We Will Miss You Hunter Kuckartz

Hunter Farber Kuckartz June 22, 2002- November 27, 2009
Around three weeks ago, we found out our wonderful dog Hunter had cancer pretty much all over his body. There was nothing to do for him except love him to pieces, make sure he wasn't suffering and make sure his last days on earth were the best we could. Hunter's appetite had been decreasing and that's how we ended up figuring out something was wrong. The doctor put him on Prednisone and an appetite stimulant and the next day he was like a different dog. He ate something like 2 cheeseburgers from McDonalds and 12 chicken nuggets. I was amazed, and for a couple of hours, even started to wonder if maybe the Vet was wrong. He still didn't want much to do with dog food, so we brought him home cheeseburgers every night. His appetite was great for about a week or so and then started to decrease again. It finally got to the point on Thanksgiving that he only had a couple of bites of food. On Friday after Thanksgiving, we couldn't get him to eat anything. His cancer had spread to his lungs, and on top of the no appetite, he was having trouble breathing. He had lost a lot of weight and we thought he had gotten to the point where his quality of life wasn't very good, so we decided to put him down on November 27th (which happened to be our 5th anniversary...needless to say, we are going to celebrate later). I was not able to go. I said goodbye to him here at home and Joe took him. It was the hardest thing that we have ever had to do, and I love Joe for being so strong so that Hunter was with one of us until the end. Joe said Hunter didn't seem scared. Joe left right after Hunter went to sleep, so he didn't have to see him stop breathing. Coming home to a house that didnt' have Hunter in it was so hard and I'm sure it will be hard for awhile. Joe and I got Hunter August 9, 2002...only 3 months after we started dating. I remember the day like it was yesterday. Like most dog lovers would know, especially the ones who get dogs pre kids...Hunter was our baby. We took him everywhere with us, dressed him up for holidays, got him ice cream from the drive thru. Hunter was a little mischevious though. He chewed up so many of my dad's socks when he was a puppy. He would roll in the most disgusting things he could find, and he was notorious for getting food out of the trash(he even opened a jar of peanut butter somehow and licked it clean), and getting food off the counter. He ate an entire pie that my sister in law had gotten for her birthday before she even got a piece. He was such a sweet, lovable, handsome dog though that even when he was misbehaving, he still had everyone won over. Hunter had been through everything with us. He was with us during several moves, getting married, getting Daisy, and having Wyatt. I remember that we missed him so much on our honeymoon. Speaking of having Wyatt. He was so good with him. He let Wyatt do whatever he wanted to him and never made a peep. Before we knew he was sick, Wyatt would jump on him to give him hugs and kisses. It had to hurt, but you wouldn't have known. Hunter set such a high standard, and will be the dog that we compare every dog to. We love Hunter sooo much, and will miss him more than I can even say right now, but am still so grateful for the seven years we got to spend with him. Daisy seems to be doing okay. She is maybe acting a little different, it is hard to say. I think she is going to be a little spoiled for awhile though, getting bones brought home for her, and getting to go more places with us. Wyatt still talks about Hunter but not as often as I thought. He did still pray for him tonight though. When we were saying our prayers, he reminded me that we pray for Hunter. On Thanksgiving when Joe's Grandpa was saying Grace, Wyatt kept saying Hunter. I guess he associates praying with Hunter right now, which is okay. I know Hunter brought joy to a lot of lives, and his memory will continue to bring joy to ours. Please enjoy the pictures of our Hunter. Bye for now.