Pelican Parts Forums - The DOG thread

Quote:

Originally Posted by CurtEgerer (Post 9544149)

Bugstrider - I was browsing through this thread and love all the pics of your Schnauzer.

A few years ago, we had to put one of our dogs down. His name was Diablo, a coonhound-doberman mix, we had adopted several years prior. What a good dog he was! But we still had our Schnauzer, Smokey, who we bought as a puppy and was maybe 5 years old at the time. After several months had passed, we decided it was time to find another dog to keep Smokey company. My wife looked at the shelters for a while but nothing really came up.

So one afternoon, completely out of the blue, I suggested that maybe we should look for another Schnauzer, not a puppy but an older dog to adopt. I got on-line and searched and only a single ad came up within a few hundred miles. It was for an 8-year old female that had been neglected and taken back by its original owner. I contacted the owner and she said she just placed the ad that day and I was the only one who responded.

The next day, I went to meet with the owner and her dog. I brought Smokey with me to make sure the two of them would get along. It was a couple of hours away and as I was driving, I realized that it was in the same general area as where I bought Smokey as a puppy 5 years prior? I remember it well, because it was a horse farm and the lady had one of her horses stolen the night before!!

We met at a mini-storage facility that the person adopting out the dog owned. The dog was scrawny looking and shaved down. Her name was Fancy. The lady said she was so matted, that she had to shave her down. And she had a couple of good sized lumps that didn't look great. So I got Smokey out of my truck to see if they would get along. He does not do well with other dogs until he really gets used to them. He gets aggressive and growls and barks. But this time, he briefly sniffed Fancy and then just sat down next to her as calm as could be. No growling, no barking, no excitement at all?! It's the first time that EVER happened.

I told the seller that coincidentally I had bought Smokey only a few miles from here 5 years ago. She said that her mother had sold a litter of Schnauzer puppies about 5 years ago. I asked if her mother had a horse farm. She said yes. I then asked if her mother had a horse stolen about 5 years ago? Her face turned pale and she said yes. I said I bought Smokey from your mother the day after her horse was stolen! She looked at me, now with tears in her eyes, and said Fancy is Smokey's mother ...

Now what are the odds here? 5 years after I buy Smokey, I decide on a whim to search the internet for an adult Schnauzer for adoption. I've never done that before. I find 1 ad. The ad was placed only 2-3 hours before I found it. I'm the only one to respond to the add. And the dog turns out to be Smokey's mother who is in desperate need of a new owner to take care of her. Some things are meant to be and beyond coincidence or rational explanation.

Fancy had a series of health problems that we attended to over the past 2 years. Her and I bonded and she was never more than a few feet from my side. When I left for the day, she sat in the window sill for hours waiting for me. When I pulled back in the driveway, she would be sitting in the same spot. She almost never napped during the day. She was always active, like she was making up for lost time.

Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with Lymphoma in November 2016 and was given only a few weeks to live. She made it 3 months, before we ran out of options and we had to have her put down about a month ago. It was heart-breaking to say the least. It was a short 2 years while she was with us. She was a good dog :(

This was a few days after we got her. She's the small one. Her son Smokey is a big boy and the vet always told us he was too big for a miniature. We found out that Fancy had been bred with a Standard Schnauzer.

Hi Curt,

Thank you for sharing your story with everyone. Like Baz said very eloquently, your story hit home. I had to let the wifey read it too and it brought a tear to her eye. Fancy was blessed by you and your family finding her in her time of need. Like you mentioned, sometimes there are larger forces at work that know-one can explain or predict. She made up a lifetime of time in the two short years the was with you guys and Smokey. Love the pictures too. Two very good looking Mini's, really like the flying ears window shot.

After we lost Oz and Merlin several years ago, we decided to go dog free for a bit. The pain was just two great for us to consider getting another puppers. After about a year-ish, I started getting text messages from the wife of local shelters with pictures of different dogs and the inevitable........"what about this one, or this one, or this one", you get the idea. At first she wasn't too fond of my suggestion that she herself did not know what she wanted due to the fact there were so many possibilities in such a short time. I knew her heart was is the right place, just needed focus. After getting rejected by a few breed specific rescues due to our "lifestyle", whatever the hell that meant, she elected to concentrate on local shelters. Many years ago when we first met, she had two schnauzers and I had my Aussie. After our two recent Aussie brothers that passed, I knew she was looking at a little lower energy adult dog. We did a temp foster of a hansom little Australian Cattle dog, however his taste for cat flesh wasn't in the cards at our house. He later got adopted by a family that owned a ranch so we were happy about that. Then one day I get a phone message from her saying she was taking off from work early to go check a Schnauzer out at the Truckee animal shelter. Mind you, that place was over a three hour drive, one way from her work. I just knew she was going to come back with this dog.

While she was enroute, I looked at the shelter's web site and thought to myself, "that's a Schnauzer????? Is he a mix??" To me he looked like a little wolf with attitude. Goes to show you can never judge a book by the cover.

His profile pic
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...7870857ad4.jpg

Several hours later, she rolls up with this little grey puff-ball that had the most pathetic "defeated" look.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f21211cc5e.jpg

In the truck
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...ae9a3b955b.jpg

After he picked his bed at Petsmart. We actually pulled several down and this is the one he chose. After an exhausting first day.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...3a0e8ac391.jpg

I joke by telling folks that Henry is more like a cat in a dog suit, but it truly is his demeanor. Like Smokey, Schnauzers can be very barky. They can also be high strung and a handful especially not knowing their history. There was something different about this little guy that I could not put my finger on, but he was a keeper. He was so shut down that we thought he was deaf but he eventually came out of his shell and has us "very trained". The most we have seen any interest was on a walk in Monterey and a squeaky ground squirrel dashed across the path as it made a squeak noise. He jumped and stretched his lease out to the fullest standing up on his two back legs and barked once. The wife and I looked at each other and said "wow, that's the most we have seen from him". In all seriousness, I think he has only barked a single bark maybe 20 times in two years. He also doesn't like it when a deer strolls onto the patch of grass at our place. He is very low key and mellow, sort of like a little ol-man. When we get home at night, he gives us his best Elvis smile and his little nub just wags like there is no tomorrow.

He is a creature of habit and wants his morning walks, although not so much at 0530 hours on a rain day when we all have to go to work. I have people who I have no idea who they are but they know Henry. Cars will slow down on our road and I will hear "HI HENRY", most everyone knows him at the airport and he does well with stopping and waiting for passing cars before proceeding. The little guy is Mr Popular..........the young ladies at the vet's office just think he is the best and love seeing him, it truly is funny to see. He just chills listening to tunes and wants his pets and scratches from time to time. He really likes going to my parents ranch and sitting on my dad's lap in his chair. When we took him over for the first time, my dad actually sat of the floor next to him. That was a total shocker for me and the Mrs.

First ranch visit.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...7450b18baf.jpg

Too many Aussies, I need to get above them.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...097caefda0.jpg

He took to my dad instantly
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...2bf164ca9d.jpg

My absolute favorite picture
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...44b331442e.jpg

His first true Schnauzer trim that totally transformed his outlook. I did not recognize him.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...a2db1f5950.jpg

A year or so ago, I ran across a book I picked up for the wife, she just recently started reading it and I will also read it when she is finished.

Schnauzers are entertaining to say the least, especially Henry, Lump, Sir Henry Winston.

Cheers Bugs

PS: feel free to post some pics of Diablo. Let his memory burn on..