Skidboot, a working ranch dog and celebrity, dies at 14

I know he's not a pit bull...but he was an amazing dog anyway



March 28, 2007, 12:33PM
Skidboot, a working ranch dog and celebrity, dies at 14

Associated Press


DALLAS — Skidboot, a working ranch dog and television celebrity who wowed crowds at the State Fair of Texas, has died. He was 14.

Skidboot's health had declined for several years after he was kicked in the head by a horse and blinded in one eye. He was euthanized Sunday.

The dog, half Australian blue heeler and half "chef's surprise," was buried under an oak tree on the Quinlan ranch of David and Barbara Hartwig.

"What a wonderful life of fourteen years he lived! Never has a last minute, second-thought Christmas gift ever shone so brightly as Skidboot," the Hartwigs said on Skidboot's Web site.

On Christmas Eve 1992, David Hartwig was given the puppy by a neighboring rancher as a last-minute Christmas gift for his wife.

In 2003, Skidboot won the $25,000 top prize during the Pet Star competition on "Animal Planet." That led to appearances on the Oprah Winfrey, David Letterman and Jay Leno television shows.

Skidboot's Web site was flooded Wednesday with condolence messages.

"Skidboot always gave everything he had, a lesson that us two-leggers could learn from," said one message.

"What an amazing Dog," another admirer wrote, "he's in heaven entertaining everyone."

Skidboot learned intricate tricks from David Hartwig. In one of them, he would tell Skidboot to grab the ball on the count of three. The owner would count "one ... two ..." and then recite a series of unrelated numbers before casually adding "three" — when the dog would sink its teeth into the stuffed ball.

"I'm just very empty," Barbara Hartwig said in Wednesday editions of The Dallas Morning News. "He was something special. He just had a special spirit."

The Hartwigs asked that Skidboot's fans remember him with a donation to an animal shelter.

 

I saw that dog....he was amazing.....RIP.....

 

I have seen him on tv several times as well. How sad, he was amazing. RIP Skidboot!

 

for sure, RIP.

AMAZING animal he was!

 

OMG I can't believe he is gone.
He was such a remarkable dog.
RIP Skidboot

 

Oh wow! His owner loved him so much, he has to be taking this hard. Skidboot was one of those dogs that you get the pleasure of having around only once in a lifetime. RIP Skidboot.

 

RIP Skidboot...he was a heck of a dog.

Keep em laughin' up there ol' boy.

 

Amazing dog! RIP ole boy

 

it never seems right when the good ones go eh? R.I.P.

 

Hey man I met that dog in person before I knew who he was and then I saw him on tv, he was a damn smart dog and at least he lived for quite a while in my book 14 is a good age for a dog. Man that dog could do anything that guy asked him from counting to normal dog tricks, he was indeed awesome.

 

My tribute to Skidboot, RIP my friend...

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5249518974978628334

This is the way I feel about all my dogs.

 

he lived a good long life...RIP Skidboot.

 

RIP


I remember seeing him on Texas Country Reporter and the Animal Planet show and he was pretty impressive. I was thinking the guy lived in Canton though, not Dallas.

 

R.I.P Skidboot

you wowed em all boy!