Pastimes
My boweimar Beaker was on the larger size, 110lbs and very tall. He was all black with a single white star on his big chest. Beaker was a pound puppy, adopted in May 2008, he was initially believed to be a lab/beagle mix, but quickly grow well beyond average sizes for both labs and beagle. We did an at home DNA test which confirmed the Boxer/Weimaraner mix. When he was a pup, I had a hard time finding information about this mix, but recently I am finding much more and here to share my experience. Beaker passed away 2 weeks ago (Dec. 2019) due to hemangiosarcoma, he had been living with cancer since 2015 when we found a dermal lesion on his left ear which was removed to help slow metastasis. Beyond his cancer, he was a perfectly healthy dog when he wasn't clumsy or putting something in his mouth. Our vet trips were limited to simple routine check ups or emergency surgeries due to injury or his cancer. Beaker had the sweetest temperament and loved his family very intensely. Beaker and I instantly pair bonded and were inseparable for his whole life. He was so attached to me and his other humans that he suffered separation anxiety and was destructive when he was young. His separation anxiety was managed with training, medication and his dog brother (a black lab named Watson) and dog sister (Risa). Beaker was extremely smart and eager to please which made training very easy. He graduated top of his class in all his obedience training, we even auditioned for agility competitions but he was barred in our region due to not being a pure-bred dog. Beaker was high energy when he was a pup through about age 9, we spent many days of the week out hiking or running on the beach or dog park. He slowed down with age but we still made long walks our morning routine until the day he died. He was a great dog around my young nephews and let them climb all over him. The cancer that took my sweet boy was stealthy, even with routine monitoring with our vet (blood work, biopsy, ultrasound and x-ray) after his first cancer scare, we did not know we would loose him so soon. He showed no symptoms of his illness and his loss was very sudden. The cancer grows very slowly and shows no symptoms and causes no pain (indolent) until the tumor ruptures and is too late. His last check up was May 2019 (was given clean bill of health) and he passed in Dec 2019. We had no idea he was sick or going to pass until about 12hrs before having to put him to sleep due to severe hemorrhaging in abdomen. I have had a lot of dogs in my life, but Beaker was by far the most loving, caring eager and sweetest pup. He had a great memory and would be so excited to see my extended family when they visited from out of town but cautious of new people. For some strange reason, a handshake between me and a stranger was enough to calm Beaker, once he knew I was not in danger, he became your best friend. I miss my boy terribly, he was constantly by my side, very intuitive and very caring. When my wife would start to cry during a movie, he would instantly come lay on her and lick her tears away. If he saw how sad we are now, he would be doing the same thing now. After finding more information about this designer breed, it sounds like many of the traits Beaker had are shared and common. If you are looking for a family dog that does not shed much, is incredibly loving, easy to train and willing to make accommodations to their high energy and separation anxiety, I would strongly recommend looking into this new breed.
4 years, 3 months ago
