The Story of Banks

As most of you know, I lost my soul dog Buckles two summers ago, after nearly 14 years together. The depth of my sadness and pain over that loss was immeasurable. I felt like I might never recover. To this day, there isn’t a single day that goes by that I don’t think about him. But I take solace in knowing I truly did give him the absolute best life I could.

Caring for a senior dog - especially one with sundowner’s syndrome, and arthritis, is just rough. It took such a physical toll on me, as he was getting up multiple times through the night, crying and confused. For the last two years or so of his life, I don’t think I slept through the night once. So when he passed, there was, I feel guilty to admit, a sort of sense of relief. One, that he was out of pain and confusion, and two, that I could finally sleep. (To be clear, for anyone who doesn’t know how sundowner’s works and was wondering why I just didn’t have him put down sooner - he would be totally normal and his regular spunky self during the daytime, but when night came, he’d be confused and cognitively decline. So it was hard to make that call when he was fine during the day.)

Anyway, my nervous system was dysregulated for a while after. I wasn’t sleeping well. There was a lot of other stuff going on as well, but slowly, over the last year or so, my nervous system has begun to feel more regulated. I fell into a routine over the last few months with my partner - he and I get up super early and go to the gym, we both work during the day, go to bed pretty early, and aim for fun, adventurous weekends together. Our little house finally feels like a home - and it just seemed like something was missing.

We weren’t even really looking for a dog, but Felice, a local woman I knew from years ago living in Hartford, sent me a listing on Instagram about a beautiful husky at animal control in Bristol, CT. Now, I had always envisioned getting a puppy, if I were going to go down this road again, and I also wasn’t totally sure I was ready. Many people over the last year or so have said to just get another dog and while I know their intentions were kind in saying that, it felt a little insensitive to me. I know it wasn’t meant to be insensitive, but I just wasn’t sure I was ready. Namely because of the work required to properly care for a working breed like a Husky (and a Husky was my only option - there is no other type of dog for me). I was also nervous about adopting (Buckles had been purchased by an old ex from a pet store before we knew how bad pet stores were, and we had raised him since he was a puppy). So I was nervous about adopting because I scared I wouldn’t fully understand a dog I hadn’t raised since he was a puppy. But, I had also always envisioned a red husky with blue eyes for my next beast, and this guy fit the bill, lame as that sounds. Also, it broke my heart he was just abandoned. And the fact that his photo showed him as a robust, healthy boy, gave me hope that he was well taken care of…before his previous owners left town.

We went up to see him, and immediately, to my relief, we just knew.

A few months prior, I’d seen another listing on FB for a red husky with blue eyes - a puppy! But when we went to meet him, the vibes were off. The puppy was…I don’t know how to explain it - just off. The behavior he displayed wasn’t true to what I knew most huskies to be like. Typically they are full of energy, wild and crazy, spunky, and interested in everything. This puppy was just…listless - I don’t really know how to explain it, but I got a bad feeling, and ultimately wound up passing on the pup. Which still hurts to this day. Like I wonder what happened to that poor boy. But I knew that ultimately, he wasn’t meant to be. I had to remind myself that when you choose a dog, you’re signing up for at least ten years of routine, training, exercise, play, discipline and care. And I couldn’t see it with that dog, I don’t know. I feel ashamed to admit that. Anyway.

Back to animal control. So we get there, and he comes barreling out with the animal control officer, who lets us know that he was abandoned with another husky in an apartment as part of an eviction. Apparently, the sheriff and landlord said, “Hey, you forgot your dogs!” and the owners opened the door, let them run free, and said, “No we didn’t,” and then just took off. Insane. Like I would leave every possession I owned in order to take my dog. I can never understand. We asked about any legal issues that may arise, should the owners decide they want their dog back, and we were told nope, they surrendered them essentially, and anyway, would be arrested upon return (not sure if that’s for the dogs, circumstances surrounding the eviction, or what). The animal control officer said he picked the two dogs up a few miles away, chasing after cats…very husky.

