Let me tell you about Story

by Cindy Fancher April 2, 2020

Today I want to tell about my neighbor’s dog. She is the reason I came to have 2 lovable pups in my own home. Those pups are the ones who are really keeping me smiling during this shut in. They stand about a foot and a half tall and look at me with adoration and at times suspicion. I can tell they are asking themselves, what is she going to do now? They are my 6.5-month-old mixed Mini Schnauzer / Dachshund puppies. To be honest I am doubtful of this heritage. They don’t look like any kind of Dachshund I have seen, more of a poodle I think, but genetics are not my strength. My pups, Reckless and Buddy, were born on 9/11/2019, I kind of like that, now I have something happy to relate to that infamous date. I hope that doesn’t sound wrong to anyone, like so many of us 9/11 changed my life permanently in many ways, but those details are better left to another more reflective day. Today I want you to tell how I came to want a puppy. Tomorrow I will introduce you, in detail, to my crazy pups and perhaps my own craziness associated with them.

It has been a long time since I had a dog of my own, probably 20 years at least, so I was ill prepared to know what was coming at me with 2 puppies. Adopting a pup started with me getting to know my neighbor’s dog Story. What a delightful special dog she is. I don’t think I had ever known a dog that loves me like Story does. Almost as soon as I bought my house Story and I became friends. When I drove up many days, even before I moved in she was there to greet me, and I couldn’t help but smile at her friendliness. Story is part border collie and lab, I think. She has the protective nature of the border collie and it is evidenced time and time again with me. She has the playfulness of the lab.

I have known Story now for 3 years and have had many adventures with her. For example, she and I have toured our neighborhood many times in a golf cart. Not an unusual site, but for me I can’t help laughing as I am driving a 6 seater golf cart and Story is basically in my lap standing at my feet hanging her head out of the drivers side while she is pressed as tightly as she can be to my legs. I don’t think you could get a piece a paper between us. Story is hugging me as we ride along, partially to keep her balance, but also that is what Story does. She hugs you. When I am standing talking with my friends, she wraps herself around my legs, she hugs me to greet me. Who wouldn’t melt at the love you feel when a dog hugs you for a greeting? Needless to say, I would do almost anything for Story. I have taken care of and played with her for hours. She has a unique gift of truly making you feel special.

After I bought my dream lakefront retirement house, I had it renovated, that took 7 months with a very nice contractor that had no issues or difficulties with Story. But just a few weeks before I was scheduled to move in Harvey flooded my house and the reno had to start again. It was months before I moved forward with anything other than cleaning activities. Finally, I hired crew and started over again. This crew was not to Story’s liking. She never liked the foreman especially. To keep things rolling I worked in the garage while they worked in the house. Quite often you would find Story laying at my feet or having lunch with me. She particularly likes turkey and ham. She, like me, is a meat eater. We got along just fine at mealtime!

It always amazed me that if one of the crew, especially the foreman, walked into the garage Story would put herself between me and them and begin growling. Remember this is the hugging dog. But not to them, they feared her and I think they should have. She meant business and proved her protectiveness and uncanny sense of knowing when they were near me, time and time again. Kind of awe inspiring really. I know I was so glad she was there. I really had trouble trusting them also. It got so bad one day that my neighbor found me crying and he was so agitated by the situation that he went into the house and fired them on the spot. I stood in the door with my jaw on the floor. By this time, I was desperate to get the house finished and finding a crew took me a year. So, while I wasn’t pleased with them, I was pretty sure I didn’t want them to walk away with a total mess on my hands. But this really tells me just how sensitive and caring Story and my neighbors are. To cut to the chase they didn’t leave, we came to an agreement and they proceeded to take 3 more months to finish. Story was by me the whole time. She never stopped growling at them, she never approached them, but she stood between me and them and I never felt safer. What a great dog she is.

For a long time, most nights Story would come visit me and bark at my patio door so I could give her a treat and I think, tell her goodnight. Because of the pups she can't get there now and I find there are nights I really miss her visits. Story and I have had many good times and fun, and I hope those will continue for a long time to come. I love my Story hugs and I could tell you so many other special things about her, but I will leave them for later or at least tomorrow's blog.