Dog protects body of her owner..

[Dr Mordrid]

Not surprised at all, especially of a German shepherd doing it.



Link....

Loyal dog guards owner for weeks after death

GREELEY, Colorado (AP) -- A dog stood guard over her owner's body for up to six weeks after the man committed suicide on the remote northeastern Colorado plains, authorities said.

The body of 25-year-old Jake Baysinger of La Salle, Colorado, was found Sunday on the Pawnee National Grasslands about 75 miles northeast of Denver, Colorado. Cash, his German shepherd, was found beside him, thin and dehydrated but still alive. The dog had apparently survived by eating mice and rabbits, authorities said.

The Weld County coroner ruled Baysinger's death a suicide. The cause of death wasn't immediately determined but authorities found a gun nearby, the coroner's office said Tuesday.

"At least we know it's over now," said Baysinger's wife, Sara. "We'd been looking for my husband for six weeks, and this isn't how we wanted it to end. At least we can close this."

Baysinger was reported missing June 28. An extensive search failed to locate him, but Kip Konig, a rancher, saw the dog last weekend, went to investigate and discovered Baysinger's body and his pickup.

He said Cash kept running back to the pickup and jumping into the front seat.

"I got the sense she was trying to tell me where her master was," Konig said.

Cash was reunited Monday with Sara Baysinger and her 2-year-old son, Lane. She said her little boy is "very close to that dog" and happy to see her again.

Investigators said the dog probably kept coyotes away from the body.

[High_Jumbllama]

Sad but wow. Stories like this are why I will always be a dog person.

[Dr Mordrid]

Personal anecdote;

There are times when I'm in severe pain (my bad leg). No secret there, it's been that way for almost 20 years.

At those times our 100+ lb rottweiler/ridgeback mix Spike will not leave my side, and very often he will try and block me from getting up off the couch/chair etc. or he'll go retrieve my wife or son...and he can be very convincing - to the point of dragging their pant legs.

When I go to sleep in that condition he's positioned between the bedroom door and the bed and on high alert - if I make a sound he's right there to check my status.

A real mother hen, needed or not

Any other time he parks himself in the main hall where he can observe/protect most of the house, but always within sight of the front entry.

If Margie or Erik are ill it's a similar story; "Doggie Mom" is on full alert, but it seems I get 'enhanced' services.

[Claymonkey]

You're a lucky dog owner there Doc. I've been a dog person all my life, so your story, and the one that started this thread does my heart good. Sadly, I've been a city boy for years now and if I have a dog.. its going to be over 40-50lb, and I won't do that to a dog. Heck, the dog I want is a giant alaskan malamute. Needless to say my furry friends these days have been cats but the loyalty and frienship of a dog... its hard to match.

[Dr Mordrid]

When I was young & still on my parents farm I had a female giant German shepherd named Roxy; 152 lbs of extremely powerful dog with a boat load of intelligence.

This was when I still lived on my parents farm so we would sometimes have feral dogs (usually dumped by city folks) cause trouble. Once one wandered into our yard and attacked Roxy's adolescent daughter Sassy.

Roxy snapped her welded link chain (2" links) like a string, grabbed the intruder by its throat and proceeded to kill it quite efficiently - thrashing it around like a wet rag - something when you consider it weighed about 50 lbs.

After that she checked on Sassy, went to her dog house and took a nap. Yes, we had the intruder checked for rabies etc. - negative, it was just a vicious SOB.

Dog loves of my life:

Roxy & Sassy (note how high she is vs. the chairs)


Spike (yes, that's an antique vacuum tube radio/short wave in the background)