The other husky was adopted out earlier last week, and he said surprisingly, this one seemed pretty chill. He estimated him to be around 2 or 3 years old. He is still in tact, and he said he seemed to be house trained, given that he keeps his kennel clean overnight. He warned that the dog loves to run, and has an insane amount of energy (typical, for the breed).

I asked what his name was, because on the listing it said Snowball. He laughed and said it’s become too emotionally difficult to name them because he becomes attached, so he only refers to them as their impound numbers, and that the woman who takes the photos for the Facebook posts just randomly names them in the posts, but that they didn’t know what his true name was.

We took him outside on the leash, and man, did he want to RUN. He was interested in everything, and was extremely playful. I just knew right away - this was the one.

It was embarrassingly easy to adopt him. I gave my name, driver’s license number, and address. I checked off a few boxes about registering the dog with the town I lived in, and agreed I would take him to the vet. I checked off boxes saying I wouldn’t be using the dog for a fighting ring, and that I understood they would not take him back, should things not work out. Then I paid $50 cash, and we were on our way. I sort of hate that there wasn’t more vetting, but it is what it is.

I had resisted buying things for the dog prior to meeting because I just wasn’t sure if we would really be taking him, so once we walked outta there, we immediately went to the closest put supply store to get the essentials. We picked up some treats, a toy, and some food. I had kept a lot of Buckles’ old stuff, including a water dish, a little rubber pad to put under the dish, etc, so I had some things already.

We decided on the name Banks, which I can share more about at another time. We are experienced dog owners, and are on the same page about training, which has just been so good for Banks. On day one, I took him for his morning run and that was rough because he is so strong (weighs 60 pounds), and he just pulled the entire time. I corrected each pull, and it was so physically exhausting for me. But then that evening, my partner took him on another walk/run and said he was able to keep the leash loose and Banks fell into stride next to him about 80% of the time. This morning, I ran him again and he was able to stay next to me on a loose leash about 90% of the time (we are still working on reacting to squirrels and other dogs) - so he really seems like a fast learner! He already understands his name, the commands Come and Sit, and aside from one little marking when we first brought him home, he seems to be totally house trained.

He doesn’t seem to like peanut butter, and he still hasn’t eaten, which I’m not worried about. He’s eaten treats, cheese and chicken, so it’s not that his stomach hurts or anything. He just hasn’t eaten his bowl of dog food. In the past, Buckles would go a few days at at time without eating and then he would crush his food randomly - so I think it’s just the breed? I’ll obviously continue to monitor that. We’ve got a vet appointment set up for him on Monday for shots and a general check up and then we’ll schedule him to be neutered.

He is truly such a good boy. Really, really playful. And smart. And he’s so affectionate. He loves to be cuddled, pet and brushed, and is interested in everything from unloading the dishwasher to changing the laundry over.

The animal control officer was such a lovely human, but I can imagine that the place is tough for a dog to be in. Banks’ elbows are a little dinged up from sleeping on a hard surface (he’d been there since November). The place is loud with all the other dogs in there, and so bright. It was clear that (understandably), he hasn’t really had much structure or routine, which is so important for a dog. It was also clear that he hasn’t had much exercise in a while (understandably). He is already much calmer today than he was yesterday. I think I read somewhere that adopted dogs take at least a few days to decompress from the stress of being in an environment like the pound, and then three months to settle into their new forever home.

Yesterday was a full day for all of us. We took him to get a bath (he was SO GOOD), took him to the beach to smell some new smells and experience new things, and to PetCo for a couple other essentials, and he got over 5 miles of structured running/walking in. Today we may go for a hike later this afternoon. I can confidently say I’m sure he’s so happy to be here, and we are thrilled to have him. While I miss Buckles so much, I feel like he somehow sent Banks into my life. They share a lot of similar personality traits, and I love that Banks gets to use some of Buckles old things (he’s even wearing his collar right now). Being a human to a husky isn’t for the faint of heart because they require so much, but we are so up for the task, and already are so in love with him.