For The Love Of Thor
Who would expect that a chance encounter while going out for ice cream, one summer night would lead to the saving of a dog? That is what happened in the summer of 2018. As the story begins, Sherman, a college student holding down two jobs, and some friends were hanging out while getting some ice cream. At the same time, a gentleman shows up with two dogs in his truck. When Sherman asked to pet his dogs, the gentleman told him that one of the dogs, Thor, if not adopted by the next morning at 10 am, would be put down. The gentleman had brought Thor to get ice cream as his last treat.
Thor was a handsome and people-friendly dog and Sherman wanted to save Thor. After doing a little digging around, a more detailed story emerged. The story as told to Sedona was that a woman who used to own Thor had moved into a new apartment. Before moving, she was assured having a dog wouldn't be an issue. However, the landlord changed the agreement once she moved in. She had to find a new home for Thor and soon thereafter, Thor was brought to live at her father’s house. Her father later passed away, and the house was sold, but Thor continued to live at the house, tied up in the back yard and being fed once a day. When the gentleman store found out about Thor’s story, he convinced the woman to surrender Thor to him. When she did, she had the man sign a contract stating that Thor would either be re-homed or put down and that Thor was not to be put into rescue.
Since Thor was re-homed with Sherman, the contract was void. Knowing that he could only keep Thor for a short time, Sherman reached out to Sedona Shepherd to find a good home for Thor. And Thor’s journey with Sedona began.
Upon arriving with Sedona, we knew that Thor was a special dog. He exhibited a certain joy in life and play. Thor was immediately ready to get out in the big play area, fetch a ball, or run around with a tug toy. He showed some reactivity towards dogs, but it wasn’t until he was in his foster home that he went into a bit of overdrive in his reactivity toward dogs, especially when they were near his property. So, his first foster home was short-lived.
After returning to Sedona, Thor settled in fairly quickly and soon became a favorite of many of the volunteers. Thor had his quirks. We soon learned that if he didn’t think that playtime was over, Thor would be stubborn about going back into his run. Although Thor was an extremely smart dog, we had a few tricks up our sleeve, and as long as we brought him back in with his tug toy, he would grudgingly comply. Eventually, we all settled into a nice routine. Like so many German Shepherds in rescue, Thor had chronic ear infections. With a combination of diet and medication, it appeared that the infections were under control and Thor was ready for his new home.
Once Thor settled into his new home, as befitting his name, he did feel that it was his responsibility to determine who was coming to visit. His adopters did some training, but their work schedule changed dramatically over the course of 18 months. By that point, it was clear that Thor was not getting the attention and training necessary to keep him properly focused. Additionally, his ear infections returned. It was decided that it would be best for Thor’s health to be returned to Sedona.
When Thor came back into our care, not only did he have an issue with his ear, but the infection was causing a drainage issue in his cheek. After trying some heavy-duty antibiotics and consulting with Dr. Ross and the staff at Crown Vet Hospital, it was agreed that Thor would need the left ear canal removed. Within two days of his surgery, Thor was up and ready to get back to living his active lifestyle. By this point, Thor had also figured out a lot of our tricks to bring him back inside. We quickly learned if he was free to run around in the enclosed area, that it would take about 3 people to corral him no matter what incentive we provided him. From that point, there were many pictures of Thor dragging around a 20-foot training lead. As smart as Thor was, he never quite figured out to stay 20 feet away when it was time to go inside.
With a clean bill of health and some additional training, Thor was ready for his new home. Prior to the upcoming adoption, Thor had been on his best behavior while staying at a volunteer’s apartment (with no other dog) as well as a 1-month stint with a temporary foster. We found an adopter that we were hopeful would be Thor’s final home and all was going well for 4 months. However, Thor developed a very bad case of glaucoma in his left eye. The pain in the eye was also causing some unpredictable behavior and for everyone’s safety, Thor came back to Sedona.
Our love and care for Thor never wavered. At this point, Thor was probably about 10.5 years old and clearly, his early years were difficult ones. We knew from this point on, Thor would be a permanent forever friend and stay with us until he passed away from natural causes. First, though we needed to address glaucoma in his left eye. This time we consulted with Dr. Ottoson and the staff at Fanwood Animal Hospital. Dr. Ottoson was completely confident that removing the eye would relieve the pressure and that Thor could go on to live a normal life. Thor was already blind in the eye and wouldn’t even notice the difference.
One more surgery and one more stoic response from Thor. Again, within 2 days, Thor couldn’t wait to get rid of the cone and just be a normal dog. No longer in pain, Thor was once again a trusted companion. By the summer of 2022, Thor was clearly slowing down physically. He still enjoyed chasing his toys and trying to see how many he could get into his mouth at one time. He still was sneaky about not wanting to go inside until he was ready and as he got older became even more affectionate to all our volunteers.
On the morning of October 6th, Thor was struggling with both his hind legs and his front right leg. Normally, even when it was difficult to get up, Thor was always motivated to play fetch and move around. This morning, Thor just wanted to lie down and be with his friends. His rear right leg was swollen and it was obvious that there was some severe medical issue, probably with his lymphatic system. Thor who had fought the good fight knew it was time. Our volunteers spent the day with Thor and that evening after consulting with our vet, Thor peacefully passed away with his friends by his side.
There were tears but no regrets. We will miss our friend, but know that his time with us was never taken for granted and was always cherished. Thor lived his best life. You can watch Thor’s video tribute on our blog.
For The Love Of Thor.