Superman

pup

Weight: 85lbs
4-19-2008 - 11-30-2019
Nicknames: Dorkboy, Superbrat, Silly Superboy
AKC name: O'Mal's Kryptonite

Superman is a great guy! Not only is he structurally sound, beautiful and healthy - but has a temperament to die for! Watch out bad guys! He is totally living up to his name and watches out for his little sister Mocha being the one to ask when she needs to go outside, and watching over her and her best friend. As a puppy he was first to escape any enclosure gaining him the title Man OVER steel. He gained his most unusual moniker (Super Duper Yooper Pooper Puker man) because he still got carsick until he was two...finally he's over that.

Superman is very easy going for an alpha personality - almost a Clark Kent at home - he gets along with everyone and looked up to Riggs as his role model. He's attained the status of alpha now that Riggs is gone....behaving better than he ever has. Unassuming and sweet and very much like his Grandpa Hoover and Uncle Riggs overall, he likes cuddles, chewing on his toys. He has the most awesome toy collection in his crate that he uses for a moveable bed. He rearrages them every few hours and it's not unusual to see him sleeping in some weird position on top of them!

.He does have one fault - albeit minor. He thumps. He does what we call vertical CPR...you know how someone pushes on a chest and does CPR - well, Superman does this to his crate door, windows, baby gates, toys - especially anything he is locked behind - which means because he's a full sized mal, there's not much that can hold him. He does his super-thump and he's out (and you wondered why we kept his puppy name Superman?). It took a locked crate door and 2 bungies to keep him inside (for awhile). Dan had to rebuild the front of his crate in 1/2" plywood... Instead he thumped the sides which also had to be reinforced. He's become the consumate escape artist by brute force! He has also decided to take his name literally. He lead an escape over the fence of himself, Mocha and Simone one day and scared us to death. While they went UNDER the fence, he climbed OVER it - living up to his nickname "Man Over Steel"....he now has to go out in the yard with the 6' privacy fence or instantly heads for the fence and jumps it effortlessly!

Other than that, he doesn't get into TOO much trouble. He used to be pretty stubborn about coming when called (unless he could race Mocha to the door) but he no longer has that option thanks to his escape artist tendencies! Superman loves to jump and will jump up on a 6' pile of wood to gaze out - and worries me one day he might just decide to fly. He likes to steal things off my desk and does the same things his other 10 siblings do -has an insatiable love of water and digging. He is our evening TV dog and will lie in his crate (on his toy pile mattress) all day and then come out mostly in the evening. He's definitely NOT a morning person. Sometimes we even have to wake him up for breakfast! He's also an awesome cuddler like his sister Mocha. He's outgoing and happy and truly a "man to steal your heart"!

At 11 years of age after never having a sick day in his life, had a seizure...we still aren't sure of the cause. We started using CBD oil and that worked for a few months really well, then BAM he had a cluster seizure. Got that under control and made plans for how to deal with it should it happen again. We had various meds at the ready, he was put on a reasonable dose of Keppra.. And then, two months later, they started - 3 in a row then another, then another.. We increased the Keppra...with so so results, so went to Valium, and that put him basically in a coma.Tried Gabpenmentin and that did NOTHING....then they just started coming and coming. With lots of valium we knocked them down to just face ticks (head shaking and biting) but that drove his temp to 105....so we were advised to put him in snow...that got his temperature down really quick...then the next morning it went sky high again and wouldn't come down even after an hour sitting with him in the snow. His whole body got very stiff and tense... Our vet was so sweet, I called 5 min. before they closed (all I could get out was Superman is dying before I burst into tears on the phone) and Dr. Tim waited for us to drive in and agreed, there was nothing else to do once they start biting the air. Thank God we have an awesome vet. At least we know we did all we could, but it still hurts. Within 5 days, we tried everything, and still lost one of the most beautiful and loving dogs ever....but like a true sled dog he went out covered in snow (for the fever) and pulled on a sled to his final resting place. RIP Superman...we will always love you. Superman's Rainbow Bridge tribute here.