house, Rogue has started to enjoy her new life.  From relaxing on the couch to having food magically appear in her bowl every morning.  When she first came home, she would eat so fast she would burp and was constantly trying to eat Ike's food, probably not knowing when she would eat next.

Now, as you can see below, Rogue is far more relaxed.  She's even relaxed enough to lay down and relax when she eats.  Eating can tire you out!

She doesn't even seem concerned that Ike is standing so close to her bones (on the floor behind him).

If I come home and find potato chip crumbs on the coach though, there will be trouble...

In Between the Craziness

I've had a lot of people mention the article in the Marshfield News herald, and I really appreciate all of the additional traffic to this blog!

One of the things someone said to me was: "It sounds like she is a handful!".

Well, reading through my blog posts, I guess you could get that opinion.  The things that tend to standout day in and day out, especially at first, are the bad things.  Those are the things I have focused on.  It's probably time that I talked about the time in between these moments of insanity.

I have blogged about bathroom trim being eaten, metal kennels being chewed apart, sugar being dragged all over the house and running up the mileage on my carpet shampooer; but I hope to encourage more people to adopt pets from a shelter...so I want to focus on the good too!

The issues I have blogged about are not unique to rescues.  My Lab, Ike, was a pill when we fist got him.  In fact, he might have been more work because he was a puppy and puppies don't just need training, they need time to mature.  Everything that Rogue has done, Ike did as well...except the sugar thing, that is unique to Rogue.

In between all of these little pitfalls, there are tons of fun experiences that make it all worthwhile.

Last night we had a pretty loud thunderstorm come through.  Some of the loudest thunder I have heard in a while!  About 1/2 second after the first clap of thunder, I had Rogue sitting on my head, shaking.  I'm pretty sure she went from a dead sleep on the floor to airborne in under a second.

Rogue likes to get as close to you as possible.  We let her on the couch now, and she will lay right next to you, with her head on your chest, and her nose right below your chin.  Then she starts to creep up.  She will get as close to you as possible.  She's slept the entire night in my recliner with me.

When teaching Rogue to sit, she had a tough time connecting the mechanics with the command.  She knew the command meant that she needed to lower part of her body...but made some of the weirdest moves I've ever seen.  Many times we had to stop training while we all laughed at Rogue.

Then there are the kids.  Gracie has really gotten attached to Rogue. In fact, even the tough teenager, Brianna, has ben caught cuddling with Rogue.  She has a contagious personality.

Last evening, as we were getting ready for supper, I found Rogue with pink painted toe-nails.

All the carpet shampooer, wasted sugar and trim replacement is worth seeing a happy dog and happy kids.

And to think this dog was left in a ditch with puppies.  What a tragedy.  I'm glad we found her.

Celebrity...

Today became a bit of a local celebrity as she was featured on an article in the Marshfield News Herald.

You can read the article here

Thanks to the Marshfield News Herald for running this story and thanks to Breanna Speth for writing it!

Puppy Mills

As I wrote early on in this blog, we believe it is likely that Rogue was from a puppy mill. She was from Clark County, the Puppy mill Capitol of Wisconsin.  She looks to be a Lab mixed with a Jack Russell Terrier, two popular breeds you would expect to find at a puppy mill. She also had puppies, adorable puppies at that.  It seems odd that if she was a pet that got loose, she wouldn't return to a familiar place to have her puppies, instead having them (or being dumped with them) in a ditch in the middle of summer. It is important that more people are aware of puppy mills and why they are so terrible.

Most people probably know what Puppy Mills are, if not, let me quickly explain...

Puppy Mills are horrible places.   Dogs are companion animals, after all, they are "Man's Best Friend" for a reason.  Puppy mills, however, don't care about that.  They care about producing as many puppies as they can, as quickly as they can.  The well-being of the dogs is a distant consideration, if a consideration at all.  Dogs are confined to small spaces, usually exposed to the elements.  They have little, if any human interaction and are often crippled from their living conditions, severely malnourished and often times traumatized.  Reputable breeders will focus on producing healthy animals that strengthen the genetic lines of the dogs.  Puppy mills just look to make a fast buck by creating designer dogs or sometimes purebreds that are even AKC registered.  The bottom line is that you will be getting a dog that has had almost no human contact, has been treated poorly and is very likely to develop health issues, while all the time thinking you are getting a great puppy.

If you think that buying from your local pet store is safe; think again.  Many pet stores get their puppies from puppy mills.  The only way to be sure the dog you are purchasing is not from a puppy mill is to see the place it was born.  Ask to see the parents.  Ask to see their living space.  If a seller is unwilling to do this, you are dealing with a puppy mill.

The videos I am including here are from You Tube.  Some are pretty hard to watch, but if you want to understand what it is like at a Puppy Mill, please watch them.  Some estimates claim that there were 2,500 dogs in puppy mills....just in Clark County, Wisconsin.  This is partly because of the large Amish populations, which unfortunately is a major contributor to this problem.

