Archive for animals

Farewell, Matilda

A month ago my dog died. Matilda had been my companion for almost 11 years.

Matilda as a young beauty

When I adopted her at the Oregon Humane Society, she was just one year old. But already she was the mother of nine. Her previous owner had gotten rid of her because she was pregnant. The OHS rescued her from a kill shelter and put her in foster care until her puppies were weaned. She was separated from them and put up for adoption, along with her puppies.

That’s when I met her. Her photo on a page of adoptable dogs on the OHS website carefully concealed her still large breasts that had only recently been retired from nursing puppies. I hesitated. That’s when she put her front paws in my lap and looked earnestly into my eyes. “She likes you,” said the attendant.

That may have been true but the next thing the attendant said was something I very soon learned to be false. “She’s a barkless breed,” she announced. “I have never heard her bark.”

I said I would take her home, whether she was barkless or not, but I was advised against going to see her puppies. “Then you’ll be taking home 10 dogs,” said the attendant.

Matilda and my granddaughter

Matilda was part Akita and part Australian cattle dog. She was super smart and so beautiful I got used to people stopping me to tell me what a gorgeous dog I had. It never got old. I just said, “Thank you.”

Her name when I adopted her was Faith. I learned that she had lived on a farm in Central Oregon with a couple of other dogs. I assume their names were Hope and Charity. My neighbor suggested I name her Matilda to honor her Australian relatives. The name “Matilda” better suited my sassy gal than “Faith.”

She had a hard time adjusting to life with me in my apartment. At first she kept searching for her babies, whimpering and pawing at possible hiding places. That was heartbreaking for me. Also, she couldn’t bear to be left alone. Her separation anxiety proved to be quite destructive. I had to replace the door frame several times.

Matilda on a walk in her old neighborhood in Portland
Matilda & Newton

But in time she came to love our routine, especially her daily walks to the local dog park where she liked to climb atop a picnic table, as if it were her throne. She was indeed regal.

Three years ago she and I moved far from Oregon to Indiana, to be near my son and his family. There were no dog parks here, but she gained a best pal in Cory’s little dog, Newton.

Granddaughter Octavia and daughter Meriwether walking Matilda and Newton.
Meriwether’s last hug

I figured she had three good years left, but fate ordered otherwise. She fell victim to kidney disease and lost all interest in eating. At our last visit to the vet, he encouraged us to let her go, to free her from agony. My daughter and I were with her as she breathed her last.

I was blessed to have Matilda in my life for 11 lovely years. May she reign supreme in the dog park in the sky.

R.I.P. Packy

Packy as newborn

Packy as newborn

Sad news from the Oregon Zoo. Packy, Portland’s star pachyderm, was euthanized today after all efforts to relieve him of the effects of a drug-resistant form of tuberculosis failed. He was 54.

His birth on April 14,1962 made international news because he was the first elephant born in the Western Hemisphere in 44 years. The fuzzy little fellow (a mere 150 pounds at birth) became every Portland child’s favorite animal and from 1963 on, his birthday party at the zoo was well attended, sometimes by thousands of kids and adults.

Everyone wore elephant ears, including the elephant, and everyone got cake, including the elephant. In fact, Packy’s annual birthday cake was a major production. With carrots instead of candles and made with elephant-healthy ingredients (e.g., peanut butter instead of frosting), the culinary creation was placed in the elephants’ outdoor area by someone who then had to run for his life before the seven-ton bull elephant was released.

As Packy’s trunk made the first swipe across the surface of the cake, a live band would begin to play “Happy Birthday” and all the zoo visitors sang the song.

Packy at 52

Packy at 52

In 1995 I wrote about Packy’s 33rd birthday for the Leisure & Arts Page of The Wall Street Journal. I had proposed the article several weeks before the birthday event, but my beloved editor, Ray Sokolov, didn’t see the humor in an elephant birthday party and he turned me down. What I resorted to was something I had learned as a child: if one parent turns you down, ask the other.

Ray had to go out of town and he turned over the editing of the page to a deputy. I pitched the same story to him and he told me to go for it. By the time Ray returned to the office, my article, “Seven Tons of Birthday Fun,” had already been assigned, written and published.

Fortunately, Ray was pleased that I’d gone around him in order to write the story, which he had really enjoyed. He ended up complimenting me on my trunk, er, nose for news.

(With thanks for the photos and condolences to the staff of the Oregon Zoo.)