Lilly (L) & Brunek (R) getting ready for their walk
Brunek (named in honor of the champion sire, and
grandfather of our first PON) is the third PON we've had the pleasure of sharing
our home with over the past 17 years. In August, we decided to register with
APONC rescue, in hopes of finding a companion for our 8 year old female, Lilly,
who has been without a canine friend since our Franz died 6 years ago. We
anticipated a long wait, and envisioned adopting a fairly young dog. Within a
month, however, we received a call about an older dog (somewhere between 7-9
years old) who had been picked up as a stray on the fringes of a Polish
neighborhood in Chicago. His coat was so matted he had to be shaved down, and he
had a bad case of kennel cough, but otherwise, was in good shape. The only
problem was he only understood Polish, but every breeder who met him said he had
the best personality of any PON she met. That was it for us-- we wanted him to
join our family in Alabama.
And Brunek has certainly lived up to his hype-- he's a wonderfully adaptive,
calm dog who immediately fit right in with us. My husband and I had some
concerns about how Lilly would welcome another dog, but our anxiety turned out
to be totally unfounded. In less than 10 minutes of Brunek walking into the
house, she picked up her tennis ball and bounced it over to him. Now, that's a
sure sign of PON love, and the two dogs have acted like an old married couple
since. In fact, I'm feeling a little displaced in Lilly's affections, since
she's stopped following me from room to room in the house, as she's content to
lie down by Brunek, who spends a good portion of his day gazing out the patio
doors watching for cats. We say he's watching his big screen TV.
Marianne - Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Nugget
I've been blessed twice in my life, the first time was when I adopted a
4 year old PON named Frazier, and the second time (many years later) was
when I adopted another 4 year old PON named Nugget. I never had a
dog until I was over 50 years old and I was nervous about saying Yes when
my friend Donna said she needed a new home for Frazier. I wasn't sure if a
dog would even like me, so I put myself in his shoes and said, "What
would I want if I were a dog?" and I knew that I would like lots of toys,
good food, clean water, a nice bed, but also I would like a doggie door
and a big fenced in back yard, so I could be totally free!!!
So I fenced in my back yard, and installed a doggie door and said
Sure, I'll give it a try! Frazier was such a good little boy, and
he was able to be with me every single day, even on vacation, (at the beach)
where he was always welcomed, since the owner also loved dogs. I enjoyed
every single day with Frazier until many years later on October 7th
when I woke up at 6:00am it was very quiet in the house, usually
Frazier would pace back & forth until I got out of bed. He
loved mornings and every morning was like Christmas to him because he
enjoyed every single day! I thought that he might have gone
outside (to go potty), so I called to him, but no response, then I saw him
sleeping in the grass, very peacefully, in front of the waterfall, but
when I said come on Frazier, what are you doing outside? Let's go inside,
he wouldn't wake up. I gently rubbed his back, I was afraid to startle
him, but still he wouldn't move, he had gone outside to die. I
missed my little buddy Frazier so much. I knew that I had to
fill his empty little bed with a new little buddy, so when I heard that
there was another 4 year old PON who needed a new home, I didn't have to
even think about it, and it took less than a New York minute, for me to say Yes!
I adopted Nugget on December 30th, and he has been a pure joy to have
around the house. He immediately started following me around from
room to room. He seemed to know instantly that this would be his new
home, and it's funny, but I sleep a lot better just knowing that he's
there. This dog never had the freedom of a doggie door and a fenced
in back yard, and he learned to use it in just one day. I swear that
he's actually grinning from ear to ear (with delight) as he runs in and
out while testing his brand new freedom. It's so much fun to
watch him frolic around in his own private backyard, visiting the dog next
door, or watching the kids play in the next yard. It's so easy to make
sure that a dog is happy; all you have to do is just love them and the rest is
so easy!
