Aloha Augie!

Following our re-homing of Heidi, my wife Clara and I felt the guilt and sense of loss a dog lover feels whenever circumstances dictate surrendering a dog. Taking a bit of the sting out of the experience, we were extremely grateful Heidi had found what was for her the perfect home. I could not have, in good conscience, taken Heidi to a shelter. If  we hadn’t found the family we did for Heidi, Clara and I would have had to endure being owners of an antisocial, hyperactive dog. We’d had some practice in that area thanks to Lance, but neither of us would have enjoyed a repeat performance. Owners who have lived dogs like Lance and Heidi know how complicating and isolating such ownership can be.

We visited Heidi several times in 2022. Her new owners sent us photos from time to time. In every photo, Heidi had contentment written all over her face. Clara and I swallowed our pride and assured each other we had done the right thing. We came to the painful conclusion that whatever it took to right the “Heidi Ship”, we didn’t have it. Her reformation was a miracle that Clara and I had the good fortune to witness.

Our experience with Heidi taught us a lesson: it’s critical to recognize and admit to your limitations. Sometimes it’s okay to say “when”! I’m confident Heidi is happy we did.
Following Heidi’s departure, Clara and I contented ourselves with our cat. At least I did. Clara spoke of getting another dog. Of course, it would be a rescue. What kind? I needed an older, socialized, and—because of my declining health—low energy dog😊 Ideally, a dog with a track record  so we’d know what we were getting into.

We started visiting local shelters. There, we were received somewhat coldly. Maybe I’ll write an essay on that experience some day but, for now, let’s just say we found these shelters to be anything but consumer friendly.

In mid-April of 2023, my chronically bad back finally caught up with me. I had been dealing with flareups for decades. I wouldn’t recover from this final attack on my lower spine. I was only able to get around with a walker or a rollator. Among other things, that meant no dog. My wife’s bad knees and my back made us unsuited for dog ownership, especially the dog walking part.

My poor health dictated a poor quality of life for the rest of 2023: unsuccessful back surgery, a second bout of COVID and a life-threatening attack of sepsis rounded out the year.

2024 started with a bang: a mystery virus  hospitalized me for eight days. Upon being discharged,  I resumed rehabbing my back, without seeing much success.

In early April, Clara spotted a post on Facebook. An owner was looking to re-home her puppy. She was living with her husband and mother-in-law, both of whom didn’t like dogs. She had a four-month-old beagle/dachshund named Gruff. The owner said Gruff was house broken and good with people,  dogs and cats. She said he had all his shots and had no medical issues. She said she had to get rid of him because the other people living with her did not like dogs.

While still on the phone with Clara, the owner said she could drop her dog off in two hours(10:00p.m.)  We deferred until the following morning. That’s when we met the owner and her dog outside the Candy Kettle Store in Marshalls Creek, Pennsylvania. The owner got out of her car carrying Gruff and handed him to Clara who in turn handed him to me sitting in the front seat for our car. The lady said, “Goodbye!”, hustled back to her car, and took off. Gruff was whining that doggy whine a dog makes when it senses change that it doesn’t understand. Gruff didn’t whine for long. He settled down on my lap for the ride to his new home. The first thing I noticed about Gruff—he stunk! I believe a dog’s smell says a lot about his living conditions and Gruff’s stench told quite a story.

When we got home, I let Gruff loose in our fenced yard. After relieving himself (that was promising!), he entered our house without hesitation . The first thing I did was go inside, wash my hands, and change my shirt and pants to rid myself of doggy odor. Clara gave Gruff a bath in the kitchen sink. When the bathing , rinsing and drying was completed, I don’t know if Gruff appreciated the fact he smelled better but we did.

Gruff’s previous owner had given us a box of dog toys and a large bag of kibble. Clara checked the kibble’s ingredients and immediately went shopping for a healthier alternative. It turned out Gruff was far from house broken. Because of my limited mobility, Clara did the house breaking duties, going outside with Gruff every hour and praising him when he did his business. It took about a month to a month and a half for Gruff to “get it”.

Speaking of Gruff, neither Clara nor I liked that name. I came up with Augie. For those old enough to remember, I lifted the name from an old cartoon show, Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy.

The local vet doubts Augie is a dachshund/beagle mix. She said he has a “German shepherd’s tail”. None of us see any beagle in him at all. More likely, Whippet. Someday, we’ll do the DNA thing.

There is a definite physical resemblance between Augie and Heidi. They share the dachshund part. Unlike Heidi, Augie has turned out to be very people-friendly. Rambunctious, yes!  Antisocial, not at all! Like Heidi, we took Augie to Sit, Stay, n’ Play in Stroudsburg, Pa. for obedience training. Unlike Heidi, Augie didn’t terrorize the staff  and other dogs. With the other canines in the class, he displayed friendly curiosity.

As of today, we’ve had Augie for about ten months. Clara is able to give Augie a short walk most every day. I can hobble out in the backyard and throw his ball for him to chase. Whenever I drag myself out into the garage to do a workout on the universal, I let Augie entertain himself inside and outside the garage.

Last year in warmer weather, I took Augie outside and went through some of the commands he learned in obedience school. I’ll do the same this year as soon as winter ends.

On the agenda:
1-Getting a second dog to keep Augie company —and busy.
2-Hiring a dog walker.
3-Perhaps a return visit to doggie school.

Before we got Augie, I had been looking for an older dog that wouldn’t test my physical health. There are times I feel I’m short changing Augie because of my physical limitations. Of course, being a dog, Augie can’t complain even if he wanted to. Whenever I feel I’m not doing as much as I’d like to for Augie, I comfort myself in knowing we helped him escape from a bad situation. Knowing how active he is inside the house as well as outside, I don’t think he would have fared very well in a smelly house with at least two occupants that didn’t like dogs.

February 2025. I’m sitting here putting the finishing touches on this blog entry. Augie is calmly lying on my lap. That won’t last for long 😊