Meet the Knox/Oyler family!
From Dr. Thomassen...
The Knox family has been a part of the Gentle Doctor family since 1998. We know their faces, we know their pets, we know their history...and those are all very good things to know about this special family! They take exceptional care of their four-legged family members. As you will read, they are drawn to the senior age dogs to adopt, and Chuck and Ruth Ann give them a beautiful life until the end. We look forward to many more years of knowing this family and their fabulous pets!
From the family...
We are the Knox/Oyler family currently made up of three adult humans, Ruth Ann Knox, Chuck Knox, Ruth Ann’s daughter, Karen Oyler, and Karen’s seventeen year-old son, Benjamin, and three small dogs, Bailey (13 year-old Maltipoo), Frodo (9 year-old Lhasa-poo) and Cooper (6 year-old Lhasa Apso).
Tell us more about the pets you have now and the pets you have had in the past.
In the nearly twenty years Ruth and I have been married, we have had seven dogs, all rescues. We adopt mainly older dogs, knowing that they are often the ones left behind in favor of the younger dogs and puppies. Of course, while we give elderly dogs a good home in their final years, we also have to bear the pain of them leaving us as they journey beyond the realms of the physical.
Cooper is an exception to the rule in every way. He was a puppy when we brought him home from the Nebraska Humane Society. He had been with three owners in the first six months of his life, because he is a very social fellow, and needs to be with his people constantly. Previous owners had to leave him home, and I suppose neighbors and landlords complained about his barking and howling while his people were gone. So, we were so happy to be able to bring him home where someone is home almost all the time. Cooper has been with us longer than Frodo and Bailey.
Cooper has become our compassion worker. Our daughter has a rare genetic disease which keeps her in severe chronic pain. On days that her meds are not able to curb the pain, or on days that she is just emotionally down, Cooper will spend the day cuddled up at her side.
Cooper also loves toys. We didn’t discover this until we visited my brother in Utah. His dog introduced Cooper to his toy box, and shared his toys. When we returned home, we bought Cooper a doggie bed and filled it with toys. Cooper plays with his toys, and invites us to play with him too. But, he is a typical kid and he never picks up after himself.
Who could pass up this face? The name “Cooper” fits him perfectly so we did not change his name.
Bailey. Bailey weighs less than six pounds, but she is a ton of sweetness. We have never experienced a dog that can be so sweet. She is not only sweet, but she knows she is cute, and she uses the combination of qualities to get her way. Spoiled brat!!
Bailey is a ton of sweetness in a six-pound package.
Several years ago we had a Miniature Schnauzer named JoJo. When JoJo played, she would run so fast that her butt would drop down almost to the ground because her hind legs could hardly keep up with the front legs. We called it “Turbo Butt.” Just so happens that Bailey loves to get our attention by doing a Turbo Butt run around our living room. It is so cute.
At night, this six pound little girl is responsible for pushing me against the edge of the bed and keeping me pinned there.
Frodo is the latest rescue. He loves being with his people, and loves to cuddle. He also loves going for walks. We walk our dogs a minimum of three times each day. Frodo acts as though every walk is a new adventure, sniffing and marking constantly. When he first came to us, I could barely feel him pulling on the leash. But now, after just a few months, he has built up some strong muscles and has quite a strong pull for an eleven pound dog. Since Frodo has joined the pack, my shadow has undergone a strange transformation; it is now the color of a French fry, and it is short and has four legs.
My French Fry Colored Shadow—Frodo.
All three dogs like to be with me when I meditate. As I prepare to meditate, they gather around and quietly lie around me as I meditate.
Our two most remembered dogs of the past years were JoJo, a Miniature Schnauzer, and Maisie, a twenty pound Tibetan Terrier. Ruth rescued JoJo from an owner that kept her in a kennel outside in the winter. To make matters worse, the owner did not have her groomed, so the bitter Indiana winter must have been pure torture for this little girl. JoJo was so thankful when Ruth took her home, and subsequently had her groomed. The groomer had to cut all of her hair off because it was too matted to comb out. JoJo’s favorite game was “get the daddy.” Ruth would scream “get the daddy,” and JoJo would do a flying leap up on the bed and stand with her front paws squarely on my chest, and staring in my face. It was all in fun, and she often waited with great anticipation that she would soon be commanded to “get the daddy.”
JoJo’s favorite place in the world was the White Sands National Monument near Alamogordo, New Mexico. Our first trip there, we let her off of her leash and she just loved running in the sand. After that, in subsequent years, as we approached the park, JoJo would stand on Ruth’s lap, with her ears straight up, and her focus on the scenery. She would get more and more excited as we drove into the park. When she died, we poured her ashes in the White Sands park.
You might think this is snow, but this is JoJo in White Sands, New Mexico. This was her favorite place to be. The white sand is actually a very cool temperature to walk on.
