Little Cubby

I didn’t get a chance to take a photo of Mr. Cubby this week, but he’s the small black dog that’s made it into a few posts in the past. I’ll seek him out for a photo op next time if he’s out and about.

I arrived at the farm and spotted a lost Cubby moving in slow circles around Claudius the swan’s area. His coat had unvelcroed itself from around his belly and was flapping helplessly around his neck. I called to him but he didn’t respond. It was only then that I realized that I hadn’t seen him for a while. As I got closer, I continued calling to him but he didn’t respond until I was almost upon him. He looked up at my face and I noticed that one of his eye sockets was closed shut. His face is entirely black and I almost missed this detail. It seems that the poor old man had lost an eye recently, in addition to the fact that his other eye looked pretty blind and he’d become very hard of hearing.

I gently put his coat back on and he leaned in for pets from me. I chatted with Deb about it when I found her and she confirmed the eye removal, the hearing loss, and that the remaining sight was limited. I love that she keeps him going and that she spared some of the farm’s money to keep him alive and comfortable.

When any animal reaches old age, there are tough decisions that go into determining the end of their life. It is rare that an animal is given the opportunity to parish by natural causes. With over 300 animals at the farm, Deb has many more of these decisions to make than anyone else I personally know. Since he obviously spends most of his time in Deb’s cozy house, I’m not worried about his infrequent challenging adventures outside.  And while Cubby’s life might not continue much longer, I’m happy that he has such a caring and wonderful person looking out for him until then.

Here’s to you, little Cubby! I’ll put your coat back on whenever you need me to and cheer you on as you slowly continue exploring your world.