Life on the Outside

I realize this is a fairly obvious statement, but It isn’t only the loss of our human loved ones and friends that bring sadness but also the loss of our four-legged, hoofed, and pawed friends as well.  This weekend my sister had to face that terrible decision that usually falls to pet owners at some point — the decision as to when to put an animal down when she had to put her 15-year-old West Highland White Terrier named Skippy (better known as the feral pig) to sleep.

My sister was going through a very difficult divorce when Skippy came into her life. He was a tiny, white, rambunctious bundle of energy with sharp, onyx-like eyes and a pert black-button nose. He was all terrier and even at six-months (when I first met him) he was a fierce protector and companion. My sister brought Skippy with her to visit me while I was in school in Montana. My small one-bedroom student shack housed me, my dog Nash, my sister and ultimately two new dogs (mine, named Kudzu and hers, named Cody) for about two months. It was a tight, but fun, squeeze.  Skippy became such a lovable character in our family that even my mother decided to get the same breed and now we have Rocky in our “pack” as well.

A few years ago, Skippy — ever the terrier — was indulging in a favority activity of chasing things in his yard when he tangled with a Bufo toad. Known for being particularly lethal, especially to dogs as small as Skippy, we were all amazed when he survived the encounter despite being initially paralyzed and having suffered from seizures. But I believe it was this encounter that would lead to later problems. There’s no need to go into the awful details, but after  months of varying illness, physical deformities and random appetites, there was really no other choice.

A very old, and shaved, Skippy.

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Kudzu in his favorite environment, SNOW!!

I admit this recent situation has resurfaced memories of my having to put my dog Kudzu to sleep just a few years ago.  Skippy’s arrival in Montana lead my sister and I to visit the Missoula Humane Society “just to look” at the dogs available for adoption. I came home with a 62-pound, nine-month-old monster named Kudzu and my sister adopted a six-month-old border collie mix named Cody. With the exception of Cody, all of our dogs have passed on, but at the age of 15, I doubt it will be long before his time has come as well.

But as my sister told me, she’d rather face the pain of having to put him down than not have had the last 15 years with him.  I know I feel the same.