It is difficult to put into words the summarization of a lifetime. How can one possibly say all the things that one life meant? Pico was a fantastic agility dog, a wonderful companion and a really great friend. He was probably one of those once in a lifetime dogs. He never questioned what I asked him to do unless it meant leaving my side. He lived life to the fullest and found joy in almost everything. His enthusiasm seemed boundless. Often people would come up to me after watching him run agility and comment on how much they enjoyed watching him run because he seemed to be having such a great time. He always seemed to smile when he ran agility.
We found agility when Pico was 2. Up until that time, we had been going to obedience and conformation classes. While Pico seemed to do well in these classes, he lacked confidence. I heard about someone offering agility classes when I went to an obedience class one night. So, I made a phone call and arranged to take Pico to class. Pico took to agility like nothing I had ever seen before. He was in his element and happy as could be. About six months later, we attended our first trial. Pico sailed through the courses effortlessly coming home with 2 qualifying scores from his first AKC agility trial. (This was back in the days before AKC offered the JWW class.) Later that year, Pico tried USDAA agility. Again, he sailed effortlessly through the courses, coming home with qualifying scores. A little more than 6 months after earning his Starters title, he had earned two of his Masters titles with very limited showing in USDAA.
In his lifetime, Pico earned 50 agility titles in 6 different registries by attending an average of less than 15 trials per year over a 10 year period. (In 2004, Pico only attended 7 trials 3 AKC trials and 4 USDAA trials.) When I think back on Pico's agility career, it amazes me that I did not realize earlier in his competition what a phenomenal dog I actually had. People who watched him started referring to him as the Q'ing machine or a great little working dog. He was truly an amazing dog. Often I could run courses with him and hardly even say a word. He knew what I wanted him to do and he did it.
He was a very special boy in many, many ways. I truly regret the decision that I made to put him on chemotherapy to supposedly prevent future re-occurrences of mast cell tumors. The last 4 months of Pico's life were absolute misery for him. During the last month of his life, I think it is safe to say that he was in excruciating pain most of the time. He did get to run agility one week before his death. For a brief time, he was happy and excited again. He got to do the thing that he so dearly loved!
I learned some things from what I went through with Pico. I learned just what a dog goes through when you put it on chemo. After witnessing that firsthand, I have made the decision that I will never again put another dog on chemo. Pico was a bouncy, happy, playful dog prior to chemo. He had hardly ever been sick a day in his life. On chemo, he was tired, sad, in pain and ill most of the time. Chemo did not improve his quality of life. It made it much worse. I truly believe that chemo contributed significantly to Pico's demise. I don't ever want to do that to another dog again. I will pursue other options, especially since some information that I have gathered since Pico's death states that studies have not been able to conclusively prove that chemo is a statistically effective treatment for mast cell tumors. It is too bad that Pico's life was jeopardized in the hopes of making it better. I also learned to carefully examine ALL lab reports resulting from tumor evaluations. An autopsy done on Pico revealed that he died from a ruptured ulcer. One of the early lab reports had said that Pico should be taking something like Pepcid to prevent ulcers. Unfortunately, Pico was not put on Pepcid because I did not see the report until after Pico's death and my vet never mentioned it.
Pico's body bravely fought a battle against all the evils that were ravaging it. He held on long enough for me to get back from the trial I had attended that weekend. I got the opportunity to stroke his head and to say good-bye before he passed on. That night, as I watched Pico struggling between life and death and finally giving up the fight, I thought of the immortal words of the Indian chief, Chief Joseph of the Nez Pierce. After struggling for a long time to retain his land, Chief Joseph finally gave up and made the statement, "I will fight no more forever". Pico is no longer fighting. He is at rest and at peace.
Good-bye my friend - death took you away from me way too soon
Pico - AKC/UKC Ch MACH2 Anana Pikatti MAD SACH RCH JCH SCH AADC U-AGI O-EAC O-EJC EGC RS-E JS-E GS-N OAP AJP HOF VC CGC
August 24, 1993- March 27, 2005
Remember Our Love
I was chosen today,
I'm learning to fly,
The world took me away,
but please don't you cry.
And I chose you today
to try and be strong
so please don't you cry
and don't say that I'm gone.
When you're feeling alone,
just remember our love.
I'm up near the stars,
looking down from above.
Remember our love,
In a moment you'll see,
that I'm still here beside you
when you're thinking of me.
Author Unknown
