The Coonhound Saved   by Scrip

    It has been just over six years that our family’s life has changed. We adopted a coonhound.  Wow!  What did we get ourselves into?

  It all began in early October 1999 while attending the National Scrip Collector’s show in Williamson, WV. After the show I decided to visit some sites of old coal towns in the area. I was curious how these towns looked after all these years and if they were still in existence. I stopped in Matewan, too, knowing that an infamous gun fight had taken place in its past.  Afterwards, I headed east to visit a few more coal towns - Yukon, Squire, Caretta, and others.  Some towns barely existed and some were gone.  I then headed north on highway 80 towards Iaeger.  I was just north of Bradshaw when the excitement began.

   I saw a puppy on the edge of the highway.  I thought to myself, “ This pup is going to get hurt or killed”.  The owner probably did not know the dog was loose and near the highway.  I drove another half mile and decided to turn around.   As I drove back the pup was on the other side of the road and was dodging vehicles.   I stopped the car and as I approached it laid down on its stomach and appeared to be afraid of me.  I approached it slowly while talking in a low voice.  It then started to wag its tail a little.  I picked it up and saw that it was a female weighing about 10 pounds.  She was a beautiful creature with colors of rust red and white, with long floppy ears.  She had red saddle marks on her head, back, and where her tail connects to the back.  The rest of her body was all dots of red over white.  I had just come upon a Red Tic Coonhound.  I put her in the back seat of my rental car and try to find her owner.  She was very smelly and dirty and looked like she had been outside for a while. 

     On the other side of the highway was a run down house.  I  thought no one would live in this house, but a very shabby dressed man emerged and said hello.  I asked him if he owned the pup.  He said she was a stray that came to his house a couple weeks ago in bad shape, but he fed her and she was doing better.  I looked at the man and said to myself, “ This man probably had difficulty feeding himself, plus a dog”.  I asked him if I could take the dog.  He said he would not object.

     With the hound in the back seat I headed north to Morgantown.  My family lived in Morgantown and took their pets to a veterinarian named Dr. Stuart.   I remembered Dr. Stuart from my younger days in Morgantown.  He was a great old-fashioned vet that made house calls to farmers to take care of their livestock.  Being Sunday, I was concerned that I would have to wait till Monday to see the doctor.  Since Dr. Stuart lived in a house adjoining his office it was not difficult reaching him.  I called him and he agreed to see a stray pup for a check up.  He commented that I should not get my hopes up because many strays have Parvo, which is a deadly dog disease.  He said he would keep her for a couple days and run tests.

   On the way to Morgantown I stopped at a store in Ieager to purchase dog food.  This store was an old-time country store, possibly circa early 1900’s.   I told the owner of my dilemma of the hungry dog.  He commented that he only had five-pound bags of dry dog food, which I purchased and placed in the front seat.  Within a few seconds the hound tried to climb over the front seat to get the food.  I was amazed she could smell the dog food in a closed bag from the back seat.   She was starving and was ready to eat.  During the remainder of the trip I made several stops at rest places for doggy bathroom breaks.  We finally reached Morgantown five hours later.

   We arrived at Dr. Stuart’s office and he asked if this was the “Road Dog .”   Again he reminded me of the possibility of Parvo disease.  He said he would keep her for a couple days and check her thoroughly.  I was a nervous wreck.   On the second day I called Dr. Stuart for the results.  He calmly said she was malnourished and had parasites.  There was no sign of any disease.  He did recommend a bath and ear cleaning before I picked her up.  I told him to do what he felt was good for the pup.

   Now —— what was I going to do with a Coonhound pup?  I lived in Southern California and I was in West Virginia. 

I was scheduled to fly home the next day.   I wasn’t’ sure if I should take her back to California.  We already had three pets: two cats and a rabbit, which we referred to as our zoo.  All three lived in the house and were house trained.  Yes, the rabbit PJ was also litter box  trained.  Our two cats, Frisky and Kasper, got along with the rabbit,  but would they accept another animal?   My daughter, Robin, also had a 70-pound dog named Cinder that may be part coyote and was at our house often.  She was adopted as an abandoned pup at a new home construction area where coyotes are commonly seen.  We call Cinder the Black Bully.  Cinder is a sweet dog but could be aggressive and protective.  I called a number of friends in and around Morgantown.  No one was interested in a new dog.  The decision was made.  The pup goes to California.

