A Tribute to Max the Marvelous Mountaineering Dalmatian

July 27th '84 - July 20th '98

At 6 weeks and 6 lbs the start of a wonderful life of adventure together

"My Baby Dog"

The first night home was spent in a box beside our bed. I was so worried that he wouldn't sleep that I spent most of the night watching him. He slept peacefully , I stayed awake , he already had me trained!!.

8weeks

Some how or other we survived those early months!!!!!

When Max was 11 mths old we flew from Cleveland, Ohio out to the Rocky Mtns. on vacation. He discovered the fun of sliding down steep snow slopes in the mountains and later in life taught Emma how to glissade down as well

Jeremy ( our younger son) and Max had a very special close relationship. When Jeremy would leave to go back to school Max would refuse to kiss him goodbye even to the point of turning his back. He continued to do this right up until the last time he saw Jeremy, 3 days before he died.

Max maintained a good relationship with all three cats. Unlike the three girls Emma, Tessa & Rosie, he never chased them.

Susie was an ardent admirer of Max from the time we brought her home. Here Max can be seen practicing snuggling in his sleeping bag before going backpacking, Susie looks on wondering whether or not to join in

In 1987 we moved from Ohio to New Mexico and in 1991 introduced Max to backpacking in the canyons on Cedar Mesa in Utah . He used to carry all of his own food. We would often pack with some of our friends from the Unitarian Church in Los Alamos and he became the mascot for the group. He used to "herd" us along the trail , making sure that everyone was keeping up with the party and hadn't got lost

Max with his beloved "Daddy" Terry in Grand Gulch, Utah during a back pack

My favorite picture of Max. This was the last day of a very long hot 6 day backpack down Grand Gulch and he was very tired

Max and friends from the Unitarian Church of Los Alamos on top of Mt Yale, Colorado. Max climbed thirty 14,000' mountains in Colorado and many, many more mountains in New Mexico.We always put his name along with ours in the log books at the tops of the mountains.

On top of Castle Peak in the Maroon Bells Colorado, patiently waiting for part of "Daddy's" sandwich. People were known to suddenly find their sandwich eaten if they weren't careful!!

Emma became a member of the family in 1993 and the following year Max introduced her to the mountains in Colorado. This was the top of one of the many climbs they did together.

Love that cool clean mountain water

The Elder Statesman

May 1998

We took Max on one last camping trip with us into the canyon lands and deserts of Utah, even though at this point he was incontinent and couldn't walk far, we wanted to give him one last special treat before saying goodbye. He loved it, he seemed energized by it, and I truly believe it gave him 2 extra months with us. With bent back and stiff legs he patrolled the perimeter of our camp site morning and evening, making sure everyone was safe.I will always remember seeing him silhouetted against the desert skyline making his rounds. I felt then that he was saying goodbye to the land he loved so much and will carry that memory in my heart forever

Now he is gone from us and free to chase the marmots from one side of the mountain to the other as he used to when younger, free from the pain and confusion that accompanied his last few weeks.

On July 25th Terry and Jeremy climbed Blanca Peak in Colorado and put an old collar of Max and a name tag under the rocks at the summit, Max climbed Blanca 6 years ago. Next year we will take some of his ashes and scatter them in the canyons of Utah and the mountains of Colorado so that he may run free once again.

Sleep peacefully dearest "baby dog" you are forever in our hearts

"We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own, live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way. We cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fully understanding the necessary plan..."

"The Once Again Prince" from Separate Life Times

Irving Townsend