Overlooks A Faraway Glimpse of Skye"Skylar"

December 1, 2011 - June 20, 2024

On Thursday, June 20, 2024, after a nine month battle with a very aggressive mast cell cancer, we said good-bye to Skylar. She was 12 1/2 years old. Her original prognosis was just two months. She endured four different types of chemotherapy, prescription meds and holistic remedies. Despite this bombardment to her body, she never suffered a single day where she wasn’t happy or her jubilant self. Her quality of life never waned and for that we are thankful.

Skylar’s breeding was a repeat of a litter I had done earlier between Sloane and Sutton. At that time, I was unable to keep a puppy. But, watching that litter grow, I knew I had to repeat it and keep a puppy for myself. Instead, I kept two: Skylar and Sawyer.

Skylar was a beautiful puppy with a very soft personality. She was a quiet puppy who rarely demanded anything. She was so easy to train and just a joy to live with. Sawyer was much the same. Two really outstanding puppies that asked so little of me, but gave so much in return.

Both puppies were very attached to each other and to Sloane. They were a mighty trio, always playing together and crowding onto one bed in the evening. When Sloane died at 15, they were clearly lost, but rebounded as dogs will. They never lost their love for each other. Sawyer was always thrilled to see Skylar when she was finally out of the whelping box. He’s alive and well today.

Skylar had three litters. She whelped the first puppy when I was out of the room. Instinct kicked in and she cleaned the puppy and got it going. But, terror must have struck because I found the puppy in the middle of the floor and Skylar up on the bed, burrowed in the corner. Not an auspicious start! Ten more puppies followed and she proved to be a great Mom.

What Skylar wasn’t good at was sex. She was very flirtatious with the boys. As breeding time arrived, she turned into an even bigger tease. But tease was all she was. The minute the boys got close, she would scare them off to the point of no return. Skylar was my artificial insemination project.

Throughout her life, Skylar was the dog who loved every person, every dog, everything (except egg shells - she could pick them out piece by piece in every meal). She raced to the front gate if she thought someone was arriving. Juxtaposed to that excitement was her general laziness at anything resembling effort! Chase a ball? No thanks. Come up for a treat? No, Bob will bring it to me as I recline on my bed. That gorgeous face, sweet temperament and absolute adoration never failed to melt me for over 12 years.

Losing these gentle souls is never easy, but I think losing Skylar is harder to bear because of the nine months we shared battling the cancer. Once we made it past two months I was thankful for every day. As those months mounted I knew we hadn’t beat the cancer, but we had beat the odds.

Many years ago, with a few litters on the ground, a wise, longtime breeder told me to “always keep the best puppy, but let them go when their careers as show dogs or parents are over. Let them live with families who can shower them with all the affection you can’t possibly give with a houseful of dogs. But, more importantly, you will not suffer the heartbreak of saying goodbye over and over and over.” Sage advice that I’ve not taken to heart. Sometimes I wish I had.