Rest In Peace, Otto

On Tuesday, September 1, 2015, we lost our dear friend, Otto.

I hate to write about really unpleasant issues, but as the lead dog, I can’t just hand this kind of stuff off to Ernie. To be completely honest, Ernie is not the best writer. It wasn’t that long ago that it fell on my shoulders to let everyone know about the passing of Shania the cat. I’ve had more than my share of health issues. Even though he had cancer, Otto was our rock and seemed invincible. Losing him has been a tough one. I’ve been putting off writing a post about Otto’s passing because the post seems to make it official – he’s really gone.

A few days before Christmas in 2014, we got word that Otto had a nearly unstoppable form of cancer, hemangiosarcoma. We learned that dogs with this type of cancer typically die in a few months. We weren’t just going to accept that, so we decided to throw every drug available at this cancer and hope for the best. Everyday Otto happily gobbled up a pill pocket stuffed with what we hoped were wonder drugs. We know cancer can make a dog fragile, but Otto was going strong for months. I recall scolding Ernie for taking Otto running in chilly February after Otto’s second chemotherapy treatment. Ernie later told me that after picking up Otto at the Hope Center, he took off towards the WO & D Trail, insisting that Ernie quit worrying and just follow him. Typical Otto.

Witnessing exploits like this, people that knew he had cancer would often wonder if he was suddenly cancer free. “Is he ok now?” is a question we’d get a lot. We would laugh and explain that we’re giving every day a chance. Despite tell-tale cancer signs like losing his hair, a few even wondered if we got the medical details wrong. I guess they didn’t trust dogs to understand things like cancer.

Throughout the spring and summer of 2015, Otto was extremely high energy. Nothing seemed to slow him down for very long, not even walking with a couch potato like yours truly. Unfortunately, no one wants Camelot to end. By August, we reluctantly noticed that Otto was slowing down. We took Otto to the doctor, and an ultrasound revealed our worst fears. He had tumors everywhere in his abdomen. Some were large and pressing on vital organs, no doubt causing him serious pain. I noticed him tossing and turning more at night, moving from one place to another. He couldn’t even find peace when trying to sleep. By the end of August, he nearly stopped eating and taking medications. Otto was never one to leave food untouched, so even little Ernie understood the dark significance of this. On Otto’s last night, he seemed even more anxious than recent days, and he crawled into my bed for safety, just like he did on the first night in his new home.

In 2005 Otto showed up a short time after me. Our blog and videos provide plenty of proof that we were an odd couple. I can’t bend this story in my favor even if I wanted to do that. I am a bit cautious and prefer socializing to exercising. Some might call me a bit of a couch potato. On the rare occasion when I push myself and leap off the coffee table, I somehow always manage to hit the table and spoil an otherwise perfect jump. I once saw Otto easily jump out of the window of our SUV and take off into the woods after some deer. His jump was flawless, and even though the deer are fast, Otto’s speed made it a close race. If I ever thought of jumping out of an SUV to chase deer, I’d spend so much time evaluating the situation that the deer would have been in the next county by the time I decided to act.

Otto loved to run the trails along the Potomac River, at River Bend Park and especially the River Trail at Great Falls Park. This trail can be a little tricky because it sits 25 to 75 feet above the Potomac River. The height frightens many. If that’s not enough, you also need to be good at rock scrambling, going around or over the many rocks or small boulders that disrupt the trail. The combination of the steep drop and rough terrain unnerves most people, but not Otto. He would pass people on the trail, and look back with an encouraging “let’s go.” No matter the difficulty of the trail, he moved quickly and easily, circling the park in no time. Seeing him do it inspired confidence.

He never really enjoyed low-energy activities like visiting the dog park. I think they seemed boring to him, but if I asked for company, he’d happily go with me. Sometimes I was glad he came because we were the only two there. When he wasn’t eating or tearing up a trail, Otto loved to rip apart a box. He could tear open a heavy duty box stuffed with other boxes inside before I could grab a treat out of folded piece of cardboard. He brought that energy to everything he did.

People always seemed to have concern with just us guys in the house. Their cynical look betraying what they suspected, they’d often ask me, “How do you, Otto, and Ernie get along?” Maybe they’d see Otto and Ernie’s bitefest and conclude all we did was fight. They couldn’t be more wrong. Otto was a tough dog. Even as a puppy, he would routinely look for opportunities to take me on. Otto encouraged Ernie to wrestle him. To someone that didn’t understand what was going on, I suppose it could look rather vicious. It was nothing more than practicing our wrestling skills. We often take turns beating the stuffing out of each other or trying to bite a stray ear, but the blows never really land and the bites never draw blood. We practice with each other in case we ever face a real situation that is more than just friendly practice.

Otto was built like a solid sack of potatoes. His tough exterior concealed a gentle soul. Most people are unaware that when he was young he was attacked by 2 big dogs running off lead. I wasn’t close at hand to help; otherwise, I’m convinced that together we would have won. After the attack, he became a bit of a loner outside our trusted family. When Ernie came on board and we started making more (and better!) videos, others got to see Otto’s softer side.

In the beginning, he wasn’t an Ernie fan, but he soon stepped in and started to teach and protect Ernie like a father looks after his son. I put in the video a little clip that showed Otto, long after he was diagnosed with cancer and while he was weak from chemotherapy, stepping in between a bigger dog and Ernie to make sure nothing happened to little Ernie. I myself didn’t think Ernie was in much danger, but Ernie was a puppy, and Otto wasn’t going to take any chances. Otto knew the bigger dog would respect his authority. Now, when I see how calm Ernie is around big dogs, I know Ernie had a good teacher.

I sometimes hate that we have a website, but that’s only true sometimes. Looking back on all the good times during the making of our video focused Ernie and me on what we enjoyed, rather than what we lost. That’s been really good for both of us. We first made the video based on a version of the song My Way sung by Elvis Presley. The strong male voice seemed to fit Otto. Initially, that video was blocked in the US – our home turf – so we redid the video with another great version of the song, this time sung by Celine Dion (shown above). In a way, the 2 versions fit Otto well: one is shorter and stronger in an obvious way, the other is longer and equally powerful in the subtle touches. Plus, by having an extra video, maybe we pick up a few extra YouTube subscribers.

I come across a lot of stories that refer to “losing a battle with cancer.” I always think they miss the point. Otto wasn’t battling cancer. He ignored cancer as best he could, right up until the very end. Like all of us, Otto was in a battle to make the most of each and every day. Cancer or no cancer, Otto was with Ernie and me every step of the way, to the very end. I try not to focus on how Otto did against cancer, because he won the really important battles of living his life and being a great friend.

Every lead dog must have a good right hand man, and Otto was the best I could have asked for. He was sandwiched between the lead dog and the cute puppy but always managed to make all of us better.

We’ll never forget Otto’s way. Rest in peace, Otto.