Cubby

Sadly, Cubby passed away on December 15th, 2022. He was almost 14-years-old. Our heartfelt condolences go out to Warren and Joella and his foster Craig.

From his people, Warren and Joella.

I eventually became Cubby's walker for nearly five and a half years (including 3 years of being live-in personal human). I loved him like he was my child!

On December 13th, shortly after our evening walk, Cubby suffered a stroke, losing control of one foot and all sensation in that leg.

We euthanized him on Thursday 15th at home. I had spent most of the morning snuggling with him on the kitchen floor, his head on my left arm, my right between his forelegs.

I was very sorry that Craig and his wife and daughter were not able to come for a farewell visit last summer. Cubby would have been over the moon.

When he died, we were all with him, and he was not in pain, and not afraid, and not lonely. He was loved, nurtured, cherished, greatly admired in the neighbourhood, and (rarely) friendly with some other people and dogs.

Warren brought his ashes home on Monday 19th. Perhaps we could scatter them together at Caledon next spring?

Thank you Craig for loving my beamish boy and nurturing him before I ever even knew that he existed. He ownned me for more than five years, and I reveled in the honour of being one of Cubby's chosen few.

You made the right call to place him with Joella and Warren, and you sent great blessing into my life.


*Update*

His new people were very impressed with Cubbie's behaviour at the meet and greet.

Here is an excerpt from their time with him so for:

Joella and I are having a great time with Cubbie. He is a big suck and very cuddly. He is barking more than we expected but it's part of his job. He does not bark for long periods of time but wow he is loud.

Cubby was born May 2009 and is a male Pyr-cross, probably with Akbash.

I am currently fostering Cubby (Cub) and would keep him if I could, but the many demands on my time just don't quite give him the home and attention he deserves.

My own adopted Pyr is "special needs" and has come along way, but needs my focus.

Cub was given up when his owner had to go into long-term care. He is an absolute sweetie, and loves to please.

He is 5-1/2 years old, loves attention and affection and returns it readily. He engages you with humourous eyes that just express love and adoration. Cub socializes well at the leash-free park and gets along with everyone (people included) and at home. He is like a brother to my male Pyr. He loves the young cat (who rules the roost) and is just a happy guy!

He still pulls a bit at the leash but is making good progress in that area. My girls love to share their beds with him at night and he snuggles up and settles down quickly. Otherwise, he is very good about sleeping on his mattress on the floor in the downstairs family room at night.

He is very routine oriented and very clean.

According to his original owner, Cub is excellent with women and children, but may "make strange" with men at first. He did so with me the first night and I have seen him "make strange" with only one other man, but he settled very quickly with "cookie-therapy"; like most Pyrs, he is very food-oriented. I simply suggest that any household that adopts him has lots of cookies on hand to help him settle in and he will do fine and be a loving family pet.

If you are not sure how to work with such a dog, we highly recommend bringing in a positive-reinforcement trainer to show you what to do. Showing a dog good behaviour does not happen overnight. It takes time, patience and consistency. The bigger bonus is that you will create a strong bond of ever-so important trust between you and Cubby.

We have very good information on our website which we encourage you to take the time to read. Please do your research on this breed to ensure this is the dog for you.

As a Pyr he does bark. This is one of the tools that allows them to do their job to warn off predators. They dig holes in your garden to stay cool in the summer, and shed at least twice a year and will leave white dust bunnies throughout the year. They will wander since this is instinctive to them as they are used to wander with the livestock for which they care.

They must be contained within a large fenced-in area of a minimum of six-foot secure fencing in which they can run, play and look after their property. Tie-outs are not suitable since this does not allow them to properly patrol their territory. They have been known to go through invisible fencing so this is also not acceptable containment.

Pyrs need patience and consistency in their training and someone who will work with their instincts. They are independent thinkers and, therefore, only listen if it's worth their while. Treat them as partners in a dance where you lead the way.

It's hard to go wrong with this guy folks.....