   I have lived in California for over 20 years and never recalled seeing a coonhound.  I thought this would be the perfect place for a coonhound.  She would liven up the typical California dogs I see all the time.  California dog owners mainly have Labs, Huskies, Sheep Dogs, German Shepherds, and the exotics such as Wolfhounds, Whippets, Rhodesian Ridgebacks and Greyhounds.  Sometimes I see a beagle.  I knew I would be different with a coonhound.

   I called US Air and asked what I needed to do to get the pup to California.  The agent said she needed shots, paper work and a kennel to travel plus $50.  On the way to the vet I stopped at K-Mart and purchased a kennel.

   My sister and I went to Dr. Stuarts to pick up the hound.  As we arrived, the technician was cleaning the pup’s ears. She had been bathed and was yapping loudly.  The technician commented that the pup had a “Big Mouth.” In fact, she was so mouthy that she had to stay in an outside kennel not  to disturb the other animals!

    Great.  I was about to fly home with a 10-pound pup with a mouth of a 150-pound dog.  Before I was handed the paper work for the airlines, Dr. Stuart said the hound needed a name.  I thought for a moment and said, “ Nellie.”

   Now— this is where I knew I would get into trouble with my wife.  Through this entire adventure, I hadn’t mentioned to my wife I had found a pup and was bringing her home with me.  My wife and daughter met me at the airport.  We went to the baggage area and claimed my luggage, and I told my wife I had a large package coming at another area of the baggage claim.  The other area is where large items such as kennels are to be picked up.  As my daughter and I walked to the area I told her I had a pup.  She was very excited.  My wife knew something was up, and when she saw the pup she was not happy.  Our 40 years of marriage almost fell apart in the airport!  I was in big trouble for not telling my wife about the dog beforehand.  At first I thought I would be spending the night with the pup at my daughter’s house, but my wife warmed up to the pup and I got to go home. To this day she dearly loves the hound.

    The first night and the next day we kept the pup away from our other pets and decided we would introduce them very slowly.  The next day my daughter brought over the black bully to meet the new critter.  They played in the yard but Cinder was definitely the dominant one.  Cinder accepted the new addition without any problems.

   At the dinner table we discussed the name Nellie.  My wife suggested Brandi Jo.  Brandi Jo seemed to be a better fit and was a good southern name for a southern dog.

   As we introduced Brandi Jo to the other pets, relationships developed.  Brandi Jo took a liking to the rabbit and become protective of him.  Brandi Jo and Kasper became buddies and many times slept together on the couch.  Friskie and Brandi Jo pretty much tolerated each other and got along without any fights.

   What is Brandi Jo’s life like today?  In fact, it is very good!   She gets to live in Southern California with a huge back yard, a warm bed, two daily walks, top quality dog food and no snow.  She also gets daily treats, plus meat from our dinner table.  She has officially taken over a spare bedroom and sleeps on the bed.  On cool winter nights (yes, we do get cool nights in California during the winter), we build a fire in the fireplace and Brandi Jo curls up on her blanket near the fireplace and naps.

   Brandi Jo has made many friends since her move to California.  She is well-known  in the neighborhood and is well liked.  Her best friends are two German Short Hair Pointers - Emily and Annie. On our walks we always stop to say hello to them.  If I see their owners, Dennis and Jean, we visit  while the dogs play.  Brandi Jo also has an Australian Sheep dog friend named Rowdy,  who is the best-trained dog I have ever seen.  Sometimes I feel Brandi Jo could take some lessons from Rowdy.  Brandi Jo also likes to visit the Dog Park.  This is a three acre area for dogs to play and get exercise.  This fenced park has extra fencing at the ground level to prevent rattlesnakes from entering.  We have plenty of rattlesnakes in our area, plus coyotes, wildlife and Road Runners.  The Road Runner is a large bird and it’s amusing to see Brandi Jo bark at a Road Runner that just stares her down.

   Coonhounds are wonderful pets.  They are devoted, loving animals that just want to be taken care of with a good meal, warm bed and lots of attention.  I can’t imagine what our house would be like without Brandi Jo.  It has been over six years since I found her on that country road.  Since then we have lost our cats and rabbit to old age. After Kasper passed away Brandi Jo was depressed for a couple months.  Our vet explained this is not uncommon when pets live together for a long time.  Brandi Jo helps keep their memories alive. 

My advice to those reading this story who love dogs: adopt a coonhound.  It will enhance your life as it did mine.

Bill Fugera, submitted 6/08