It was the most unexpected news. Gentle was admitted for the second time to get her stitches sown back but a day later, she was reported dead. The cause of death is even more unexpected. The blood test report shows that she suffered from renal failure. How did she get kidney disease at such a tender age is beyond reason because she does not show any of the symptoms earlier.

Go without saying, it was a sad day for my family.

I was not a great fan of rottweilers at first. Neither are my friends. But we heard that Rottweilers make very good guard dogs. I decided to give Gentle a chance.

To help us understand rotties better, we seek a lot of help from books.

Gentle was four months old when she joined my family.

She adapted to her new environment very quickly. We feed her with good food, or at least we thought so.

We bought a number of toys but these are the ones that she enjoyed most.

Within the next few months, she had grown to a beautiful and adorable darling. She has terrific fur that you can’t resist to touch and caress.

Gentle was generally playful, friendly and get along well with all our friends, including those that were cynical about rearing rotties. And unlike other dogs, she seldom barks. She has certainly failed in living up to her image as a guard dog but we were totally fine with it. Instead, Gentle has become a great companion dog and I enjoyed our walks together.

I like a statement made by Tammy Gagne in her book, “Rottweilers”:

Many of the most admirable human traits can be found in a Rottweiler. Loyalty, strength, and a great zest for life are all part of this remarkable breed’s nature. When treated with love and respect, this is a dog capable of surpassing many humans in his ability to strike that elusive balance of shrewd intelligence and unconditional love – a feat that perhaps only a dog can truly manage.

Gentle has displayed such traits remarkably in the past one and half years.

A loss is hurting. A sudden loss is indescribable. But the memory of her will live on.