When I think about the greatest friends I have and have ever had, I can’t help but think of Puc. Puc, a Rottweiler/Terrier mix, was truly an incredible friend and companion.
Puc came into my life in May of 1999, he picked me, I did not pick him. I went to Bide-A-Wee adoption center in Manhattan to get a dog to keep with me at my shop in LIC. My good friend John Ames and I went together, John being a huge dog lover himself. Admittedly, he convinced me to take the leap.
As we walked around the display area of cages, there were a handful of dogs, I would say 10-15 cages of many different breeds. The very last cage on the left, was this little puppy that was wildly jumping up at me when I approached his cage. His bark was not a simple bark of alert, he was in fact speaking to me. I knew it then and I know it now. He picked me and I knew I had no choice but to take him from the cage and home with me.
So, that was it, I went to the front desk and told them that I wanted that dog. Then came the bad news….”well, sir, it appears that someone else has put this dog on “hold” “. On hold?? What does that mean? How do you put a dog on hold, either you want him or you don’t! I begged them to give him to me, however, they said they promised him to someone else, BUT, if they did not come in by the afternoon, I could come and take him. Well, they did not know what they were getting into with me.
Every 30 minutes I called them to get the status report. Finally, I broke them down and they told me to come in and get him. When I arrived, they warned me and told me that several people returned Puc because he was too wild. Bahhh….I never feared the challenge. “Wild” means he had a personality and once you discover a dog’s personality, well, dog lover’s know.
So, Puc wowed everyone at the shop, he was friendly and yes, very rambunctious. What everyone noted very quickly was that Puc was extremely smart and learned very fast.
Sometime after he arrived at the shop, Puc took to exploring the neighborhood. Apparently, unbeknownst to us, he made friends elsewhere. One particular friend he made was this woman that he would follow when she parked her car and walked to the subway. Apparently Puc would escort her to the subway on some days, always the gentlemen that Puc. Unfortunately, one day, Puc was crossing the street and got hit by a car which left without checking on him. Somehow, Puc managed to crawl all the way back to the shop and then plopped down. He was bleeding from his ear and could not stand on his own, nobody thought he would make it. We put Puc on a board and rushed him to the Vet where we discovered that he had broken his leg in 2 or 3 places…I forget.
Puc recovered at John’s house for a couple of months and returned to us as good as new.
Puc’s second run in with near death was even scarier. A brainless mechanic at my shop had apparently spilled anti-freeze on the floor and failed to clean it up. Well, anti-freeze is very sweet and attracts dogs like bees to honey and as expected, Puc lapped it up. At some point he got very sick and again was rushed to the Vet. His prognosis was grim, the Vet actually said to me not to get my hopes up, as dogs more than 6 months (he was 2 yrs old at the time) do not recover from ingesting coolant and we had already passed the point in time to be able to pump his stomach. Miracles of miracles, more than 4 weeks of hospital stays and $5000.00 later, Puc survived. The Vet called him a miracle dog and hung a picture of Puc on the wall.
Puc moved with me to Pennsylvania and would take the trip back and forth to Queens daily with me. He was my best friend, my companion. I lived out there, Puc and I, we loved it, I remember every time I opened the door and Puc would race out to the yard looking for a deer to chase. Actually, I even remember the deer that chased him….LOL. I remember hearing him get into a fight with something outside, only to open my door and have Puc run thru a cloud smoke into the house….a tussle with a Skunk….ugh.
Puc was with me on 9-11-01. He was with me racing on rte 80 doing 100+ mph towards the city, only to be rerouted to Westchester to ride out the first few hours at my partners house. Puc was there for all that drama, my buddy.
So you see, Puc played a major role in my life for a few years and than a major part in my loved ones lives for a few more years. His presence and gift is so great, that it cannot be quantified, and while I will one day get another dog and that dog will make there mark on me as well, they will never replace Puc.
Thank you Puc for allowing us to be part of your life and for being part of ours. You will always be loved and missed! Rest In Peace
Marneen
You really brought tears to my eyes… I know how much you loved him and am so sorry for your loss. Sending lots of love and kisses your way
Thanks Simone. He was a really incredible dog. My heart goes out even more to Leigh Ann. They were incredibly close.
if your mom is allergic to dog hair u might want to get a poodle since they don’t shed. as far as that goes. if you have a cat that will stand up to a dog then any dog will do. cuz we had a cat that would play with the dogs and just stand there if they started messing with him. something happened to that cat and we had to give that dog away but we got a new cat that was real skittish and we got a new dog too and that cat will run from the dog so the dog will chase it . the skittish cat had kittens and the dog killed one oof them. so really the cats just have to stand up to the dog.