Gus

We are Rachael and Clay Hendon of Dallas, TX.  Our oldest “son,” Gus, is a 4-year-old English Mastiff.  Gus goes by several monikers: Gus Gus, Gustopher, and Mr. Sir. Rachael will tell you that he is named after the fat little mouse in Disney’s Cinderella.  I like to think he’s named for Augustus McRae, Robert Duvall’s character in Lonesome Dove.  Either way, the name fits perfectly.

While he is just shy of 200 lbs., he is definitely “mama’s little man.” Gus adopted us in the late winter of 2010. At the time, I was stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Colorado preparing to depart on a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan (my second). Rachael would be returning home to Dallas while I was gone and we agreed it was time for us to have a dog.  We looked online for several weeks before finding Gus on the Paws website.

Gus was about 4 months old and we would be his fourth home.  The first, other than wherever he was born, was to a family who gave him away when they found their son was allergic to his slobber!  His next family decided after less than a month that he was growing too fast and would be too big.  The couple we got him from, an Air Force family at Cheyenne AFB in Cheyenne, Wyoming, had found out they were pregnant within weeks of getting him and decided that a 200 lb dog and a newborn weren’t in their plans.  Lucky for us!

We drove the 3 hours in a February snowstorm to pick Gus up. He enjoyed his first car ride home by trying to make his way from the back of the Tahoe and into Rachael’s lap. One of Gus’ cutest features was his “snow nose.” Apparently, some dogs get a pink nose in cold weather – especially when they are young. Gus doesn’t get it anymore, but when he was younger, his nose would turn skin-color every time it dropped below freezing!  We additionally love his big, clunky feet and jet-black face and ears. Since the day we brought him home, Rachael and Gus have been inseparable.

The year I was gone was like a bonding experience for the two of them – and it stuck.  Gus responds to, protects, and follows Rachael like no other animal-human relationship I’ve seen…and when he feels like roughhousing, he comes looking for me! He definitely made that year more bearable for Rachael, and has served – and continues to serve – as her guardian and companion. Gus is a great dog, but I love him because he loves my wife and guards and protects her as I would.

Rachael and I both grew up with dogs, so having a dog around was nothing new. Rachael’s mother has served as President of the Texas Humane Legislation Network, the Animal Welfare League of Texas (a non-profit animal welfare group) for decades. I grew up with hunting dogs and companion animals. What was unexpected, as a soon-to-be-married couple, was how our lives would change as a result of adopting Gus. From when we could vacation to how long we could take at dinner, having a pup around the house changed the game! Gone were the nights out when we could spontaneously get a hotel room late in the evening; gone were the weekend getaways with no concerns beyond our ride to the airport; gone were the days of having pristine furniture, bed sheets, and carpets.  But what we gained was far more valuable. We gained an amazing companion who has one over both of our families.  We gained the lessons of responsibility for something we needed to care for as a team – a great experience during our young marriage.

Since Gus adopted us, we have added two more members to the family. Gus has two younger sisters, Annie (a 3.5 year-old Aussie-Shepherd/Corgi amalgamation we rescued from the Auburn, Alabama PAWS shelter who we affectionately refer to as “Hobo” or “Smee”) and Marge (a 2.5 year old Bloodhound from Columbus, Georgia usually referred to as “Ma’am” or “Crazy”).  

Gus lived with us in Colorado, and with Rachael in Dallas.  Once we reached Georgia, and added the other two, we moved to the Seattle, Washington area and then back home to Dallas.  All three of our dogs have seen all of the time zones in the continental USA.  They have all seen temperatures below freezing and over 100^oF; they have seen mountains and oceans.  Gus’ early history with multiple owners has left him skittish and weary of new people. This can be especially disconcerting as displease with Gus equals a 200 lb. dog giving you the “mean mug” and a low, gravelly growl. In the end, he has learned to be a great member of the family and protects his human and furry family members with equal vigor!

There is a quote on a bathroom towel in my in-laws’ house: “In a perfect world, every home would have a dog, and every dog would have a home.”  I couldn’t agree more. I hope everyone out there finds room in their home and their lives for a companion animal.  Please spay or neuter your pet and ADOPT! Teach your kids and friends that the mutt at the shelter can make as good a companion as the pure bred from the pet store.  If you must use a pet store, I ask that you do your research to ensure you are not indirectly supporting puppy mills or any other disgusting breeding operations. I’ll leave you with a couple of photos of Gus (and the girls) and one of my favorite quotes: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” - Mahatma Ghandi