The Geert Project
Just like all Newfoundlands, Makepeace Legend of Geert, known to one and all as "just Geert", was a special dog. Who was Geert? Geert was a Newfoundland dog born on Feb. 24, 2006. He belonged to Jim and Debbie Myers of Cochranton, Pennsylvania. When they brought him home at 10 weeks of age, he weighed 28 pounds. Full grown, Geert weighed 155 pounds.
When Geert was a year old, he passed the AKC Canine Good Citizen test and became a therapy dog. He worked regularly visiting nursing homes, hospitals, cancer centers, colleges and elementary schools in the Western Crawford County area. For several years, he was a hospice dog in the Meadville, Titusville and Franklin area. We say he worked as a therapy dog because he took this role very seriously, never accepting treats until his visits were done.
When he was 2 years old, he passed the Newfoundland Club of America Water Dog test, which tests the water rescue abilities of the dog. When Geert was 3, he passed his NCA Draft (Carting) Test and received his Draft Title. His byline was
'Don't put the cart in front of the horse unless you have a Newf.'
In the summer of 2010, when Geert was 4, he began his training for the Senior Water Rescue Dog test. Because he had trouble with a couple of the exercises, Debbie decided to wait until the next year to enter him in the test.
There was no "next year." On Nov. 8, 2010, this intelligent, loving dog was diagnosed with a fast-growing form of bone cancer, and given only a few months to live. He died on April 8, 2011. He had just turned 5 years old.
Canine cancer takes too many of our loving companions away from us too early in their lives. Dogs get cancer at roughly the same rate as humans. Some forms of the cancer are more invasive and more deadly than others. Approximately one in four dogs will develop a tumor of some kind during its lifetime. More than half the dogs currently over 10 years old will die of cancer.*
Help Debbie and her friends at Conneaut Lake Dog Park fight this devasting disease by donating to the "Geert Fund." For a donation of $20.00 you will also receive the beautiful 18 x 24 poster "Sometimes Newfoundlands need saving..." by noted photographer David Hansen.
