Mauer Puppy Wallschlaeger
10/5/2009-2/22/2011

Mauer's mom and dad wrote this memorial for their beloved boy:

There are no words that can fully describe the pure joy and love that Mauer shared with us during his short lifetime. He was meant to be with us, there is no doubt in our minds. God’s timing for Mauer in our life was impeccable. Before we even started looking for a puppy, we knew we wanted to name our first dog "Mauer". The first litter we found from All Dog Rescue (Angie’s pups)… who were mostly named after our beloved Twins baseball team (thanks Shelley), we found him…there sat the cutest puppy of all, with his fuzzy black body, white snout and dipped white paws…. "Mauer". It was destiny, we were sold. :) Love at first sight. He became ours forever. Mauer was the most beautiful dog, with the rarest personality that one could have ever hoped for.

Mauer was Adam’s first ever dog, and boy had they bonded. We will never forget the first time Adam allowed Mauer up on the bed at 3 months old… after that, it was over :) … he slept with us, napped with us, cuddled with us, cried with us. One true companion. He followed us everywhere; I mean EVERYWHERE (Sure will miss seeing that little white speckled nose poke through that shower curtain)! ;)

Beginning way too young, we were in and out of the vet with different illnesses, but despite the symptoms Mauer had, he rarely let it show. He spent his day with one goal in mind, how can I make mom and dad smile… let me tell you, he succeeded every day. He was a dog who lived for the weekends, a time when at 6am, he could come from the foot of the bed to stretch out and snuggle up right in-between us for an extra couple hours of sleep, rather than licking us awake. The weekends meant countless hours dancing around or cuddling with dad by the TV, or going on long runs with mom… and best of all trips to the dog park, sometimes even with his brother Gardy! Weekends meant family time. We loved family time. If it wasn’t the weekend, the one thing he most definitely looked forward to were his Wednesday visits to his favorite doggy daycare "Six Wags". He had formed such a strong bond with Dennis and Susan there… he loved them like second parents. Thank you guys for taking such good care of our boy when we couldn’t. When he was too sick for daycare, he was blessed to be able to go to grandma’s house for the day! Mauer’s grandma and grandpa looked after him when we couldn’t…despite Mauer’s water dribbling, running laps around the house, and shoe stealing habits that could sure make you go crazy. :) He was a piece of work, but worth more than a price tag and time we invested into him.

There are two memories that we will never forget about Mauer. The first thing that made him so unique was just how quick he was. Mauer was the fastest dog we had ever seen. Even as a young pup, we’d bring him to puppy socialization classes at the Humane Society with his bro Murphy… and all Mauer wanted to do was run, run, run. He ran laps underneath everyone’s chairs, he was amazing to watch, and so entertaining. At the dog park, he’d rather race his friends rather than tackle the other dogs. Even during his least favorite time of the year (winter), he’d make a track of his own in the backyard where he could run over and over and over again. But despite how fast he was, he’d never leave our side. We rarely had to use a leash with our little buddy. :) Our second memory was our favorite game we played with Mauer; "Hide and Seek". We would throw his tennis ball down the stairs, while he sat and waited. Once we "released" him he’d RUN to find the ball, come upstairs, drop the ball… and look all over the house for us. His excitement once he found us hiding behind the door or under the table was hilarious. We’d all laugh, and repeat. It never got old. He truly was one of a kind.

Adam and I had Mauer for the majority of our life together; we adopted him less than 3 months after we got married. He was our family; we invested so much in to that little guy. Life isn’t the same without him, and it never will be. There will always be that void in our life that misses him. Life without him seems unfair, and the pain that we have echoes how much he truly meant to us. As each day goes by, our deep sadness will gradually change into happiness. And the thoughts of him will always warm our hearts. He died peacefully in both our arms. We know he has been running laps in puppy heaven with his dear sister Zailey, waiting for the day we will reunite. Thank you to All Dog Rescue for blessing us with the best dog in the world. We couldn’t have been happier with our boy.