The Berkeley Pit Mascot
April 14, 2005 2:28 PM   Subscribe

"The Auditor", an amazing dog, lived a long life in one of the harshest environments, the Berkeley Pit in Butte, Montana. The mine site has no vegetation, the water in the pit is full of heavy metals and very acidic (pH 2.5) and yet the Auditor held on long after mining operations halted. He has inspired a web site and even an art project.
posted by 445supermag (39 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Wow, so poignant somehow. Thanks.
posted by tristeza at 2:33 PM on April 14, 2005


Wow, I didn't think anything could live in the Pit. Nice post.
posted by Staggering Jack at 2:44 PM on April 14, 2005


Really, really cool. Three cheers for The Auditor.
posted by COBRA! at 2:44 PM on April 14, 2005


Fantastic post.
posted by ulotrichous at 2:45 PM on April 14, 2005


17 years? Holy crap. Great post. Thanks!
posted by nj_subgenius at 2:45 PM on April 14, 2005


Awesome post ~ thanks for sharing. It's nice to see that he lived his life the way he wanted to... those are some serious dreadlocks.
posted by Guerilla at 2:51 PM on April 14, 2005


It looks like the Auditor inspired more than one art project.
posted by Staggering Jack at 2:58 PM on April 14, 2005


Rasta dog.

What a great story. Thanks.
posted by DieHipsterDie at 2:59 PM on April 14, 2005


Neat.
posted by The God Complex at 3:01 PM on April 14, 2005


The doll is vaguely disturbing:
The dog is cute though.
posted by afrooz at 3:18 PM on April 14, 2005


I love dog posts. Thanks:-)
posted by invisible ink at 3:51 PM on April 14, 2005


I still don't believe it. I know the Berkeley Pit all too well, and I still don't believe it. Heh!
posted by Wulfgar! at 3:58 PM on April 14, 2005


Wow...I recall hearing about him a while back--and to see him on MeFi is really a treat!
posted by davidmsc at 4:12 PM on April 14, 2005


What a cool hound.
posted by dazed_one at 4:24 PM on April 14, 2005


I love this post. Thanks.
posted by melissa may at 4:30 PM on April 14, 2005


How moving. Truly good stuff.
posted by killdevil at 5:09 PM on April 14, 2005


Very cool post. Looks like he was most likely some sort of Poodle mix. I wonder where he came from? He lived a long time, and I wonder where he was when he disappeared, maybe he had a secret cushy home life somewhere (somewhere they didn't believe in brushes, obviously).
posted by biscotti at 5:16 PM on April 14, 2005


What a great story! Thanks for the post.
posted by falconred at 5:40 PM on April 14, 2005


maybe he had a secret cushy home life somewhere
I don't think there is a cushy place in Butte. (But I sure do miss Montana, to misquote Big Daddy Ed Roth "California has turned into a police state full of generic japanese cars")
posted by 445supermag at 5:51 PM on April 14, 2005


He died just before tax day, too.
posted by Phatty Lumpkin at 6:25 PM on April 14, 2005


Wow. That made me want to cry.
posted by scarabic at 6:39 PM on April 14, 2005


What a great story - makes tears well up just thinking of his long, lonely life. Aargh..God. How could you post that, you vicious bastard?
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 7:27 PM on April 14, 2005


That's some dog.
posted by fungible at 7:40 PM on April 14, 2005


Phatty, it looks like from the "a web site" link that he actually died back on November 18, 2003, but it's still a great story, and a great post.
posted by yhbc at 7:55 PM on April 14, 2005


Thanks, 445supermag!
posted by carter at 8:15 PM on April 14, 2005


Great post and very interesting read. Thank you!
posted by googlebombed at 11:05 PM on April 14, 2005


Now The Auditor can join the ranks of the ex-Montanans who say with a straight face that Butte is a great place to be from.
posted by Cranberry at 12:20 AM on April 15, 2005


From his obituary: According to the dog's wishes, Auditor's remains have been cremated. The more pictures I view of the Pit, the more astonished I am that he lived out all of his life from 1986 within it.
posted by PY at 1:35 AM on April 15, 2005


Loved that, thanks!
posted by Onanist at 1:57 AM on April 15, 2005


You know what they say about white boys and dreadlocks.

That dog had ISSUES!
posted by uncanny hengeman at 3:03 AM on April 15, 2005


I would have to guess that Auditor is a Komondor. Though I couldn't find any official reference to this, the friends (or "freinds") of Auditor seems to make some unofficial nod at this.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 3:57 AM on April 15, 2005


I would have to guess that Auditor is a Komondor.

While he is superficially similar in appearance to a Komondor, it's important to remember that Komondors are quite rare in this country, so the odds of this are very low. I'll also point out that Poodles' coats will cord like this (and a corded coat is in fact an acceptable show coat for the Poodle in many clubs, even though very few people bother to allow the coat to cord, so most people have never seen a corded Poodle), Poodles come in white, and Poodles are very common. Hence my opinion that it's much more likely that he was part or mostly Poodle, than Komondor.
posted by biscotti at 8:17 AM on April 15, 2005


The mine site has no vegetation, the water in the pit is full of heavy metals and very acidic (pH 2.5)

RIP, Mordor dog.
posted by crank at 9:00 AM on April 15, 2005


"The Auditor"

That may be about the best dog name ever. Anytime you name a pet "The (Anything)"... gold!
posted by BobFrapples at 9:22 AM on April 15, 2005


This is a great post. What an amazing dog...very cute too.
posted by SisterHavana at 11:32 AM on April 15, 2005


What a story, and what a dog.
*sniff*

Thanks, 445supermag.
posted by deborah at 12:21 PM on April 15, 2005


445, I'm glad you did the FPP after the exchange in AxMe. I told you it was great!

What's amazing is how Auditor survived the winters. I would imagine much of the winter in Butte is below zero. Also, how did he see through all that hair?

Also, imagine how he smelled.
posted by Mid at 12:28 PM on April 15, 2005


Also, he kind of looks like a Great Pyrenees to me.
posted by Mid at 12:31 PM on April 15, 2005


awesome story
posted by patrickje at 1:26 PM on April 15, 2005


« Older Captain Grunge Flies Again!   |   horses Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments