When dog couldn’t ascend stairs anymore, Summerlin-area couple moved mattress downstairs

When you view your pets as your children, you’ll do anything for them.

This year, Harmik and Sherri Kazanchian realized their white German shepherd, Junior, age 11, was having a tough time getting up the stairs to their bedroom each night.

This spring, the 140-pound Junior got stuck on the landing halfway up and Harmik had to help him. Their veterinarian said old age was catching up to Junior. So the couple moved their queen-sized mattress downstairs to the living room floor. Junior sleeps nearby.

“We don’t have anyone over anymore, because we don’t want them to see the mattress and go, ‘What the heck?’” Sherri said and then shrugged. “It’s not like it’s forever.”

They likened it to assisting an elderly family member.

Their clothes are still in their walk-in closet upstairs. Sherri still uses her exercise bike in the master bedroom. Harmik moved his toiletries to the downstairs bathroom.

This is not the first time the couple have gone out of their way for a pet. Another dog they owned, Angel, also had hip issues. Angel, who died three years ago, would drag her back legs at times. The couple spent $750 for a custom-fitted, two-wheeled apparatus that supported Angel’s back end and allowed her to propel herself with her front legs, letting her get around easily.

The couple got Junior as a 3-month-old puppy in February 2006, adopting him from The Animal Foundation, in conjunction with Vegas Shepherd Rescue.

“He was adorable, this chubby little thing that looked like a polar bear,” Harmik said.

Their granddaughter, Monica, now 10, included Junior in her tea parties, putting kibble on a plate at her little table.

Harmik has been a Tom Jones impersonator since the early 1990s, singing on Fremont Street, at hotels and for corporate banquets. Sherri is his manager, so both are home much of the time. At one point, they had three white German shepherds: Buddy, Angel and Junior.

About 10 years ago, they lived in a different two-story home. One night, all three dogs were upstairs in the master bedroom, having welcomed Harmik home from a late-night gig at Bally’s. Harmik had just changed into his pajamas when there was a distinct click — the sound of a door lock.

All three dogs dashed downstairs as one, barking furiously, but unable to get past the interior doggie-gate.

Harmik hurried down, too.

There was an intruder. He had what looked like a knife.

Harmik yelled for Sherri, still upstairs, to lock herself in the bedroom and call the police.

The dogs were straining to get at the intruder. Harmik stepped in front of them and kept them back with his commands.

“I didn’t want them to get hurt,” he said.

He tried to talk the intruder, a young man, out of doing anything he’d later regret. The man began threatening him, talking and acting irrationally.

Before things escalated, Metro Police arrived and tackled the man. He later was sentenced to three years of probation.

“So, support your local police,” Sherri said and credited the pooches with stalling things so Metro could arrive. “We’re here because of our dogs. I always say, ‘The animal you save may one day save you.’ Yeah, you have to clean up after them. Yeah, you have to vacuum up the hair. But, it’s worth it.”

Two of those dogs are now gone. Buddy died young, about age 3, from cancerous tumors on his neck. For both Buddy and Angel, the Kazanchians were there when the vet put them to sleep.

As for Junior, “We don’t think it’s a big deal, sleeping on the floor for our pet,” Harmik said. “… You’ve got to fight for life. Death is final.”

To reach Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan, email jhogan@viewnews.com or call 702-387-2949.