I am going to set the stage of this little dog's life, and the people who loved her so you understand just how blessed we are to have our Rat Terriers.....they truly are amazing.
Originally we are from Chicago, Illinois, from the inner city. My Aunt Edna, who I dearly miss, and was a special person in my life, and my Mother's, it was her sister. Anyway when she was young she married my Uncle Charlie, he was born and raised in Tennessee. So how did Aunt Edna and him meet? Well he was a Carnival worker. Quite the character when he was young, he also had a glass eye. In his youth he had lost his eye hunting in Tennessee. He would take his eye out and scare us kids with it, to the dismay of my Aunt...lol lol lol We all loved him, he was so much fun.
Anyway, my Aunt lived in Tennessee with Uncle Charlie when they were first married, and they were acquiring a residence in Chicago, and he secured a job also. When they came back my Aunt Edna had a darling little hunting dog puppy, she named Skippy. Skippy was a gift o my Aunt, from him, and Skippy's parents were hunting dogs in Tennessee, she came from a long generation of them.
Well in Chicago none of us have ever seen a dog like that, ever. She was flashy, classy, smart, and so way fun. She went everywhere with them, everywhere. Uncle Charlie said, "These dogs have to become a part of your life totally". He just called it a hunting dog. Everyone would try and guess, "What kind of dog is this"? Some people would say, "Oh that is a Fox Terrier"! Others would say, "Oh no way, no one had any idea.
Well Skippy became the love and star of everyone around in the area of Chicago we lived in. And nobody had any idea that she was in fact a breed. Everyone thought, it's some kind of mix that they obviously use down South for hunting.
Everyone loved Skippy, she amazed and dazzled everyone. She followed Aunt Edna and Uncle Charlie everywhere in Chicago, everywhere. All kinds of people would say, "Oh "Hi" Skippy"! She was the happiest, most loving dog we had ever seen. A born "Star"! People would tell my Aunt, "You should put that dog in the movies, or on TV". Well she was the love of my Aunt's life.
Skippy lived to about 15 years. When that little girl passed my Aunt truly broke down into depression and grief. Never, ever, forgot Skippy, ever....she had many dogs that she loved totally after Skippy's passing, but none would ever be a Skippy. She couldn't get another Skippy because all those years ago, there were none like her.
My Aunt lived until just several years ago, passing in her late seventies. But her whole life just the mere mention of Skippy's name brought her into severe grief. The tears would roll down her eyes, and she would have to go off by herself and compose herself. So we learned not to mention her name.
So many years went by, and low and behold when I laid eyes on my Emily 14 years ago, I almost fell over, OMG it was Skippy, when I asked "What breed is this"? I was told "Oh it's a Rat Terrier, these dogs are popular in the South as hunting dogs". When I held Emily in my arms, she was such a adorable puppy, I started to cry, because Skippy was a Rat Terrier. We never knew, no one did.....
All we knew was she touched so many hundreds of lives through out her own little life of 15 years...
This is a Tribute to Skippy and my Aunt Edna. They were inseparable even in all those years after Skippy left us. She forever lived in Aunt Edna's heart. My only prayer is that they are together now for eternity.....
I loved Skippy!
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