Remington (Remi)
6/2007 to 7/17/2018
Walking out of the vet's office with an empty collar never gets easier. Remi's walk was extra "not easy" because of who he was and what transformations his life had gone through. In the fall of 2007 I made the journey to a PetSmart in Marion, IN, and brought home a small scared puppy after seeing just his beautiful eyes, expression and face on his Petfinder's profile. Herschel had told me that he needed help visiting the nursing homes. Some one small enough to sit in a lap, he said. Herschel assured me that the English Cockers were too big and he had all he could handle walking around chairs and beds. Read the Havenese bred standard. Besides the vocabulary "sturdy", the intelligence and temperament won me over. Then Remi came home.
His rescue group had gone to Missouri, purchased and brought home a van full of Puppy Mill rejects from an auction. Rejects are the ones that the puppy millers feel won't sell to bundlers for pet shops but might be worth $8 dollars at an auction (which is more than they would get is they drowned them in the barrel behind the barn.) Remington was the only Havenese of the 16 puppies the group rescued. They knew to bid on the Pugs but were clueless as to what a Havenese was. They did report to me that it took three baths to get Remi clean and that the puppy miller that had him was dirtier than he was. Even with the baths Remi looked pretty sketchy. Poor care and poor nutrition will do that. I had to have a Havenese breeder I know look at him to tell me that yes he was a Havenese and not some poodle/dachshund cross. The fact that he was a curly coated Havenese and not the smooth or wavy ones you see in the show rings is probably what caused him to be sent to the reject auction. Few people other than Havenese breeders would have recognized him. But he had the bouncy walk/strut, the eyes and nose of his breed and fighting against all the negatives of his early lack of socialization he tried his best to be sweet and loving.
He came back to Ohio at 5 months old not knowing how to be a dog or how to trust humans or how to trust much of anything. He wouldn't even take food from a human hand. It was difficult to determine an effective positive reinforcer for behavior. Apparently being fed regularly not being scared every minute of every day worked over time. The one skill he had was to be so scared that he would sit frozen in a lap. Herschel and I both agreed that we could work with that. I give 90 percent of the training credit for Remi to Herschel and the residents of the nursing home. Herschel taught him how to be a not so afraid dog and the residents taught him that human touch could be kindness. The first treat that Remi took from a human hand was from one of "his" resident ladies. Both he and Herschel had their own people.
With Herschel to protect him, Remi learned the way of therapy dogs.
This fine lady, a retired poodle breeder, also shared with me how to keep Remi's ears clear of hair and how to keep them healthy. The wife of one of the other residents was the one who approached me one day to quietly let me know that Remi had talked with her and he wanted me to know that his real name was Remington. And so it was. I was so glad that he told someone!
Herschel made sure that Remi learned how to be a traveling dog. Mexico, Florida, Alaska and many many states in between..... Here in Silver River State Park in Florida, Herschel was trying to take Remi's mind off the alligators.
Here Herschel is reassuring the non-water loving Remi that he could be safe out kayaking.
With a good diet and healthy living his coat grew and he became handsome.
And Remi, long noted for writing his own blog posts and e-mails, listens to a child read to him in the library.
Herschel and Remi with one more of their friends.
Herschel did his best to explain how puppies were raised here in Ohio as opposed to any memory Remi may have had of his past in Missouri. He took the job seriously and set about to raise Izzy (Audrey's mother).
There were other puppies that came to live with us since Izzy but he never quite took on the role of teacher and playmate quite as enthusiastically.
Izzy, Stuart and Remi all sharing a lap....
He learned to enjoy many aspects of his life.
And always respected his big red dog.....
And Herschel and Stuart taught him how to play.
After Herschel passed away in 2012, Stuart became Remi's new rock of security.
Remi in Michigan with puppy Audrey, trying to pay forward some of the comfort the older dogs had always provided him.
After Stuart left us last August. It became more and more apparent that Remi had lost his sense of security in the world. In the last few months I had watched him lose much of his joy and the cloak of great "fears" slowly take back his life. First it was not being able to be with Josef, which might be explained because Josef was getting older, is intact and pushy, but eliminating spending time with Josef, Remi then began having disagreements with Lark, a spayed female.... His eye sight appeared to have gotten worst and his sight at night, questionable for some time, made him reluctant to even move in the dark. Having always found grooming and nail trimming stressful, over the years he ultimately had made a some sort of necessary peace with the process. Remi then began to lose that tenuous hold and began to reverted back to his panic attacks. He found a sense of safety only in his crate. Reassurance and joy in his daily life not so much.
In Kentucky watching his beloved friends from a far. Hoping that they would come back for him.
Run free, bound high, chase your friends in peace and joy. You brought joy and smiles to many over the years. You deserve to be at peace and without fear.
