Tuesday, July 7, 2026

 And this stunner is Huck!  here's what Mary wrote about him~ great story~

Huck was a wild dog who had been to 4 homes before mine and had been kept in kennels for long periods of time because no one could handle him. I was asked by my daughter who worked with the rescue if I could give him some attention and training since I was retired and had time on my hands. I said I would foster… he never left. 


Once he arrived he got to work destroying everything I owned and my mantra became, “Huck has come into my life to show me what I don’t need anymore.” As a giant schnauzer/border collie mix, he was big enough to peruse the top of a book shelf and choose the most irreplaceable thing  it held. He would grab tubes of paint from my easel and run around the house squeezing paint out onto rare antique rugs and new furniture alike, resulting in a rainbow of colors in his white beard that I would carefully clean to avoid poisoning him. He went through 2 rounds of dog boot camp and even the trainers were perplexed about how to address his behavior.


I should mention that he was also incredibly sweet and funny and I was willing to work with him as long as it took for him to become a (semi) well behaved boy. Just as I was at my wits end in that pursuit, a trip to a friend’s cabin helped me stumble upon the answer, SWIMMING! He could swim for hours a day and found pure joy in the water. He swam back and forth in long laps across the lake. He swam next to boats and canoes, It had a calming effect  on him and he became a different dog. With this discovery,his

behavior,even between lake visits, miraculously changed. 


Huck became my constant companion and protector. He accompanied me on numerous cross country road trips for the 8 years he lived. He entertained my 102 year old father immensely and was a treasured visitor to all at his assisted living. 


Sadly,Huck was struck suddenly with an aggressive form of lymphatic cancer in the autumn or 2024 just after my father’s passing. By the time we discovered it he was suffering and struggling to breathe and we had to say goodbye far too soon. 


He remains in our hearts and is the subject of many true stories that all sound like tall tales  and despite his initial years of challenging antics, I fell in love and he became a cherished family member and a really good boy.

8x8 acrylic on wood
sold!

 

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