Starmaids Midnight Sound
14 September 1987 - 5 April 1998

Skutt is a so-called describing name, pronounced almost the same as the english name Scott.
In swedish it means "leap" or "jump" - a quite appropriate name for a dog of his kind.

Gold Line's Sound of Harlem	Bangor Corn Flakes	Bangor's Sir Lancelot
		The Tavernīs Alcoholic's Anon
	Lisse	Canto
		Minettes Desire of Masasa Lane
Starmaids Dream-Love	Beagler's Black-Gold	Beagler's Gold Smuggler
		Pinewood Courtesy
	Mitchie	Barvae Starmaker
		Violas Kamilla

Little Skutt was a kind of beagle, unlikely to be loved by anyone but his own family. As a puppy and adolescent he was completely unendurable, but there was a reason for it. Most likely it was never meant for him to be born at all.
His problems started early - in fact at the day of his birth. The membrance of the foetus burst, the fluid leaked out prematurely and he got stuck and had to be pulled out by hand. Presumely he got a brain damage then, that would affect him for the rest of his life.
He was an uneasy, whining and high-strung little pup, who did not want to be handled, absolutely not lifted up, however constantly played with. His mistress was almost ready to give up her plans for his future. As a two-years-old he was even worse, so she took him to the vet and then the slipped discs in his back and neck was finally discovered.
After the operation his bad habits slowly approved, but he was always very excited and puppyish in his behavior. For that reason he got his nickname, Puppen - The Pup, in english - a name he subsequently kept, it described him so well.

Skutt was a smart dog and willing to learn. He would do anything for a bisquit so his favourite entertainment was to perform like a circus artist. He was cheerful and easy to work with and knew a lot of commands, both "real" ones, used in obedience class, and such as his owners came up with. His best tricks were dancing around on the floor with his forelegs stretched over his head, as well as sitting, laying down and rolling over. If not rewarded immediately, he used to throw himself on the floor and roll over again and again in his eager to please.
He was a very talented obedience dog...until he was attacked by another dog at the club - this put a definite end to his career - but before that event he had plenty of success and got several certificates.
In shows he was uneven. Sometimes he waved his legs too much and strutted around in a peculiar way, sometimes he walked almost perfectly and was awarded with 1st prizes, HP:s and once even a CK (swedish for champion quality). But most of the judges considered that he was to slender and stiff.

We frequently used to say about Skutt, that he was lucky to be so cute.
As an adult he was nice and pleasant to handle, but only as long as we stayed at home. He was always extremely uneasy in his contacts with other dogs, and especially if they were males. He was not really vicious, but he was tense and could not be trusted. Of course he had a reason to keep a bit to himself, as he grew up with a rather bad pain in his back, that presumely made him anxious to get pushed or kicked around in the heat of the moment, but he also had a male-ish and dominant attitude. In his impression of himself he was at least the size of rottweiler. He was courageous as a lion and cocky as a rooster, so if the other dog was not submissive enough, he would not hesitate at all to start a fight.
This was a constant reason for worry, when we were taking him on our daily walks. Meeting another male, he would turn into a monster. He would attack and bite fiercly around him and if he could not reach his enemy he would bite our legs instead. This behavior was impossible to get rid of, whatever we did.

The ache in his back was better, but he never got totally cured. From time to time we noticed, he was acting a bit odd - for example suddenly avoiding the stairs, where he normally used to run like a strike of lightning - then it was easy to draw the conclusion he was suffering from a pain somewhere. But he was always his happy himself again, as soon as we went for a walk.

Skutt was an epileptic, although his fits used to be rather mild. We do not know why he got it, but presumely the complications at his birth might have been the reason.
He had his first fit soon after the surgery, when he was still very young, and later about 4 or 5 times a year, more frequent when he grew older...until they suddenly just disappeared.

His fits were really no big deal, but his skin disease was the worse. When he was about 8 years old he was diagnosed with a disease called DLE (Discoid Lupus Erythematosus), which altered his immune system, making it defence itself against the cells in his own body.
In Skuttīs case it was the membranes in his mouth that first got affected. Initially he got a pink spot on his nose, where the pigment was gone. Later he lost all his pigment. We had to protect him from sunshine and he eyes got extremely sensitive.
We tested lots of medicins, diets, creams and Teatree-oil. The oil was somewhat soothing, but he hated the smell and taste of if.

The last year of his life, I had to give him cortison, which was hard on his body - his coat deteriated and he got susceptible to infections. He had to wear a jacket on his walks, but he did not mind.
Skutt remained happy and brisk until the bitter end - I have never met a dog quite as high-spirited as he.
Only four days before his death I watched him running and jumping eagerly in the deep snow beside the foot-path, barking for joy and excitement, which was one of his own little ways.
He died from a persistent cold, which he and Sniff had shared for at least a couple of months that spring. It finally developed into a bad case of pneumonia, with high fever and water in his lungs. Even then he fighted back and wanted to live...but he was to weak. The last water he drank just ran through him, it did not even get warm.
He reached the end of his road early in the morning the 5th of April 1998. I was with him there in the cold dark room, when he took his last difficult breaths. His paws were already cold as ice and had became almost stiff. They had been dead for several hours, while he himself struggled to stay.

I will always remember him and his irrepressible will to live. Whatever else to be said about Skutt, but it was not in his mind to give up!

OBITUARY

SKUTT'S BOOK	VISIT SKUTT'S BREEDER (only in swedish)