Maisie was about seven years old when we brought her home from the Nebraska Humane Society. Ruth got her name from a Dr. Seuss book. Since her hair was severely matted, the NHS had to cut all of her hair off…except a tuft of hair on the top of her head. We called Maisie our angel because when she wanted a treat, her ears would go up and flap like the wings of an angel.
This is Maisie when we brought her home in April of 2000.
Maisie was a beautiful girl. When her hair grew out, we asked Pam Savoye to groom her like a lion, with a big mane and a tuft of hair on her tail. Pam did an amazing job with her. Maisie walked with a proud high stepping prance with that hairdo.
This is Maisie in January of 2005.
We call Maisie our $10,000 baby. In the first couple of years with us, she had recurring urinary infections. Dr. Krapfl did a sonogram on her belly to see if he could find a cause for all of the infections. He found polyps in the lining of her bladder to which bacteria would cling and grow, causing the infections. The surgery to remove the polyps was expensive, but it stopped the urinary tract infections.
The next huge expense happened one day when Maisie tried to attack another dog while I was walking her on a trail near our house. She jumped up in the air, and came down landing in a bad way, hyperextending her right rear knee. The surgery to repair the knee was, again, very expensive.
Maisie at White Sands, New Mexico in 2007.
Finally, Maisie came down with diabetes. We had to give her twice daily insulin shots for several years and frequently made doctor visits as the disease progressed and insulin adjustments were necessary. We also found ourselves making several emergency visits as she became very ill when the insulin needed adjustments. After seven years with us, Maisie became very ill on a trip to Utah and we had to put her down. The vet in Utah that examined her did an necropsy after she passed and found a large tumor in her chest cavity that apparently threw Maisie’s entire system out of balance. We still miss that girl very much.
Maisie also loved the White Sands, but her most exciting time was when we visited a friend of mine on his ranch in New Mexico. We let Maisie walk free as we walked about in the pastures, because we could see for miles, literally. She encountered an antelope and sprinted after it. Of course, she was no match, but when she returned to us, it was very apparent that she truly enjoyed the challenge. When we return to visit my friend again, we will leave her ashes there, as well. Over the course of her eight years with us, we easily spent well over $10,000 resolving medical issues for her. She was worth every penny to us.
JoJo and Maisie were the best of friends.
Tell us about when you first met the Gentle Doctor team or a story about the team others may not know.
In 1998, we had come to be uncomfortable with the vet in our neighborhood. One day I heard a lady in my office talking about her four dogs. I asked her who her vet was, and she could not stop singing the praises of Dr. Robert Bashara and his son Dr. Pete Bashara at the Gentle Doctor Animal Hospitals. So, our next visit to the vet was at the then brand new facility at 151st and Maple Streets. Our trust in the Basharas and in all of the Gentle Doctor staff has never waned. I am continually in awe of the excellent staff of doctors, attendants, and good people we find there. We know we can trust every one of the staff explicitly.
What have you learned about pets that you did not know as a kid or before you had your own pets?
This is embarrassing. “Man, we was dumb!” applies to me precisely. When I was a kid I had a little thirty pound dog that lived up to his name, Tuffy. Tuffy loved to play, and he was my constant companion. He went with me everywhere. I would often ride my bike to some of my favorite places, some as far as ten miles away. Tuffy would run right alongside, even on the hot days in Roswell, New Mexico. I never, ever gave it a thought that he might get tired. He just seemed to have endless energy. On weekends, he would walk out into the desert with me, spending hours walking around. He would occasionally chase after a jack rabbit but always come right back to my side.
Tuffy was an amazing dog. He could jump a four foot tall fence in a single bound without a running start. He was less that two foot tall himself. It was not until recently as I watch our aging little Bailey that I realized that Tuffy surely had days when it had to be hard to take one more step, but he toughed it out just to be at my side.
Do you have wisdom about any medical conditions that you could share with someone who is perhaps just starting to walk their pet through a similar situation?
When I walk my dogs, I watch them closely. I pay attention to their habits and look for changes. Does she strain when she urinates or poops? Is the poop “normal?” Does he seem disinterested in what’s going on? Did he/she change her normal walking pace? Is his tail and head up, or is his tail down? Is he or she missing things he might normally take an interest in? Does he or she favor one leg over another? Is she having trouble eating something? Is he drinking more water than normal? Is she eating less than normal?
All of these things offer clues on what is happening with the dog, and maybe something needs more attention, and possibly a trip to the vet. Most of all, listen to your pet with your heart. Get quiet around them and listen while you watch them. Many years ago, I noticed JoJo seemed to be having trouble urinating. I turned off the chatter in my brain for a while and watched her. Strangely, a picture of a ball blocking a tube came to mind. I took JoJo to Gentle Doctor and requested an X-ray of her tummy area. The X-ray revealed a large (quarter-sized) bladder stone in her bladder. Our pets do talk to us. We just need to listen.