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| Name: |
Hacker, Tookie
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Age: |
Eight years old
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| Gender: |
Male, Female |
Breed: |
Welsh Springer Spaniel,
Springer, Border Collie mix |
| Home: |
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA |
Back
in 97 we bought our first house. It finally allowed us to adopt the
rest of our little family at the local shelter. We adopted Hacker and
Tookie from the Humane Society when they were three years old. They were
raised since puppies together and were very attached to each other and
so they had to be adopted as "buddies" not to be separated. Something
told us "we need to get these dogs". So we got them home and realized
something was wrong.
We didn't know (and I'm sure neither did the shelter) that the two
spaniels we fell in love with had been abused by their previous owner.
My partner knew something was wrong when both would hide and shake
uncontrollably when we called them by their original names. We took them
to the vet and he said that they have been severely abused. Hacker ( a
purebred Welsh Springier Spaniel) has scar tissue welting down his back
and butt, with a steel toed boot imprint on his hip that never was
tended to from being kicked, a deviated septum from getting punched in
the face and 60% brain damage. Tookie has scar tissue welting down her
back and butt and 10% brain damage.
We immediately changed their names by "throwing" out different names and
when they responded, that became their "new life" names. They caused a
"grand" worth of damage the first month but we stuck it out because we
knew that they needed us and we needed them. Their initial behavior was
extremely challenging at first, but we persevered, finally relenting to
cage training, which actually worked wonders!
Hacker (liver & white colored) was named after the kennel cough
he had when we brought him home. Most, though, think he's named after
the fact that our second home is on the computer. Hacker, who was the
most severely abused, suffers a deviated septum (from being punched in
the face) and brain damage and is the consummate male. He demands your
attention to the point of physically edging out anyone or thing trying
to compete. He's a lover, but is fiercely protective of his human
family members, to the point of necessitating warning signs for anyone
coming onto the property he doesn't know or sanctions as acceptable.
He's cutest when he stands sentry at the living room window. It's just
the right height for him to watch the neighborhood with a steely eye,
especially when rogue leaves traipse across the lawn... eliciting mad
barking and chaotic jumping to get us to look.
Tookie on the other hand (border/springer mix) is, as my partner calls
her, Princess Slaughter. Although if Tookie had her way, it would be
Queen, thank you very much. She is definitely a couch potato who
Vultures (read: sulks) when she doesn t get her way. But release her
into the yard and suddenly she changes from Jekyl to Hyde... it's scary!
My partner dubbed her Slaughter because there isn't a small furry animal
nuts enough to set paw into our yard. Any one that dares ends up a
fodder, lining the perimeter of our property (a characteristic we found
to be of the Border Collie who does this as a warning to any interlopers
that dare invade their turf). I've even witnessed her jump twice her own
height to catch a bird in mid-flight! Looks can be so deceiving!
Both will be turning nine in March. They are now happy, healthy and
definitely irreplaceable members of our family. We can't imagine our
lives without them. They are loved. They are family.
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