By June Neeley
Brass came to me as a rescue, Foster to Adopt, in December 2021, one month prior to his 6th birthday. I had lost my 13 y/o Chessie, Boudreaux, 8 months earlier, and decided to try adopting another, adult, Chessie, and had decided that a puppy required too much energy. I have had one or two Chesapeake Bay Retrievers most of my adult life. I looked at the CBRR&R website and saw pictures of Brass and felt he was the one for me. As it turned out, little was actually known about his past except that he had
been aggressive protecting the mother in his family and he had been neglected. 3 years of his vet records were missing, we were told, due to a fire in the vet office.
Long story, short, he was delivered to my home by his fosters on December 20, 2021, in the middle of a terrible snowstorm. His fosters were wonderful and helped settle Brass as best they could. Brass is a large Chessie. He weighs between 110 and 120 pounds. He is stocky, but not fat. I could see immediately that he had rear end muscle atrophy and huge muscled shoulders to compensate for the loss of rear end muscle.
This difference in front and back end made him appear to be fat. It was also clear that he was in pain. He could not run, retrieving was difficult for him. He could not jump. He could not get into my Tahoe without me literally lifting his rear end up and in. He also had a hoarse bark and a cough. I had him evaluated by my vet. She agreed to come to my house to evaluate Brass because there was a question about his behavior going to the vet office. He came with a muzzle and 3 different medications for sedation prior to seeing the veterinarian. Dr. Julie came and she agreed that indeed there was muscle loss, weakness in his back legs. However, she could not get close to him to do a hands-on evaluation. So Brass was sedated and taken to the office where an exam could be done, and laxity was found in both knees. We also tested for genetic neurologic issues which turned out negative. We did X-rays that confirmed hips were OK but that he had probable CCL rupture in both knees. Brass visited with 3 different surgeons who also confirmed the diagnosis and who could operate on him. A surgeon was decided on and a date for surgery was set.
Also, in our first 3 months together, Brass and I did intensive obedience training. I also consulted with various trainers around the country trying to learn how best to get Brass to learn to trust me and follow my lead. He was like peeling an onion back layer by layer. When he came he was aloof and would watch me closely. Soon I learned he liked to be petting and really liked treats. I learned to play food games with him that made him look to me for clues to find food or things he liked. After he began to be consistent looking to me for clues, I felt we were ready for surgery.
Thank you to so many of you who donated to help fund his surgery. Both CCLs were repaired at the same time. I questioned my sanity for taking on this project many times in the first 3 weeks. We had a few hiccups in the first week, but ultimately, Brass did well. He cooperated with his rehab and became stronger. By 2 months after his surgery, I began him swimming in a large pond near my home. He LOVED the water. And, swimming is great therapy for muscles in the legs. After about 6 weeks of swimming in the pond, Brass graduated to swimming in the river near my home. A star was born!
Brass, LOVES water. Of course! He is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever and born for water. But he really, really, really loves water. He swims for the joy of swimming. That first summer in the river, he would swim out to the current and float down doing “360’s” on the way down the river while barking and splashing and making funny, chirpy, happy noises during the whole process. When he would get to the bridge over the river, he would reverse and swim in place against the current for about 5 minutes and then swim back up the river and repeat the whole process. People would come and watch him swim. He was so happy his happiness was contagious. People would laugh and smile.
Some would take pictures and videos. Some even came down to the water to give him a pet as he came to the shore for a quick rest. Almost everyone remarked they had never seen a dog that was so happy. It has now been 2 years and 9 months since Brass came into my life as a rescue. He has been a challenge at times, but he has also become a sweet, funny, loving companion. He gardens with me, especially helping with harvesting. His first summer with me, he watched closely as I harvested fruit from the trees and vegetables from the garden. And then began harvesting by himself! He loves gardening on his terms. He’ll pull out a vine of peas and chomp off all the pea pods. He sniffs fruit on low branches of the cherry, pear and apple trees and when they are ripe, pulls them off the tree and eats them. I don’t get low-hanging fruit anymore.
Brass has also begun to show empathy for others’ feelings. A friend he knows well was at my house and crying after having a particularly trying day. He came and put his head in her lap. As she continued to cry, he went and got one of his very favorite toys and went to her, laid it in her lap, and then laid on her feet. So sensitive.
When we go to the river for him to swim, we now have friends who know him and people who will tell me they remember him from last year and how happy he was when they watched him swim last year. They remember his name. Of course, people swim there, too. And Brass has fun swimming circles around them and splashing them which no one seems to mind.
After watching other dogs retrieving sticks and training bumpers, Brass decided he wanted to retrieve. He found a stick and brought it to me and let me know by his actions he wanted me to throw it for him. He wanted to be like the other dogs. So now when we go to swim, he will retrieve for a while and then will enjoy “free” swim time. This summer, we have been able to almost overcome one of his biggest challenges.
The vet visits. When he came to me, he had to be heavily sedated just to go to the vet office and then would have to have that supplemented further with an injection just so the veterinarian could touch him. It was difficult at best. I began desensitizing him by taking him to the office and taking him in the lobby and weighing him and then leaving so he could see he could go there without pain. He slowly became less wary. This summer he needed to be evaluated while awake for a shoulder problem. The vet has been very patient with Brass. We decided that we would try the “outside exam room”.
The office backs on a large field and has a small porch. Dr. Ryan was able to examine Brass while outside the office and subsequently do laser treatments on the shoulder without sedation or aggression from Brass. It has been a huge step forward.
Brass continues to slowly open up. Even with all the challenges we have had in our short time together, we have bonded. I adopted him a year ago. He is very articulate without words and generally can show what he wants by his actions. And he can be bossy. He is an amazing, smart, sensitive and very funny boy with the best smile ever.
I’m glad he came to me, and we were able to help him. Hopefully now he will be able to live his life out in happiness.
