Yuki
25 May 2003 - 5 June 2012
Yuki joined our family 9 years ago, after Megan begged for a dog and Dad
promised her she could have one when we had a fenced yard. The children
loved having a little puppy and flooded her with attention.
She got to go on hikes frequently.
She loved playing in the snow her first winter.
But...Kevin had grand plans for her. He was hopeful he could train Yuki to become the first Flat-tailed Horned Lizard Finding Dog. So, off she went with our family to the desert for a couple of field seasons.
She had a good nose, but she couldn't find any horned lizards using it!
Instead, she preferred trying to dig up rodents or chasing lizards that ran away.
Nevertheless, we all loved her.
She was spoiled at Christmas.
And went on many trips...
In March 2005, Yuki was diagnosed with Addison's Disease and had to start taking Prednisone and get a monthly injection of mineralocorticoids to keep her adrenal glands functioning properly. We were warned that this would age her prematurely.
It didn't seem to slow her down too much.
If anything, the steroids kept her hyper and active.
Because Yuki was initially trained to "hunt" lizards,
she never got the hang of bird hunting.
Kevin took her out, but he and Ian would end up
flushing more birds than she ever did!
Yuki was not the perfect dog, and got in trouble for chewing up a couple books as a puppy, got sprayed straight on in the face by a pair of juvenile skunks on a Sunday afternoon walk, and was guilty of a mouse massacre when she got into the children's mouse breeding cages. But she was a great family pet, who traveled better than the children on long road drives (as long as she had her crate), accompanied us on many fun adventures, gave us a sense of security when Kevin was working out of town, exercised well with her beloved laser pointer, and always kept our kitchen floor clean from spills.
When we moved to Yuma, Yuki loved our 1-acre plot and spent hours chasing the birds and squirrels back and forth. She also enjoyed trying to dig for the gophers, but we never saw her actually catch one. She made a trail through the grass where she constantly ran.
She did show signs of aging, but she remained vivacious and excited about life. We nursed her through a couple more Addison crashes, but she always bounced back.
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| Yuki at No Name Wash, AZ, December 2011 |
The afternoon of 5 June, Yuki collapsed on our kitchen floor after coming in from playing outside. She suddenly stopped breathing and was gone--we are guessing from a sudden heart attack. While it was traumatic and shocking, we are glad she didn't suffer and have to endure an agonizing end. We buried her in a corner of our yard.
Thank you, Yuki, for being a faithful and loving pet.
We will miss you.
