Mickey
Mickey was a German Short-Hair Pointer and the most difficult puppy that
I have ever had. He took forever to train in the puppy stages and as a
hunter. Often my husband would come home from pheasant hunting with Mick and
be so tired because the dog had taken off after birds and was acres away.
Mick was so dedicated to hunting that he forgot manners and anything else
including a barbed-wire fence as he chased down a bird. That was just one of
many of his injuries. He was also predatory and was in charge of the three
acres that we used to live on; it was his highlight to hunt and take things
and hide them in the woods. Plants that I had bought, he would pick up and
hide in the woods only found by chance later on when I found him moving them
to a new location. UPS packages were a love of his as well and we would
never know what we would find in the woods come spring or summer. But while
he loved the outdoors he loved being inside too. Inside as in your bed,
under the covers. He loved to be under things. He would chew through the
liner of his dog bed and then crawl through the hole to lie down on the base
of the bed. He was so good with our children too, three kids and they would
crawl all over him and he just took it even though you could see it in his
eyes that he really just wanted to sleep. Never a growl from him either even
when he had the worst of his injuries. Mick loved to eat things, anything. I
think the most memorable and serious was the golf ball that he chewed
through and then when he chewed until the rubber band core, he ate it. Well
the rubber bands started to unwind in his intestines and it was a great
surgical mess but he still made it through. He also had knee replacement
surgery two years ago and on top of it, riddled watch arthritis but he never
slowed down. Winters were a little slow for him but come spring he would
bounce back and love to lie in the warm sun in the driveway. After eleven
and half years with Mick, I knew what he was thinking as he had these eyes
that I could understand and he was my difficult dog that I cherished.
Ultimately, it was his chewing of random objects that led to his death and
his lack of control of something new to chew on. I don’t blame him, old and
set in his ways, he lived a good life. While my children have coped and
moved on, it is harder for me and it helps for me to honor him at WSU as
well. I do feel that all the steps I take in memory of Mickey will help me
to move on but never forget my wonderful but stubborn dog. I enclosed a
picture to put with the face that also includes my youngest child, Mick is
his buddy and he continues to tell me that everyday.
The Faris Family
