ANIMAL OBITUARIES

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November 2000:

Misty II, 14, last grandfilly of
Misty of Chincoteague, and the only one with
the same color and markings, died from cancer
on August 24 at the farm of Keith and
Kendy Allen in Manheim, Pennsylvania. Her
remains were returned to Chincoteague Island,
Virginia, to be buried at the newly opened
Chincoteague Pony Center. The first Misty
rode to fame with the success of the children’s
book Misty of Chincoteague, by the late
Marguerite Henry. Misty of Chincoteague
made her one of the most successful writers of
horse stories ever, having already sold more
than a million copies by 1961, when it became
a hit film. Henry produced two sequels:
Stormy, Misty’s Foal (1963), about the mother
of Misty II, and Misty’s Twilight ( 1992 ) ,
about the last days of Misty, who died in
1972. But Misty II did not inherit an easy life.

The Allens found her as a withdrawn, difficult,
reputedly untrainable one-year-old at a
miniature pony farm. “She had a reputation
for being a rogue and kicking her stall,” Jim
Allen told Pamela Stallsmith of the Richmond
Times-Dispatch. “But she let me put a halter
on her and walked like she was walking away
from that place for good. Misty II went on to
earn her own fame and acclaim as a multi-time
pony show champion, and as a longtime member
of the Chincoteague Pony Drill Team,
who perform precision steps to music.
Ray, 10, a chimpanzee in custody
of the Coulston Foundation, died in August
“after apparently being sick for days without
veterinary care,” In Defense of Animals
charged. “TCF is already under investigation
for other chimp deaths,” IDA continued,
“including that of Donna, who died from a
massive infection and uterine rupture after carrying
a large dead fetus for up to two months.
In a sworn affidavit, USDA Western Regional
Director Dr. Ronald Gibbons stated that his
agency anticipates filing a formal complaint
against the Coulston Foundation. This would
be the fourth time that the USDA has formally
charged Coulston with multiple and repeated
Animal Welfare Act violations.”
The Coffee-Creamer Bear of Park
County, Colorado, was killed by state
wildlife officers on September 18, after breaking
into at least 60 camper trailers and cabins
to smash open cabinets and search for coffee
creamer, her favorite human treat. “It was
really a bum deal,” district wildlife manager
Mark Lamb told Denver Rocky Mountain
News staff writer Gary Gerhardt. “At first I
was angry at her for not staying out of trouble.
Then I got mad at the people who refused to
clean up their trash, hummingbird feeders,
dog food, and barbeque grills that attracted
her.” Her two cubs, born early this year,
were judged ready to survive on their own.
Whiteheart and Spirit, two radiocollared
black bears studied by researcher
Lynn Rogers in northern Minnesota, were
shot by hunters on August 23 and August 26.
Whiteheart was star of a recent Discovery
Channel episode which was filmed by sneaking
a video camera into her den.
Nero, 11, a Hungarian-born police
dog handled by Officer Phillip Aufiero of
New Castle, Delaware, died on September 23
with his head in Aufiero’s lap. “I had to learn
to speak Hungarian to handle him,” Aufiero
said. In August 1992 a robbery suspect tried
to shoot Aufiero. Nero disarmed him, becoming
known as Nero the Hero. Nero went on to
seize more than $1 million in contraband,
caught many criminals, and found a few lost
children and Alzheimer’s patients. He was
retired from police work in August.
Rumplesealskin, 26, who came to
the Birmingham Zoo with four other
California sea lions in 1975, died on
September 16. Although sea lions rarely live
to 25, she was survived by two of her companions,
Julie and Triton.
Robbie, an obese Cape fur seal who
lived in Kalk Bay, South Africa, for at least
10-15 years, cadging handouts from fishers,
on September 26 “put up a tremendous fight
for his life before being gobbled by a 23-foot
great white shark,” witnesses reported.
Kubu, 14, the oldest of three
Sumatran tigers at the Colorado’s Ocean
Journey theme park near Denver, was euthanized
on September 15 due to painful conditions
of age. Kubu came to Colorado’s Ocean
Journey on retirement loan from the Phoenix
Zoo in October 1999.
Dan Dan, the only brown-andwhite
captive panda, died from cancer on
September 7 at the Xi’an Zoo in central China.
Captured in 1985, she birthed one cub, Qin
Qin, who was the normal black-and-white.