Old Man Barks From Clouds
These are thoughts and memories that I have dreaded sharing in this fashion, only because of why I am prompted to do so. Up until now, these things were easy to remember because Odie was a fixture in our lives, even if only annually for me after leaving Auburn. He would come up in conversation because he was there, and these memories were refreshed. I’m writing them here because they should not be forgotten.
Here is my depressing accompanying track, Big Red Machine by Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner.
We adopted Odie a long time ago. Honestly I’m not even sure when specifically, but no later than 2007 because Sammy was still around. And by “we” and “adopted” I mean Dad went to PetSmart to get cat food, came back, said “It’s adopt-a-dog day there, they have all the shelter dogs there. Come look, Tyler”. “Don’t come back with a dog.” — Mom (spoilers: she comes to love this dog).
His name was Moose, and there was a couple standing around also contemplating taking him home. We heard them discuss if he would do well in their apartment. We now know that that answer would definitively have been “no”, so it’s good that it was us. We took him, and he tried to stand up in the back the whole time and kept falling over. But he was with us.
For context on the title, due to Odie’s blindness and his tired-old-dog style of barking in recent years, Lisa and I had a joke about him, “Old Man Hoofs at Cloud”.
Mom was not pleased with the presence of a second dog at the time. “We already have a dog.” “Whose dog is that? That’s not my dog.” Samantha, bless her heart, was gentle and patient even though Odie was a clumsy growing boy whose feet were too big for his body and had no traction whatsoever on the wood floor. He had young pup energy and a little bit of anxiety on top. At the very start, we weren’t sure how to contain him so that he wouldn’t bump Sammy too much. We tried the hallway bathroom with a baby gate (for those unfamiliar with the layout of the house, this is a pretty trafficked location, so he was getting company constantly). But if we placed the gate at floor level, he would simply hop it. If we raise it such that he couldn’t hop it, he just wiggled underneath. For the first many days, if he wasn’t directly supervised, Odie (then known as Other Dog, perhaps the most psychologically demeaning name possible if he could have understood it) was leashed to the railing at the bottom of stairs, the most central spot in the entire house. From that time on, there were chew marks left on the wood of the stairs and the beginnings of deeper marks on all of us.
For Christmas one year, we got Odie a doggy DNA test so we could all know what we’d gotten ourselves into. He was mostly Kuvasz, with a bit of some kind of petite Basset hound and a bunch of mutt in him. This was… honestly not too enlightening us immediately, being unfamiliar with the Kuvasz breed and history.
Someone’s gotta be in charge…
A tl;dr from Wikipedia: Kuvasz have been in Hungary for thousands of years as livestock guardians. They enjoyed popularity in the 15th century royal court and puppies were given to visiting dignitaries as gifts. During WWII, the breed was actively hunted by German and Soviet soldiers due to their protectiveness of their homes, and that their numbers could have been as low as twelve within Hungary.
The history part is very interesting (and depressing), but what really got us was the "Temperament” section which has since been removed from Wikipedia for lack of citations. I will not claim this info as accurate for all Kuvasz dogs, but this description was remarkably accurate for ours.
The Kuvasz is an intelligent dog and is often described as having a clownish sense of humor which can last throughout their adolescence and into adulthood. They are intensely loyal and patient pets who appreciate attention but may also be somewhat aloof or independent, as well as thoroughly cunning, particularly with strangers. […]
They are strictly working dogs, bred for centuries to think independently and act without instruction, scanning and evaluating the environment and taking protective or deterrent action as needed. […] Kuvasz quickly understand what is being asked of them, but they have to respect a person as a trusted leader before they'll obey commands. […] An adolescent Kuvasz should be able to learn basic obedience commands and consistently respond to them; however the instinctive need to investigate strangers and protect its owner may cause the Kuvasz to act independently when off leash and ignore the calls of a handler. […]
A potential owner should refrain from purchasing a Kuvasz if barking will be a problem at the home. While not every Kuvasz is prone to barking, many of them fulfill their guardian role by vocally warning off potential threats, both real and imagined. […]
The Kuvasz has a very special, close connection to his owner or family, as well as anyone in their circle, human or animal, that the dog considers part of the flock. He will protect all of them. He may also police interactions among them, such as discouraging rough play by herding rowdy individuals away from the group.
