Sweet friendship and heartache

I'm revisiting the story of John Unger and his 19-year-old rescue dog, Schoep (now deceased). The photo that his professional photographer friend took of John and Schoep together went viral back in the summer of 2012. Schoep, whose birthday was celebrated on June 15th, died less than a month later in 2013 after turning 20 years old which is ancient for a medium to large breed dog. 

Both John Unger and his photographer friend have experienced a wealth of heartache -- John when his fiancee upped and left him all of a sudden about a year after the two of them had adopted Schoep -- and Hannah Stonehouse Hudson, the professional photographer, after her husband died suddenly following a snowmobile crash in Lake Superior at the tender age of 34. 

More about John and Schoep and what they went through together including the time when John was seriously depressed:

A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP

Schoep -- named after the Wisconsin-based Schoep’s Ice Cream -- is a rescue dog.

"My ex-fiancée and I found him at the Ozaukee Humane Society in Wisconsin in 1996. He was estimated to be 8 to 14 months old. He was in a cage with his sister.

"His sister seemed like a normal rescue, acclimated to her surroundings and to people. Schoep basically was sitting as far back in the corner as he could get. My ex got him to come to her, but he walked with his head down.

"He looked like he was absolutely defeated, I'll never forget it. We basically nodded and said, 'He's the one.' I guess I just wanted to help a dog who needed help."

The timid shepherd mix -- who they suspect may have been abused -- didn't want to interact with Unger.

"At the shelter, he warmed up to my ex, but he would not come from behind her legs to meet me. So I got a tennis ball and started rolling it between my knees with my hands. Slowly, that attracted him. His ears went up. He was curious.

"I did that for a good half-hour, but he never caught on enough to play catch with me. That's when I realized he had never played before -- he didn't know how."

A year later, it was Schoep's turn to help Unger.

"My ex-fiancée broke up with me abruptly, and I felt myself falling into a depression," he said. "About a month later, I went down to the breakwater in Milwaukee with thoughts of suicide. Schoep was with me.

"I looked over at him, and he looked up at me in a way that sounds like a story, but he looked up at me with a furrowed brow, almost squinting, a concerned and confused look that I've never seen him ever make again.

"Right then and there, I decided I couldn't go through with it, because if I did, who would take care of him? I had just adopted him, I was not going to abandon this dog. Even on the walk home, I began to focus more on the dog than myself. I was still depressed, but I have never been suicidal again.

"I decided to use my energy not to focus so much on what I was feeling but to give my dog the best life I could. In the process, I helped myself, too.

"We give animals as much as we can; in return, they give us their all, no matter how little or how much we give them. I have given Schoep as much as I can, although it was very little at that time. He has always given me his all."

The two of them, Hannah and Jim, sounded like a great couple who "wanted to help each other fulfill their dreams -- she as a photographer, he as a fishing guide." 

Hannah and her husband loved to practice random acts of kindness.

“We are very eccentric and focused people who happened to find each other,” she said. “We never had kids because we wanted to take care of other kids — kids that wanted to go fishing, that needed a coat. We just took care of it. Sometimes they didn’t even know about it.”

Such acts of kindness are rare in one person, let alone two.

While folding laundry at Laundryama, this wise young woman said, “Life is an adventure. You never know what’s going to happen. Be present with your significant other. Don’t take for granted the time with them, because you really truly have no idea what’s going to happen. You can think you do, but you don’t. Do whatever you’re passionate about, because that’s what’s going to make the people who miss you happy for you, because they can say, ‘He lived a good life.’”

Jim definitely lived a good life, and he loved to tell jokes, but this was no joke. On Jan. 26, a man of reason, a teacher of extreme safety, forgot to wear his life vest.

A fishing buddy, John Esposito, who dived in after him but failed to save his life, said, “I rehearsed it many times in my head for years. It was 90 percent technique, 10 percent luck. When you go out on the ice you need to be 100 percent prepared to get yourself out.”

Jim Hudson was not.

“I don’t know why, of all people, this happened to him,” Hannah said.

She also said, “Jim believed the lake takes care of everyone.”

http://www.ashlandwi.com/county_journal/article_2a105934-7c78-11e2-a745-001a4bcf887a.html

Life is precious!!