The Wild Child and Diva, Fluffbutt, Miss Terra the Australian Shepeherd has crossed the rainbow bridge. You were a beautiful dog with unique markings and loved making human friends everywhere we went, smothering people in kisses and sitting on their laps leaning into them for scritches and pets. You would have made a great Therapy dog had we pursued that path as you were so good with humans young and old, big and small. You also enjoyed making dog friends and playing with pups who we dog sat. From traveling cross country with me multiple times and attending lots of dog friendly events to nature walks and adventures and training, your intelligence was admirable though we never did manage to teach you how to catch a treat thrown in the air and that was what I jokingly called one of your blonde moments!
You loved chasing Kronos and bowling him over, treating him like a wayward sheep but he seemed to return your playfulness and enthusiasm at times. While you and Bella got off to a rocky start and you weren’t super keen on many females, you eventually learned to listen to her and became friends. An accomplished trick dog and canine actor and model, your looks were poignant and beautiful with an intense natural Herder and prey drive. You would trade me for a treat any day and train with anyone happily though you learned to stay nearby while you were adventuring far and wide sniffing all the smells and exploring the beautiful natural world. You loved to chase rabbits, squirrels, cats, and chickens and woe the ones that you caught which ended up as no more or maybe a tasty morsel. Camping, hiking, kayaking, paddleboarding, boating, lure coursing, and more you went on lots of adventures and your favorite thing to do was to lounge in shallow water to cool off and then exploring the riverbank instead of swimming.
It was so hard to watch your body lose its function and abilities and your hips start to fail even with pain meds and supplements and the prescription dog food for the urinary crystals. I could see how much it frustrated you to be limited in your ability, movement, and ambulation when I had to assist you with the walking straps or after you fell and could not get up or how you would try but could not get comfortable in the car any more or how you would try so hard on walks and enjoy them but be unable to go as far or as long as we used to, having difficulty making it around the block or the park. I’m glad you were able to pass peacefully with your previous human nearby and sometimes I feel like I see you out of the corner of my eye or that I can feel you still around. The vision of you and Bella playing in the morning meadow sunshine after your transition was wonderful to see and brought peace to my heart that you were no longer in any pain and able to jump and move again. Forever the foodie, you loved finding lots of things to eat on walks and stealthily stealing food off the counter was one of your specialties which taught me to make sure the kitchen was always clean or to keep a close eye on you!
Many people have followed us since the beginning and will remember Terra or had the chance to meet her over the years. Many of our new followers may not know her that well, but we’ll still be sharing her in some photos and videos.
