Meet Doodlebug!
I was scanning the petfinder site online one day, it was probably around 2002-2003ish, and saw a little minpin looking for a home. Found out the story: his family had dropped him off for boarding while they went on vacation, and never picked him up; the boarding kennel owner had had him at her home for a year. I showed Casey, and within hours (after Pete & I consulted of course) she and I were on our way to pick him up.
Doobie – as he came to be known – was a TOUGH little guy. Not built like a typical minpin, he was stubby and thick. Solid muscle, but of the bulgy, bulldog type. Yet he was only 8# – very tiny! I let Casey name him as he rode home on her lap, happy in the car and happy with the attention. In fact, he was just happy!
Already at home we had Channie and Icy, and our long-time orange and white cat Bruce (who should have a story too, he was the best cat EVER!) so Doobie had some friends waiting for him. We put the dogs all in the fenced back yard to get acquainted and it only took a few minutes. The other 3 were still curious that evening, and watching as I started to play with Doobie, tossing a toy for him. He ran after it and brought it back to me, but when I reached down to take it, he bit me! The next few seconds were a blur…Bruce was INSTANTLY on him, almost before I even realized I’d been bitten Bruce had Doobie down and was literally chewing on him. And almost as quickly both dogs had joined in, Icy barking at him from close proximity, and then Chandler taking charge. Icy and Bruce backed off and Chandler “herded” Doobie away from me (and this was all within probably 30 seconds!). Doobie ran under our bed in the next room, Icy on his heels barking, and Chandler stationed himself at the bedroom door, refusing to let him come back out. I was still stunned at what had happened! The bite wasn’t so bad but just that it had happened at all was a shocker!
And that is how Doobie got his start in our family. Within hours he knew his place from that less-than-minute-long lesson, and never overstepped again. EVER. From then on he was a funny tiny tough guy but all heart. Rescue dogs come with baggage of one sort or another, and dealing with that is just part of the process. Thankfully, in this case, the rest of the pack took care of that part of his issues right off the bat.
Doodlebug had other issues though. He peed on everything. EVERYTHING! No matter how many times we’d take him out, no matter the house-breaking refresher course we did (it wasn’t a housebreaking thing, it was a dominance thing, but we did it anyway), he’d pee on stuff. So within a very short time he was wearing “pants” (belly bands) whenever he was in the house; it was the solution that worked for us. We’d line them with panty liners for extra absorption, and to this day we refer to those as “Doobie pads”!
As most of our rescues have, Doobie quickly attached himself to Pete. He loved us all, and was a cuddly little lap dog to anyone who would have him, but he preferred Pete. Pete has a way with all animals, they see right through to his gentle soul and respond appropriately – wild or pet, it doesn’t matter. He (Doobie) was eager to please, and acted so cock-sure of himself – but Channie and Icy definitely were his superiors in their little pack!
We had Doodlebug for about 7-8 years. In 2010 I had a major surgery, was in the hospital for 5 days and then spent the next 2 weeks of my recovery at my sister’s house. So Pete was alone with all of the pets. One morning he called to tell me something was wrong with Doobie; I quickly “diagnosed” bloat from an impaction and told him it was an emergency. We had absolutely no money in the bank at that time, our vet couldn’t see him, and no other vet would see him. Pete had to make the agonizing decision to have him euthanized. That sort of impaction and the accompanying bloat doesn’t resolve on its own, and is excruciatingly painful. Without surgery in its earliest stages it is almost always fatal, and Pete couldn’t bear to watch Doobie die that way. The local shelter was wonderful with those sorts of things, and helped Doobie out of his pain. Pete then had to deal with his own grief, alone…it was an awful time. But I will always be thankful that Pete was able to do what needed to be done…it was only days later that Pete found some clothing – I don’t remember what – that Doobie had chewed up, and there was quiet a large piece of it missing. Doobie’s tiny digestive tract didn’t have a chance… (He had never chewed up clothes prior to that one time!)
I still get the warm fuzzies when I think of Doodlebug. He and Pete were a lot alike: they both looked and acted tough, but soft and full of love on the inside, hiding it as well as they could…and dealing with their own baggage as well as possible too.
I recently found this photo of big Chandler, tiny Doodlebug, sweet Icy, and medium Pharaoh, whom you will meet next week! My mom, suffering from dementia and living in a facility just a few blocks away, used to come to our house every Sunday for the afternoon, and sometimes during the week too. She couldn’t remember the dogs’ names, and called the 3 boys Small, Medium, and Large :). In this photo you can see why!
PAST STORIES
Speedy Gonzales ~ Obi Wan Kenobi ~ Lady ~ Spanky Marie ~ Mick ~ IcyQ ~ Chandler ~
Tough times require tough decisions. Having been a Policeman at times requires putting aside emotions to do a job. It is afterwards I had to deal with the loss. I am not unaccustomed to loss. Had to bury or have put down many pets before and after.
They say that death is part of life, and of course it’s true – but the words can’t really communicate the reality of the experience…