Posted by gary fuller
on 9/22/2009, 11:28 am, in reply to "Sweet Gary!"
Skit em Petey
These 3 little words Skit em Petey meant that within a very short time a wild hog’s worst nightmare was loose and about to put the hurt on a wild hog somewhere in Central California. Fuller’s Petey was the best in the woods catch dog I’ve ever owned. He was also the best I’ve ever seen catch wild boar on a consistent basis
Petey was out of my Kershner female Fuller’s Pretty Patches who is now with my friends Ralph Citterella and Jeanne in New Jersey at White Knight Kennels. Petey’s dad is Van Hoose’s Koa, now owned by Greg and Tammy Souza.
Petey was the driveiest pup in his litter from the time his eyes opened, so this made him a perfect candidate for my chosen sport of hog hunting. This drive also meant growing up constantly reminding him what was acceptable and what was not. Although as he matured he ended up being very mellow and laid back until it was time for him to work I had him on his first hog, a small wild pig in my pen at the age of 13 weeks. He was such a natural, I couldn’t wait for this pup to grow up and go to the woods. A few months later he got Panotheosis and I had to wait for all his bones to get straightened out before he could continue his hog work. At 11 months old he caught his first hogs in a local vineyard and a few days later he caught my daughter Amanda’s first hog for her in the same vineyards.
A week later I was catching some hogs I had in a pen because I had recently sold them to a couple of guys. Due to a goof up on my part Petey ended up getting cut up pretty good when a nasty boar I had separated got loose in the pen I was catching the other hogs out of. He caught the boar and gave me time to get out and not get hurt myself. When I finally got him pulled out of the pen he was cut pretty good. I laid him down on the tailgate of my pick-up and stapled him back together
In his entire career I never once had to use anesthetics on this dog to staple him back up and he never offered to nip or bite no matter the injury. The very next day after the hog pen incident I wanted to see what this pup would do being all sore and swollen. Well, we went out to my hog pen and he showed me more grit in an 11-month-old pup than I’ve seen in some mature, seasoned dogs. During his career this dog left a lot of seasoned hog hunters in awe after watching him catch some real nasty hogs. He had an unbelievably hard bite (despite having relatively small teeth) and when he put his mouth on a hog it was over. I’ve seen him thrown off a few times but only to catch the hog again and hold him till we took over. I once saw Petey put a 250-pound boar that was cutting him; on his knees in the time it took me to run about 80 yards to him. More than once I used Petey to help me pull dead hogs up a hill or out of a ditch
One of my best hog hunting memories is of me and my hunting partner Dean watching the dogs backed up baying as Petey did battle with one of the most awesome boars I’ve ever caught. This old boar was one of the most European, pre historic, beasts I’ve ever seen and was well over 300 pounds. As soon as I killed this brute, Petey looked up at me, let go of the hog, and just collapsed from exhaustion.
Petey was cow broke and never was in a dogfight. He would ride in the dog box with other male dogs. I once saw him have a hold of a small boar while another dog was biting holes in Petey’s rear. He never paid any attention to the other dog and just went about the job of holding the hog. He could be handled by anyone and considered all people friends while hunting or in the box, yet was a decent watchdog at home
Now that I’ve told all of the good memories I must tell how he met his end. He got cut by a boar up through the roof of his mouth and into his sinuses. I missed seeing this and by the time he acted sick his sinuses had gotten impacted with foxtails. Of course as sick dogs will, he ate grass. It just so happened that he ate some green grain of some type that was growing on the ranch where he was staying that week, where a friend of mine was hunting with him. The grass ended up tying up in his intestines and causing a blockage and at the same time a piece perforated his intestines. By the time it was over Petey spent 22 days at the vet, had 3 intestine surgeries, a sinus repair surgery, anemia, pneumonia, peritonitis, pancreantitis, and had his spleen removed
Petey went from a ripped, no fat, in shape 85-pound gladiator to 58 pounds at the worst stay at the vet. The vet said the only thing that kept him alive was he refused to die. We took Petey home and the convalescing began. After 1 month and 2 days home and numerous vet checks Petey was 78 pounds and had a lot of his muscle back also. I saw Petey at 11 that night and by the time I checked on him at 6:30am, I could tell he was in real trouble. Evidently all the damage that was done just caught up and his intestines were shutting down. I called the vet and they said bring him in and if what I knew had to be done was necessary that they would take care of it as they said I didn’t need to deal with it
I started my truck, carried my hunting buddy out to my hog pen, and stood him up by the fence. First the little pigs came over, and Petey in his weakened condition didn’t get too excited. Then some of the big hogs woke up, came over, saw the dog and started hitting the hog panels trying to get Petey. Well this sure woke him up! The oldest sow hit the wire and when she did Petey pulled out of my hands and grabbed her by the nose. Of course in his weakened conditioned she pulled away and he fell over. This may seem cruel to some, but this warrior deserved to have that fire in his eyes just one last time. I carried my buddy over to my truck and he rode with me in the cab acting the best he had all morning. We got to the vet and she knew as soon she saw him that this would be his last visit. I laid Petey in my lap, as they gave him the shot the vet and I both cried
Luckily the heart of this brave warrior still lives on in his son Slammin’ Jack. Now 3 months old, he took his first bite of a hog at nine weeks old. I just hope to again own and hunt with a dog the caliber of Petey. If I never do at least I know I have great memories and feel honored to have hunted with a great bulldog
Skit em Petey
-Gary Fuller
