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Amstel

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Handler: Mike Pizinger

Amstel was one of those “puzzle” pieces that fit perfectly into our family life. 1) All of our animals have been rescued in one way or another. 2) We wanted a companion for our other dog. 3) My wife had always wanted a Labrador Retriever – especially a yellow one. On our way out to our ranch property on a very hot Memorial Day weekend in 2004 we were on a stretch of county road that is fairly barren. Suddenly my wife yelled, “There’s a dog!” I hit the brakes and walked back to find a 4 month-old puppy that was meek, but very happy to see someone. Have never seen a dog so infested with fleas, it took 3 baths to get her clean. We don’t know how long she was on her own, but she was very thirsty and had not eaten much, it took her about 3 weeks to recover. After keeping her for the weekend at the ranch, we knew she was going to be the latest addition to the family. Amstel was an instant buddy with our other dog, Guinness, and they played incessantly.

We joined Pet Pardners at ASH in 2009 and make regular visits whenever my schedule allows. Amstel has the perfect disposition for putting people at ease and making new friends. She will gladly do tricks and loves to play fetch with the patients – which is the highlight of their day. We have also made visits to Summit nursing home.

We got a black lab puppy named Shiner about 3 years ago and the two are inseparable. Amstel loves spending time at our ranch and her favorite activity there is going for trail runs and riding on the 4-wheeler. She was bitten by Copperhead when she was 2, but even that has not deterred her from enjoying the trails. It is impossible for me to start the grill without her barking because we have ritual of playing fetch with a tennis ball (her all-time favorite object) while I cook. She loves the water and when you marry up a ride on the boat, swimming, and tennis balls…she’s in heaven.

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