Chopper, also known as his royal highness King Snausage, passed away in his home surrounded by family on April 26, 2022, from complications of Cushing’s disease. He is survived by his father, Zeb, and his adoptive parents, Ellen and Derek.

Chopper was born with many birth defects including a little chicken wing (complete with one, solitary fingernail) instead of a right arm, extra digits on his front left paw, and an ear canal that went nowhere. His status as a tripod seemed to not give him much difficulty as he and his father, Zeb, were known to roam around the streets of San Antonio. His scrappiness and resilience served him well throughout his entire life.

Much has been speculated about his early life, but in October 2016, he and his father found themselves at Austin Pets Alive by way of the Austin Animal Center - their days of living on the street coming to a close. Although they were each just 9-pound Chihuahuas, they were first placed at the large dog shelter downtown, sharing an outdoor kennel.

It just so happened that Ellen volunteered at this particular shelter, walking large dogs around the river in her spare time. Ellen was looking to adopt a dog that she could run with and had made her preference of pitbulls known to all (she wanted a baby hippo to love). She was vocally against adopting Chihuahuas.

However, on December 1, 2016, when she only had 20 minutes to walk a dog, she decided to see if there were any small breed dogs that wouldn’t need as long of a walk. Lo and behold, a name popped up on the list of available dogs to walk that had a cryptic note next to it: “Only has 3 legs, use your best judgment.” The notes further explained that he was one of a bonded pair named Ren and Stimpy. To say that Ellen was intrigued would be a vast understatement.

When Ellen arrived at the kennel, she found two emaciated, pretty rough-looking Chihuahuas. They were laying on a thin blanket on a concrete floor and had a bowl of uneaten chicken noodle soup in front of them. Truly a pathetic image. However, when they spotted her, they both promptly balanced on their back legs, tails wagging, and jumped up and down demanding attention. Ellen instantly fell in love with both of them.

It took some time for Ellen to convince Derek to adopt both of the dogs. Ellen and Derek had just purchased their first house, and Derek wanted to be able to enjoy it without any added responsibility (understandably so). Ellen did get Derek to agree to meet them at the kennel to at least give them a try. Derek agreed that they were sweet pups, such smol lil bois, but he still wasn’t keen on any dogs, period.

Ellen kept an eye on the two dogs and saw that they were transferred to the small dog shelter, notorious for having faster adoption times. It was now or never. Ellen must have been very convincing because not less than a week after seeing them for the first time, the two dogs were coming home with her. On December 7, 2016, they found their furever home. Derek still reminisces about this time: “Ellen wanted a dog, and I didn’t want a dog, so we comprimised and got two dogs.” The best dog dad and husband ever.

The dogs were untrained, grouchy, and confused when they first arrived home. It was confirmed by a DNA test that they were 100% Chihuahua and that they were in fact father and son. It was estimated that they were 11 and 7 years old at the time of their adoption. It became apparent that their names didn’t fit them, so Derek and Ellen chose to name them Zeb and Chopper (Ren and Stimpy, respectively) after characters from Star Wars Rebels. Chopper, the character, is an old droid, and the following quote serves as an explanation as to why they chose this name for this special doggo:

“Due to his old age and lack of regular maintenance, Chopper developed an argumentative, cantankerous, and mischievous personality. Despite these personality flaws, he was a loyal member of his rebel crew.”

Nailed it.

Chopper the Chihuahua was a lovable troublemaker from the get-go. As a tripod, he was prone to clumsiness and general spazziness. He would never run in a straight line, preferring to hop around in circles next to Ellen’s feet. He would sometimes fall flat on his face while running to the side fence, trying desperately to assert his dominance over the yappy Schnauzers in the neighbor’s yard. Although he never quite picked up on how to play with toys, he loved when Derek would try to grab his little feeties and make him run around the top of the bed. He was a sucker for a good tummy rub.

Chopper took his role as Ellen’s faithful companion very seriously. He was never more than a couple feet away from her at any point, including when she was on the toilet. He was insistent on round-the-clock lap cuddles and head pets. Despite being not the smartest dog (said lovingly), he had a strong emotional connection to Ellen and could sense when she was sad or lonely. Ellen would bury her face in his warm, fuzzy belly when she needed to cry, and he would make sure to never leave her side when she was ill. The connection that the two had was singular.

Since Chopper couldn’t go on long walks, Ellen would carry him around in a specialty backpack on the hiking trails around Austin. The responses from strangers always went one of two ways: “Oh my goodness, he’s so cute!” (mostly women) or “Look who’s getting the royal treatment!” (mostly men). Everyone was always tickled pink when it was revealed that he only had three legs and that goofy chicken wing.

Chopper was known for his constant derpy faces, his little tongue blep sticking out of his mouth. He liked to lay on the mini dog beds that were scattered around the house, precariously hanging his head off the edge, nose smashed onto the floor, which seemed to be uncomfortable yet somehow wasn’t. He was notorious for knocking over trash cans and ripping up garbage when left unattended for more than 2 minutes. He never met another dog that he liked (except for Zeb), but he never met a person that he didn’t like, so long as they petted him. His love for peanut butter was never-ending.

Less than 2 years after being adopted, Chopper had an abnormal blood test come back from the vet indicating an issue with his kidney. Being an attentive, research-driven mother, Ellen began Googling immediately what could be causing the anomalies. After extensive testing, Chopper was diagnosed with Cushing’s Disease in January 2018. Ellen oftens mentally kicks herself for not speaking up sooner about the hunch that she had that he was afflicted with Cushing’s, but she’s glad that the diagnosis was finally confirmed.

Cushing's disease (hyperadrenocorticism) is a serious health condition in dogs that occurs when the adrenal glands overproduce cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, in the animal's body. Chopper experienced the following symptoms during his illness: increased appetite, excessive thirst or drinking, thinning of the skin, hair loss, frequent urination, enlarged abdomen (the pot-bellied appearance), and panting.