Wisconsin Act 90, signed into Law by then Governor Jim Doyle, required that any breeder who sells more than 25 animals per year must be licensed.  I also requires that animals be provided proper shelter, food and exercise.  This law is working, but as a result, many of these dogs are now simply being left to run away or are turned over to shelters.  This is where YOU can help, by adopting one of these fantastic animals!  While I have talked about all the negative things you can be expecting with a rescue from a puppy mill, you are also getting an animal that needs you; and with time and work, will develop into a fantastic companion.  At the same time, you are supporting your local shelter and NOT contributing to the continued operation and profit of a puppy mill.

Dog Auctions Exposed

Inside an Eau Clair County Puppy Mill
Courtesy of You Tube User "leinielodge"

I had the experience of purchasing a puppy mill dog over a decade ago.  I didn't know about puppy mills at the time and have regretted the decision to purchase many times; not because I didn't love the dog (we had our issues), but because I contributed to the continuation of this mill.  When we visited the seller at their home in Clintonville, the dog was inside the house.  We met the puppy in their kitchen.  When asked if we could see the parents, we were told they were not available to see.  We could hear dogs barking in the barn.

Rocky was a Cockapoo.  He was a very skittish dog that was leary of people.  At age 6 he had a detached retina in one eye that caused the eyeball to expand from the size of a large marble (normal) to the size of a golf ball.  After traveling to Madison to be seen at the UW Veterinary hospital, we returned to Marshfield and scheduled surgery to have his eye removed.  A month and about $1000 later, we had a one eyed dog.

About two years later, Rocky went blind in his other eye.  He developed bladder control problems and eventually was unable to eat.  Rocky was put to sleep just before Thanksgiving in 2010.  Rocky was a Cockapoo, a cross between a Cocker Spaniel and a Poodle, a so called "designer dog".  As he grew, it was obvious that he had other breeds in him as well, probably some sort of terrier.  A dog that should have had a long life of 12-15 years or more, was gone at 9 years old.

Hindsight is always 20/20, and maybe this blog entry will give you some foresight to avoid the same mistake we made.  Rocky was a great part of our family, but the $300 I paid for him allowed that mill to continue to operate.  That money could have been better used at a shelter; where many of these dogs end up when their new owners can't handle them or don't want to deal with them anymore.  It's easy to think you are "saving" this dog, that's the logic I used at the time.  It is tough to say no, but it's what I should have done.

Rocky - 2001-2010

Family Photo

The Clark County Humane Society does a great job using social media.  One of the things they like to do is take a picture of their adopted pets with their new families.

We delayed our picture because when we adopted Rogue, Brianna was off at camp.  A few weeks later, it was Labor day and the start of school.

Finally, this past Saturday, we loaded up in the Suburban and drove over to the shelter to have our picture taken.

Here's a picture of the entire Family!

You should also check out the Clark County Humane Societies website or Facebook page.

(L to R) Jodi Nelson, Tyler Nelson (hiding), Grace Meyer, Chris Meyer, Rogue, Ike, Brianna Meyer and Alex Meyer

Mischief

Rogue got the best of me on Friday.  Just as I do as a parent from time to time, I needed to take a timeout.

I got home after a long week of work and walked in to find Rogue waiting at the door, waging her tail.  She had been home for about 2 hours after Jodi had left and was free to roam during that time.  We've had mixed results with this, but ultimately, it is our goal for her to have free roam, like Ike does, during the day.

Friday was an exhausting day, and we had plans that night to attend a picnic and then the High School Football game.  I was thinking that I could sneak in about 30 minutes of calm silence before the kids got home and before we started our busy night.  Rogue had other plans.

I walked into the kitchen to look for Rogue damage, something I do each time we get home.  It looked fine, but then I realized I was stepping in something.  White.  It was sugar.  Where did that come from?  I didn't see the sugar anywhere on the counter.  Maybe someone spilled it this morning...

As I walked into the living room, I realized that it wasn't "someone" that spilled the sugar.  It was Rogue.  It seems that we left a brand new 5# bag of sugar on the counter after making coffee in the morning...and Rogue found it.

My living room looked like a really bad 1970s party.

This is when I knew I needed a timeout.  I think Rogue sensed it too.  I didn't say anything, but I am sure my body language did.  I walked to the bathroom, said "In" and Rogue bolted into the bathroom.  I closed the door and sat down.

Sometimes, just like with children, you need to remove yourself from a situation and allow yourself to relax a little.  Five pounds of sugar all over my living room qualified as an event that needed such restraint.

It wasn't terrible to clean up.  The shop vac, Kirby and carpet shampooer were all in reach and in about 15 minutes the mess was cleaned....but Rogue stayed in the bathroom a bit longer.  While I never yelled, when I opened the door to the bathroom, Rogue stayed put...for about 5 more minutes.

Of course, the lesson learned is that nothing is out of reach.  This morning when leaving the house, I walked around at least 3 times to look for anything that she might get into today.  I wonder what I missed?

 

"After the thieves broke in and dumped this sugar everywhere, I chased them off!"