If you are reading this and did not have the massive pleasure of meeting (and getting initially barked at by) Odie, this is a pretty accurate scratch at the surface. The biggest kicker for me when I first read it was “threats, both real and imagined”. Odie was constantly watching for trouble and he was sure to let everyone know, even the person he was trying to ward off weighed only as much as he did. His vigilance knew no bounds, and he could often be found sitting or standing at the front door, peering through the window that was barely accessible at his eye level. An imprint of his nose on the glass was an almost permanent fixture before he lost his sight — he would replace it soon after it was wiped away. He would spend hours just laying on the front porch looking into the neighborhood, and two of his most common sleeping spots were directly inside entrances to the house. He felt it was his duty to keep us safe and he did not slack.
Despite his intimidating bark and size, Odie was extremely gentle and loved children. He enjoyed going by the playground near our home in Johnson City and watching over the kids, like they were his little sheep. Even after losing his sight, Mom told me he liked to sit near the green space where children would play and just listen.
Three shepherds, perhaps not alike in dignity…
Odie had no sheep, so he would go as far as to herd our cars as we parked to fulfill his instincts.
Odie’s shepherd behaviors were not limited to kids and family. Although he barked at individual “intruders”, if a large number of people came for a party his switch flipped from “guard dog” to “patrol (for snacks)”. He could be seen making his rounds through the house, gently herding guests into groups by bumping them and sampling hors d'oeuvres from people thankful for his visit. This did not always work out for guests though — one incident involving a spiral staircase, a collection hung purses, and an overfed Odie led to a more strict diet during parties.
“The best dog they ever met.”
Once you got into Odie’s circle of trust, he loved you and he made you love him too. He was very affectionate, and would follow you around the house to be with you (Mom can attest that he was at her feet all the time). He loved to be close, and if you were standing around he would walk right up to you and just lean in (I mean really lean) so you could feel the love. Lesser humans would be knocked over by such force — but when Odie loved you, you were not a lesser human.
Odie becoming an Upholstery Dog, which took him years to accomplish.
Before becoming an Upholstery Dog™, Odie was quite the rascal in regards to carpets and rugs. He was smart and he knew the rules, but whether or not he followed them was highly dependent on if you were around to watch him break them.
One particular rug had a mysterious tendency to get hair on it and kept sliding around on the floor, despite being in a low traffic area. Every time someone got home, you would open the door and hear the hurried scuffling of an Odie-Bodie quickly getting up to greet you, always coming from the direction of the room with the rug. One time Mom snuck around the front of the house instead of coming through the garage and caught him through the window snoozing his day away on the rug. Never seen him stand up faster, I am told.
Eventually they just got him a big blanket and let him sleep wherever he wanted.
Perhaps my favorite story: at the time, my parents’ bedroom was a carpeted room with a fireplace and accompany non-carpeted area in front of it (hearth?). Mom comes home one day and goes into the bedroom to find Odie just sitting innocently in front of the fireplace. Like a good boy, he is not on the carpet. However, the fireplace is an island of tile in an ocean of carpet in this room. There is no way Odie could have gotten there without breaking the rules. Odie knew he wasn’t supposed to be on the carpet. He also knew that we knew that he knew he wasn’t supposed to be on the carpet. So when my mom tried to get him to cross the carpet to go back to the rest of the house, he refused.
“You’ll not trick me, witch!” — Odie, probably
He feigned innocence. He’s not a rulebreaker, and wouldn’t even break the rules if asked. Mom ended up gently shoving him out the side door of their bedroom and getting him back inside from the back deck.
Odie came into our lives by chance, and I feel like one of the luckiest people alive to have had him as my dog. When I had to describe him to people who had never met him, I liked to say “he is the dog that all dogs should strive to be”. He was smart, silly, loving, and so much more. There were times that I wished that I had been able to take him with my to Auburn or SF, but his home was Tennessee and he was one of my favorite parts of visiting, every time. I wouldn’t have been able to give him the level of care that he needed in his later years, and I am thankful to my parents for going to such great lengths in both time and expense to keep him as comfortable and healthy as possible for such a long time. Every moment with loved ones is a gift, and I am happy that I was given so many with Odie.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
I love you and I’ll miss you, buddy.