Chopper was always food-motivated, but quickly became food-obsessed. He would wolf down his kibble in under a minute and then chug a bowl of water. He had the stereotypical potbelly that is seen on many Cushing’s patients, and Ellen and Derek were always shocked that he didn’t have more accidents in the house with his eating and drinking habits.

For a while, Chopper lived a relatively stable life on medication, getting blood tests every 3-6 months to check on his cortisol levels. During this time, the family took many camping trips together, Chopper charmed many dog sitters when his parents went out of town, and he was happy to congratulate Ellen and Derek on their marriage in April 2019. He continued to run up and down stairs to follow Ellen, scream bloody murder at the neighbor dogs (any dog, really), and live a life with an abundance of love.

In July of 2020, one of Chopper’s blood tests came back showing his cortisol levels had dropped well below a healthy number. This was odd since none of his symptoms had changed. However, the vet insisted on taking him off of his medication until another blood sample could be taken. Unfortunately, because of the month without medication, his second test came back with extremely elevated cortisol numbers, meaning that he needed to go back on the medication asap. Ellen still regrets not advocating for him during this time - it is so hard to speak for your dog when a vet tells you to do something. This was the beginning of the end for Chopper as a stable, healthy doggo. (Derek would like to make a note here and say that Ellen harbors a lot of guilt about this moment in Chopper's life. He believes that Chopper would have gotten worse with or without a pause in his medication and she should not blame herself.)

In August 2020, Ellen and Derek noticed that Chopper’s remaining front leg was not bending at the joint properly. Chopper had trouble walking and would end up tiring out much quicker on his daily walks to the mailbox. Additionally, his Cushing’s symptoms seemed to be getting worse, with more and more skin infections, loss of fur on his belly, and an absolutely gargantuan appetite. Ellen took him to many specialty vets to see what was going on, but none could explain the Frankenstein leg symptom nor why his symptoms were getting worse despite normal blood tests.

During this time his back legs began to seize as well, and it wasn’t until he snagged an appointment at the Texas A&M Medical Teaching Hospital in March of 2021 that he was labeled with yet another baffling diagnosis - pseudomyotonia. The vets at the hospital were excited to see such a rare diagnosis in person (they called Chopper their “little medical mystery”), and the following is an excerpt from the visit summary at A&M:

“Based on Chopper's history, and his physical and neurological examinations, we believe his limb rigidity and extension to be a rare symptom of his hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing's disease) called pseudomyotonia. Chopper is not experiencing any pain, rather his decreased mobility is due to his muscle fibers continually contracting, becoming hypertrophied (enlarged), and locking his legs into extension resulting in a stilted and choppy gait. He had no neurological deficits on exam today, however, we did notice Chopper has many of the signs typical of Cushing's. His symmetrical alopecia (hair loss), thin/wrinkly skin, multiple comedones (white pimples), and excellent history of his ravenous appetite, polydipsia (drinking excessive amounts of water), polyuria (urinating an excessive amount), and recurrent skin infections all support that his Cushing's disease is not currently being regulated as well as we would like.”

His medication was doubled, and while his symptoms gradually got worse, he lost the ability to walk in April 2021. If he had been more than a 9-pound dog, this could have been the end. However, he was still a happy-go-lucky guy, full of smiles, ever-demanding of pets and love so Ellen and Derek began to carry him around the house, up and down stairs, and outside to go potty.

Even though he looked healthy, despite losing the ability to walk, there was still a disease growing inside of him. His obsession for food made mealtimes a stressful time for him, whining for food for hours before feeding time. Because he couldn’t walk to the water bowl, he would often cry for help until someone could pick him up and balance him on his legs. Going to the bathroom frequently ended in him falling over. He also had all of his teeth removed due to extensive dental disease so his little tongue permanently hung out of his mouth, crusted over with dry skin. It was a frustrating, trying illness.

His decline was relatively slow, and COVID kept Ellen and Derek home so they were able to care for Copper 24/7. Chopper was still the charismatic stinker that he had always been, but life became increasingly challenging. With Chopper waking up multiple times during the night, Ellen and Derek alternated days so that at least one of them could get some sleep. Chopper became more and more anxious and stressed and tired, and he was put on a cocktail of pain medication, muscle relaxers, and sedatives.

It’s unfortunate that much of his life was characterized by his illnesses, but it never took away from his affection towards his parents, his goofy faces, and his tenacity and resilience. With his symptoms worsening, sleep becoming more and more illusive for the entire family, Ellen reached out to his vet to see what their options were. As hard a decision as it was, it looked like Chopper was experiencing more stress and pain than happiness and peace.

For Ellen, penciling in a time on her calendar for an at-home euthenasia for her best furry friend felt twisted and morose. She made sure that they had enough time to get a professional photoshoot of the Chopper to capture his last days, as well as have an intimate goodbye party with a few friends and family who had grown close to Chopper over the years. They watched videos of him as a younger, healthier dog - running around, playing, dancing for treats, and learning how to freeze (the only command he ever learned). Chopper snuggled in between Ellen and Derek as his favorite humans reminisced about all of the wonderful years that they spent together.

Chopper passed away at home, peacefully and without pain, in his favorite spot on the bed, getting pets and tummy rubs and words of love and adoration from Ellen and Derek. There will never be a dog quite as special, charismatic, scrappy, and messed up (again, said lovingly) as Chopper. Ellen and Derek’s lives feel empty without the burden of his hospice care and his larger-than-life personality, but they are content knowing that he is resting now, waiting for them to find him in the next life and give him infinite belly rubs.

We love you and miss you, Choppy buddy. 

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