Mini Schnauzers

I came late to the world of mini schnauzers. In the last, almost twenty years, we have had two and they are amazing little dogs. My sister, Sue, recommended I write about dogs and a friend wrote about his daughter who works with rescue schnauzers so I decided to post an entry about the little guys.

When I was young our family had a dog, probably a shepherd mix, but just a dog. In those days purebred dogs were rare, at least in our social circle. I don't remember what happened to that dog. I suppose the folks gave him away when we moved back to Orcas Island after the war.

The second dog I remember was a scotch terrier given to us by an uncle in early 1953. He was a friendly, feisty little dog and we enjoyed playing with him. We lived in Bellingham at the time and the dog had been raised in a rural area on Orcas Island so it wasn't long before he got in the way of a car and went to doggy heaven.

In 1975 we adopted a small mixed breed, mostly dachshund, puppy from out local shelter. Chibi (Japanese slang for "short" or "small") grew into a good little dog who was a great companion for our two boys as they grew up. She traveled to Panama with us in 1978. She had to stay in quarantine for thirty days and I'll never forget the look in her eyes during the last part of that ordeal. It was tough on her to live in a small cage for thirty days after running free in our house and yard during the first three years of her life. Chibi came back to Seattle with us in 1981 and, after living a good life, died at her appointed time of old age.

Our next dog was a chow chow named Hiro. He was a good guard dog who liked to sleep outside even though he could come and go in the basement through a dog door. He was restricted to the basement and the kitchen but seemed content since his main job was to protect our backyard. In the evening when he was invited into the kitchen he would flop on the floor between our dinner table and the door, always looking toward the door, on guard even while waiting for his own dinner.

Now we come to the schnauzers. In 1998 I was working long hours away from home and our boys had grown and moved out so my sister bought a mini schnauzer puppy to keep my wife company. He was a black model with a small white spot on his chest and a couple white paws so we called him Kuro ("Blackie" in Japanese), which is a popular Japanese name for a black dog.

Kuro went through the usual growth stages, learning toilet manners and also learning not to chew every available thing that would fit into his mouth. He grew into a good dog but was a little hyper and barked unnecessarily. He was smarter than the average bear, learning a surprising number of human words and, perhaps more importantly, learning visual and verbal cues to determine the moods and desires of his master.

Kuro number one was a good dog. As I said, he was a little hyper and liked to bark unnecessarily, but other than that he was smart and well behaved. He was a good companion for ten years but then he developed cancer that spread quickly. His walks were shortened to a mere block or two and his appetite diminished to almost nothing. Finally he couldn't get up to go outside anymore so I had to take him to the vet for the end-of-life shot.

I carried him out to the car on his bed, Ikuko told him goodbye and I drove to the vet's office. We were shown to a nice little room to wait but when the vet came in with his assistant carrying the needle on a cushion, I got emotional and had to say a quick goodbye and leave just as quickly. I couldn't bear to see my little friend go.

In retrospect, it was best for him and our family. More than once, I've said it would be a good thing, as humans, to have the same option. I know there are many ethical, religious and moral questions and obstacles but, if a person freely chose at an earlier and pain-free time to exit this life in dignity, I would be in favor.

But enough philosophy.

It took us a few years to get over that loss but he had been a good dog so in 2013 we visited a family who had advertised a litter of mini schnauzers. The woman said her female had gotten pregnant accidently while they were babysitting a friend's male schnauzer. It was kind of a fishy story but we decided to look at the pups. There were two males and two females. The females and one of the males were normal puppies but the second male was smaller and had a hernia on the forward part of his belly.

As this pup cuddled in our laps, displayed that floppy right ear and looked engagingly into our eyes, we decided to adopt the "runt of the litter" knowing that if we didn't buy him, he probably would end up being unwanted and eventually going to the pound for disposal with the other unwanted pets discarded by our society. Besides, during the years I've heard that the runt of the littler often becomes the best of adult dogs.

From the beginning, this Kuro was a wonderful dog. Even as a puppy, he was anxious to please and quick to learn. Maybe he was afraid we might send him back to that litter where he was picked on and neglected.

As he grew he picked up words and habits that helped him fit into our family. I use a fifteen-foot retractable leash and after just a couple trials he learned to wait for me at curbs. When I would tell him, "OK" he would run ahead until he found a good smell and then he could sniff a little longer as the leash retracted and then extended as I walked at a slower pace.

He has learned many people words, so when he hears me say, "Time for a nap," he heads for my recliner and waits patiently while I spread an old Army blanket over my lap and the leather arms of the chair before he hops up and nestles in to keep me company during my nap. "Time for a walk," sends him bouncing toward the door to wait while I get the leash ready and dress according to the weather and season. This time he doesn't wait quite as patiently but keeps watching closely until he's hooked up and we head out the door.

Kuro likes his walks. Here is a photo of him taken 9/20/15 around 7:00 p.m. as we paused on a walk.

The photo above is a cropped version of the photo below and was taken on 9/7/16 around two in the afternoon. Tsugumi, shown in the full photo below, wanted to go for a walk with Kuro so we set off on one of our usual routes. Tsugu-chan was visiting from Japan with her mother and mother's brother and sister. They are one of my wife's sister's children and grandchild. Kuro didn't mind her holding his leash. He can tell good people from bad.

This photo was taken 12/15/15 just before five in the afternoon. Kuro thinks my office at the VFW is haunted so he doesn't like to go in there. He stayed in the car while I took care of some business. When I went out to check on him he was shivering so I invited him to ignore the ghost(s) and come inside. I wrapped my feather vest and a windbreaker jacket around him but he wouldn't relax. Here he's looking over my left shoulder at something I couldn't see. A ghost? Hmmm, I'm not sure, but he was happy to head for home a little later. 

Kuro living the life of Reilly and keeping warm under his specially made blanket. 

This photo is one I posted to this blog on 9/20/16. Kuro wasn't interested in the
view so he watched out for bad guys as I watched Elliot Bay.

There is a light misty rain here in Seattle this afternoon. It's a nice break from the cold weather we've been having and Kuro wants to go out early, rain or not, for a walk around our neighborhood.

If you've never had a dog you probably don't understand, but if you've ever owned (or been owned by) a dog you can understand why they are such good friends and even medically beneficial for people.

OK, off we go for a walk. Come on Kuro. . .