Tribute to Hunter

   I was contacted recently by a woman whose best pal Hunter had recently passed. Below is her touching tribute to her wonderful companion...

Hunter came bounding into my life 9 years ago and it was love at first sight .

I learned of his story from the man who brought him to me. He was a pup on the eastern shore of Maryland and went back and forth from several homes to the kennel; eventually a friend rescued him from one of the homes. He was a small pup and was cruelly tied up on a leash outside all the time. The guy who rescued him was a surfer so he became a part of the  “surfer guys” pack who had him pull them on skateboards! (It took a long time to get him to not pull on a leash!) He made his way to me around the age of 9 months, when one of the guys could not longer care for him and was going to return him to a kennel once again, and heard that I was looking for a dog. When he arrived at my home, he tore up the driveway fast as can be into my arms, as if to say, “I thought I’d never find you!”

I had no idea what breed hunter was; I said to my dad, “he is either this rare breed called an Akbash or a mutt”. We laughed, it turns out Hunter was a mix of some kind of terrier and an Akbash. He was tall and slender and FAST, the fastest dog I have ever seen! But he never weighed more then 60 pounds in his life, but there was that Akbash personality shining through and all the physical attributes  :)

He was so handsome and anyone that saw him with me had to smile. He brought so much joy to the world, but especially to me. He got nicknames from all the people who knew him: “fur ejector”, “magic dog”, “spirit dog”, and “the white streak”. I sang him songs about what a wonderful dog he was, and over the years my husband and I built up quite a line up of Hunter songs. I loved every second I had with him and we were rarely apart. I even found jobs where I could take him to work with me.

He brought more joy, happiness and love then I thought was possible to have in this life. He was my best friend and soul mate. We walked, ran and hiked almost 10,000 miles together over the years. I traveled with him to 44 out of the lower 48 states. We hiked mountains, crossed deserts, and swam in the Pacific/Atlantic oceans, the Puget Sound, the Gulf of Mexico and countless rivers, lakes and streams and slept together almost every night. I can't really describe with words the love and bond that we shared.  He was the most beautiful being I have known so far. He was magical- like a mix of Buddha & Dog & Best Friend & Soul mate. I suspect a lot of people feel this way about their furry ones, but with Hunter it was also the depth of our bond that made our relationship so unique, fulfilling and joyous.

Just before his 9^th birthday he was diagnosed with bone cancer. I found out this is common in larger breed dogs like the Akbash. They gave him only a few weeks to live, but we treated him with homeopathy, pain meds, diet and LOVE. We had a wonderful last 11 weeks together. If anyone else’s Akbash gets bone cancer, please contact me; I would be more then happy to be a sounding board or share helpful information- janegmiller@gmail.com

Thank you Hunter, for being my best friend for 9 years, you were the most loving, joyous, wise and wonderful friend and I will miss you forever.

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What a wonderful life Hunter had...having found his friend Jane!