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Panner was the puppy I kept as show/breeding potential from my Wild
West Litter (aka, The Dirty Dozen). He brought some important
qualities to my breeding program that I really, really wanted:
overall soundness, wonderful companion temperament, excellent health
and excellent orthopedics. His mother, Star, still lives with me.
In
June 2006, Panner produced an incredible litter of pups with my
Mariah. Panner was a great stud: he produced better than himself,
which is what you hope for. My Vinny and Savvy are Panner kids.
Because he produced such a nice litter, including the two gorgeous
boys that I have, I no longer needed Panner in my breeding program.
Berners are a breed that requires - thrives - on human
companionship. Several Berners share my companionship and so they
each must vie for my attention. That's why, when I can, I always
feel it's a blessing to place a retired Berner into a wonderful pet home
whenever possible. The pet home will likely give lots more
individual attention that I can. I strongly feel that Berner
hoarders (breeders who keep their healthy, well-adjusted Berners
even after they're neutered/spayed and so amass 30+ Berners living
with them) do a great disservice to those animals. So I thought
that, since Panner had finished as a stud, I would find him a
wonderful pet home that suited his needs.
Panner was incredibly athletic with the excellent orthopedics to
support it. In March 2007, Panner was neutered and placed with a
nice couple
in northern Idaho who enjoy
hiking and are very physically active outdoors.
Panner
accompanied Lisa and Patrick on many adventures. I feel confident
that he enjoyed being with them and the places they took him to.
In
the latter part of the last week of April 2007, Panner was placed in
the care of Happy Tails Boarding Kennel in the Paradise Valley area
of Bonners Ferry. This is a kennel on the edge of the Kootenai
Wildlife Preserve. Published material on this area says there are
cougars, grizzlies and brown bears live in this area. However, the
kennel came highly recommended.
Panner's
owners left on a trip and entrusted him to the care of this kennel.
The kennel removed his normal collar with his tags on it and put a
plain choker collar on him, instead.
I really hope this kennel
re-thinks this policy AND their policy to leave new dogs unattended
in an open kennel in a wilderness area where - per published
information - there are many large animal predators that live in the
area. I feel this kennel made some irresponsible choices that
enabled Panner's flight and helped prevent his being identified.
Having served in rescue, I cannot imagine anyone with any rescue
experience making those choices.
On
Friday, April 27th, Panner jumped the fence at this kennel and tried
to go home. As soon as his owners learned of Panner's dilemma, they
left their vacation early and spent a small fortune to fly home asap
to find him.
They searched for Panner all weekend and then
called to tell me about this situation on Monday, April 30th. I
immediately drove the 4+ hours north to join the search for Panner.
On Tuesday, as I was searching near a pond where Panner had been
sighted, I became very alarmed after I saw adult cougar footprints
near the pond. I've lived in an area where cougars roamed
freely, so I am familiar both with the pawprints and the risks
involved.
Panner's
owners and the kennel owner put up flyers everywhere, including
nearby towns. The kennel owner put an ad in the local newspaper. All
of us called nearby animal shelters and vet clinics. His owners
camped out in various areas where Panner had been sighted. Their
friends came to help. Panner's owners mounted a huge effort to find Panner.
Panner
was sighted a few times after he escaped his kennel. One time, he
almost came to a particular stranger. There were no official
sightings of Panner after Sunday, April 29th 5pm, although there was
a possible sighting on Monday.
When
I drove up there, I felt I was a day too late and I did my best to
shake this feeling. His owners remained hopeful and very vigilant.
We
employed the help of two animal communicators, two intuitives and
one douser.
The animal communicators and the intuitives said that
Panner was unhappy at the kennel and desperately wanted to go home.
So he jumped the fence and tried to find his way home. (Okay, so we
didn't really need anyone to tell us this but it confirmed what we
thought we knew).
Both
intuitives said that Panner had been rescued by a very nice,
middle-aged couple who were trying to find his owners. Both animal
communicators said that Panner was roaming freely and trying to find
home. The douser agreed with the intuitives that Panner had been
rescued.
One
of the intuitives said that Panner would be returned to his owners
on Friday after being rescued by a middle-aged couple, family
people. She said that the town of Elmira was especially important to
post flyers in because Elmira played an important part in how Panner
would be found. The other intuitive said this very same thing - not
knowing what the other one had said. Neither of the animal
communicators had anything about any particular town (and that's
probably because Panner was in a strange area).
The
problem was that no one - not one of them and none of us - knew
where Panner was or had any really good idea.
I had
two dreams about Panner this week. Both dreams happened in the same
night: in the wee hours of Thursday morning, about 5 am.
The
first dream was that Panner was in a barn. A farmer had taken a
shot-gun and shot Panner, who had been roaming freely. Panner laid
down and, after a little while, died.
In
the dream that immediately followed, I saw Panner lying down,
stretched out a little on the ground. The ground beneath him was
different than the ground had been in the barn (it was grassy
instead of hay). When I arrived to see Panner - and in the dream I
knew I was in spirit-form - Panner looked up at me briefly to
acknowledge my presence and then he put his head back down. He was
in incredible pain. A moment later, I knew Panner had died. When I
awoke from the dream, I put as much positive energy into Panner as
possible and I desperately hoped neither of my dreams were true. But
I had a strong gut feeling that Panner had been killed by a human.
I had
arranged to drive up on Friday night to the home of another puppy
buyer in the area. We agreed that I could use their home as a base
for sleep and showers so I could again join the search for Panner
over the weekend. I felt strongly confident we would find him and I
couldn't get rid of the heavy thought that Panner was dead. But I
was determined to find him - just as his owners were also
determined.
Just
after I left work on Friday, I called Panner's owners to inquire if
Panner had been found and to make arrangements to connect with their
search efforts over the weekend.
Patrick, Panner's new dad, said that he had been standing in Elmira
putting out more flyers when he got a phone call from a strange
number. The call was from a man in the area. This man had seen the
photos of Panner on his flyers and had gone back to confirm that a
dead dog he saw matched Panner's description. The dead dog and the
description matched, so he called the number on the flyer.
Yes,
it was Panner who lay dead on the side of a road near Naples (not
far from Elmira). It appears Panner was hit and killed by a car in
an area that was far south of the kennel. He was headed home.
With
the help of the caller, Patrick loaded Panner's remains into his car
and took him to their Vet for cremation.
Patrick and Panner - best buds
Patrick and Lisa worked very hard to
find Panner.
Ultimately, Patrick is the one who was
brought to Panner's body.
We
are all devastated at the loss of our beloved boy, Panner. He had
just turned two years old in January. We're all amid feelings of
remorse, guilt and a fervent desire to change past decisions. If
only...If only...
Thankfully, Panner's legacy lives on in his wonderful children. He
produced one litter in June 2006. You can visit
Vinny and
Savvy webpages and learn more about Panner's progeny.
Clifford, who was Bella's human, loved Panner deeply. He wanted
Panner to live with him but he was physically handicapped and it
wasn't possible. But he adored Panner. Clifford left us in early
April due to a terrible lung disease. It helps me to think that,
somehow, Clifford was waiting to greet Panner at the Rainbow Bridge.
I know Panner loved Clifford, too, and having Clifford greet him
would've been a joy for Panner.
My
darling boy, I am so sorry you're gone and for anything I did that
made you unhappy. I know Patrick and Lisa feel the same way.You were
such a devoted friend and your passing has left a gaping hole in our
lives. Thank you for the wonderful memories you left with us.
Rest in Peace, Panner
WE LOVE YOU!!! |
For all dogs who were bred to work
