Fermo the Great
Registered as “Fermo the favoured,” he will always be “Fermo the Great” in our books.
May 2012
We drove Hamilton way, a nice spring day and we were headed out to pick up our newly purchased young guy, a SCOTTIE. We never had one before, so this was an adventure.
We arrived at the breeder’s home, were greeted warmly and invited in. Immediately a gang of excited Scotties ‘assaulted’ us. A lot of barking and yelping, much sniffing and a lot of energized Scottie curiosity whiffed around us, two strangers entering their home.
The breeder, Lethan Hunter, brought out our pup, a little black fur ball, black as coal, eyes open wide with curiosity and excitement. The next moments were crucial we were told as we were to establish who was the ‘alpha’ leader to this little guy. When we went outside, I led the way being the intended alpha. The little black fluff ball followed me like the pup that he was.
I picked him up, got into the car and placed him on my towel-covered lap. He was very attentive and quite calm making the trip home uneventful.
The book of our days of joy, laughter and love opened to its first page.
Fermo was everything we could have wished for, for 14 years, fun, happiness and loving exchanges. He was the joy of our home, everything we could have wanted in a pet right up to his last days.
Thank you Fermo wherever you are in doggie heaven. We miss you terribly and our home is empty without you.
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Memories that sadden our days….
We remember his first day of exploring his new home, his feeding and watering area by the fridge, his exploration of the backyard where he wandered around exploring the flower beds, the vegetable garden, the shrubs and trees…his play area for many years.
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Housebreaking seemed like a breeze with Fermo. Three or four accidents and he caught on that ‘outside business calls’ required a few barks. This came early in his training and he never soiled the house again unless he was sick or in his last month.
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We never thought about his getting old and it happened so fast. And there is no way to prepare for it. We were heart broken and both of us cried at the loss of our poor Fermo.
Our home is empty now. Fermo brought joy, laughter and love into every day here and the emptiness weighs heavily on us now.
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Fermo was a wonderful guy all his life. So independent we labelled him as being as stubborn as a mule but a very intelligent one. He understood everything. If he concurred, he’d do it. If he didn’t, forget about it. You’d lose.
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Puppy school was outstanding. He was #1, valedictorian, surprising everyone as he was the youngest of the dozen or so dogs in the class.
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Over the years, he learned and we did too. When away from home, we left the radio on for him. Occasionally if we were to be gone for many hours, a family member would come over to let him out. He was cooperative with everyone, seemingly understanding that we were coming home and this person was just on potty patrol. Fermo was a gem.
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When we travelled, he was the perfect back seat passenger. Barking a couple of times for bathroom breaks. Otherwise, just dozing away on the back seat.
Our first trip to Quebec, he was a treasure. Calm, quiet but alert, a great passenger surprising us with his calm demeanor and no fuss travelling.
When we went on our first long trip to Florida, we were really surprised how calm of a passenger he was even at a young age, a couple of years old. The only time he trembled was the first time we entered a hotel elevator. The sensation of the floor vibrating frightened him and he never got used to elevators, never liked them.
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As years progressed, he was a super “door bell” letting us know about an impending visitor set to ring the doorbell. Fermo was on top of his game, announcing them before they got a finger on the bell.
Then when they entered the house, Fermo give them the sniff test but never frightening them with any negative behaviour. Always friendly but attentive.
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His last days, he really slowed down, sleeping almost all the time. He had stopped going upstairs to the bedroom a year or two before as the stairs were a physical challenge for him. But he slept on all the cushions and mats that we set out for him downstairs.
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Even to his last days he would sit quietly in a lap and look at you with ever increasingly sad brown eyes, eyes that said, “I’m tired. Thanks for taking care of me so well. I love you.”
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