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May the Guardian Angel of Pet Lovers hover around Doug and console both him and the noble King on this saddest of nights

A King Who Will Go On To Live In the Heart



It’s a sad Saturday at the Hagmann house in Erie, PA. And no matter how heartfully we wish otherwise, it is bound to get sadder. Vets say that Doug’s noble German Shepherd dog, King, is not expected to last much longer. King, the mascot for the Hagmann & Hagmann Report radio show’s ‘Watchdogs of Liberty’, is also the last member of the Hagmann canine family.
It was a year and a half ago when Doug wrote on the death of his beloved dog, Holly: “I feel like I’ve lost my best friend.” King’s up-to-now robust health started to noticeably fail on the same day my dear little dog, Kiko, a big part of my life for 19 years, died. In the few weeks that have passed, all kept hoping that King would rally, and he did--at least for awhile. “Just wanted to share something with you…” Doug wrote me a couple of hours ago.
“King seemed to be rallying a bit, defying the odds vet #1 gave him already by a week. And he seemed to be looking a bit better, yet still losing weight. So, we contacted a second vet for another opinion while getting some holistic medication from yet a third vet. We picked up his x-rays and other records and drove them to vet #2. She looked at them, consulted with another vet there, and said that sometimes, a newly discovered fungal infection that is specific to German Shepherds and also specific to this area of the country – Western Pennsylvania and Northeastern Ohio, can mimic cancer on x-rays. A glimmer of hope…

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“So yesterday, Renae and I took him in for a sonogram at vet #2’s office. We stayed with him throughout, and he was not a happy camper. They shaved his abdomen, and it took me and 2 others to lift him onto the sonogram table. “Not good news. Large (and painful) tumor on spleen and liver, cancer metasticised throughout – very aggressive - unknown why he is still with us.” The next part of Doug’s note is bound to have your eyes tearing over as it did mine:
“So, afterward, when he calmed down and caught his wind, I took him through a drive-thru and gave him the pick of the menu. He ordered the chicken with the vanilla shake, and we sat and ate the take-out like a couple of guys just hanging out and talking. At this point, he could’ve had a t-bone if he wanted it. I could tell by his gaze that he felt my sorrow. Our eyes locked and he gave me a big, wet slobbering kiss, something he rarely does. He whined a bit and we went home, where he slept off his big meal and the meds. “The doctor said it won’t be long now, and that King has surprised us by his strong will. Like Holly, though, I can see the light in his eyes dimming. Who knows when our last walk-n-talk will be as they are becoming much shorter now.”
Memories of Doug, his son Joe and one of the two dogs spending long hours out on dark country roads doing routine surveillance as private detectives came rushing back. It’s a lonely enough job, made all the more lonely without Holly and now King. In my sadness for Doug, I take heart just in knowing that he and Joe will go on being “Watchdogs of Liberty” with their nightly radio show, The Hagmann & Hagmann report. In closing Doug wrote in his note to me, “Please give Yankee a hug from me”. Yankee is the little Yorkie we brought home hoping to ease the grief of no more Kiko. He is named Yankee because of the slogan on CFP’s masthead: “Because without America, there’s no free world.” May the Guardian Angel of Pet Lovers hover around Doug and console both him and the noble King on this saddest of nights.


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Judi McLeod -- Bio and Archives -- Judi McLeod, Founder, Owner and Editor of Canada Free Press, is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years’ experience in the print and online media. A former Toronto Sun columnist, she also worked for the Kingston Whig Standard. Her work has appeared throughout the ‘Net, including on Rush Limbaugh and Fox News.

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