This sweet trusting dog has spent his life being beaten and mistreated.
Yet he retains his loving spirit and trusting heart.
Last Updated: Aug. 8, 2020
Base Info:
Arrival date: July 13, 2020- Breed: Hound
- Sex: Male
- Age:
Youth,Adult,Mature, Senior - Birthdate: 2009 (according to surrendering family)
- Weight: @55 Pounds
- Neutered: Yes
- General Health:
Excellent, Good,Fair,Poor - Temperament: Mild and gentle, affectionate, a true gentleman.
- SAFER test performed? No.
- Departure date: July 31 headed for Karen the Amazing via A.R.N.N.E.
History
Surrendered to Greenville Animal Control, this sweet trusting dog has spent his life being beaten and mistreated by a mentally handicapped resident of the group home where Smokie lived. Yet he retains his loving spirit and trusting heart. Because of GAC policy, Animal Control was going to put him down. But Jammie, of Cats In the Cradle in Mosheim TN, came to his rescue and pulled him out just in time. She asked for help and Animal Rescue Network of New England. stepped up. Piney Mountain is fostering him for A.R.N.N.E. We hope he can finally join a family who will appreciate his awesomeness.
Smokie’s (Archie’s) Progress Summary:
Detailed notes on this foster dog’s progress are posted below the summary.
Relational Behavior
House Dog Training
Terms of Adoption:
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Commands:
Smokie’s Medical
DietStarted him on Mature formula kibble: HATED It! He’s picky about treats too. His favorite is Canine Carry-outs Pot Roast Flavor. He’s become fond of our PMFC Peanut Butter treats too. |
Gallery
In chronological order, newest at the bottom. Some pictures are linked to a more detailed Doggy Tale about that update, click those to open the related story.
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Progress Updates
Progress notes are listed below, in chronological order, newest at the bottom.
July 14
Smokie slept well last night, no baying or barking at all.
When I fed him this morning I let him out to free-range wander (figured I’d have no trouble catching him if I needed to and he’s definitely not going to climb over the fencing) while I fed the others. When I was done with that, Smokie was standing watching. I called him and he strolled over to get head scritchies and went right back in to his room to eat his breakfast.
The people who surrendered Smokie claim he’s 11 years old. Both Jammie and I feel he’s not that old — or he’s well preserved.
July 15
It got really hot today: 102° air temperature and when you add in the humidity we got a heat index of about 185° (joking here, but it was hot). Smokie, being an elderly gentleman, was not handling the heat well. So I set up a large crate in the house and risked the ire of The House Dogs by bringing him indoors.
Buddy Beagle and Callie Roo are forever fosters who have decided they are tired of the constant flow of foster dogs through THEIR house and get grumpy with them. Blondie Bear and Josephine (both are adopted rescues) are always ready to welcome new friends.
I use a baby gate to partition off areas to keep house guests and house dogs separate until they work out their issues. Smokie enjoyed being cooler. He was crated (except for the occasional yard run) while i was working during the day ( a lot of in and out as I tend to the dogs) but in the evening he got to come out and lounge around the den while I worked at my desk. He’d come over to me frequently to get scritchies. Nothing demanding, just come stand there and look at me with a “Pleeeease?” expression. It cooled off nicely that evening, but we decided to try letting Smoke stay indoors. He whined a little when we all went to bed, but then settled and slept soundly until I got up at 4:30. He went outside for a long yard break then settled in on a bed in the den while I updated our web site.
July 17
Smokie has become a house dog. For the past couple of days Smokie has been inside with us almost full time day and night. On Thursday Marie and I had to go run errands and it was in the morning: still cool, so we put Smoke in his kennel outside while we were away. But otherwise he’s hanging out in our den. He gets to explore the house when the House Dogs go outside for a potty run or to ward off a delivery truck or wandering cat.
Smokie is a picky eater, and I’m having trouble finding things he likes. But he’s pretty low-energy, so he probably doesn’t need to eat much. Or — maybe we just need to find the right bribe: Marie mixed some shredded cheese into his kibble and he gobbled them right down!
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On Friday nights Marie makes some home-made stir fry and we eat off tray tables in the living room to watch an old Sci-fi movie. The dogs get special treats too. Smokie (Archie) is fitting right in.
July 22
Archie is such a dear old fellow, and is now a free-range house dog. He sleeps wherever he wants at night and is free to wander the house all day – even when I go outside to work with the dogs there. We do crate him when Marie and i both go away for an extended period just like we do with Buddy and Callie Roo.
They’re all good dogs, but when left on their own for too long they tend to get together and cook up mischief. Mostly with Josephine. Josie is our chief mischief maker.
I got word yesterday that Archie has a ticket to ride the transport on July 31st. He’ll arrive at the quarantine center in NH (state requirement) on August 1st. His new Momma is also adopting Hunny, another senior Tennessee hound so they will at least have the same accent and will be able to relate well. They both do the “propeller tail” thing, so it will be interesting to see if the twirl their tails together.
Buddy Beagle was giving Archie a hard time for a while because Archie was trying to lay his head over Buddie’s back – a dominance move that says, “I’m the boss, you are under me” and Buddy took exception to that and I needed to intervene before it got ugly. But they’ve worked through that as Archie learned that in fact *I* am pack leader and Blondie Bear is Boss Dog under me. Although, she is a benevolent leader. In fact, Buddy and Archie often go out to wander the yard together — this is so one can pee on the same spots the other does but it’s done without conflict.
July 27th
Archie passed his health certification today. I have to go back tomorrow, so I’ll pick up the completed paperwork then rather than making us both sit outside in the heat while they fill that out — which can take a while since they’re doing that between phone calls, and running patients in and out, and processing payments, etc. This “New Normal” is hard on most everyone.
July 31
We had a going away party for Archie last night, with extra treats – which caused him to need to go outside at 11:00 and at 3:00 last night. He’s been quiet and reserved this morning, he knows somethings up. After the 3:00 run I settled in on the sofa to rest and Archie came and stood beside the sofa to get scritchies. I gave him scritchies until he couldn’t stand up anymore and went around the end of the sofa to lie on a plush runner rug that is there. We both dozed until the other dogs stared wanting out at their usual time of 4:30.
Archie has been really good about letting me put his eye drops in twice a day — as long as he gets his Pot Roast treat afterward. He does love those!
Happy Tails, Sir Archie!
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Hows Smokie doing?…im just mainly worried about his shaking…i hope he’s doing well…he really is a sweetheart!! Thank you for what you do and how you do it…i hate when a foster leaves lol but am excited for his future!!
Hi Katrina,
Smokie is doing really well! He loves wandering in our big play yard. He met all our staff and got along well with all of them. I have not seen him shaking at all, he seems quite comfortable. I have some photos and video to go through and post when I get a chance to sit down for a bit. That won’t be until this evening, veterinarian appointments this afternoon.
Thanks for stopping in!
Doug
I was watching him closely this evening. When he’d get really excited his tail went into propeller mode and his hind legs trembled a little. Otherwise he stays pretty relaxed — just a good ol boy!
Hello Smokie,
You sound like a great gentleman. I think I would be very lucky to live with you.
We would be a team and I have the easy part. I will work to keep a roof over our heads and kibble in your bowl.
You have the hard part. You would need to keep the squirrels and robins out of the backyard. The mail carriers need to be reminded to keep moving up the street. It’s very important that you remind the doggies walking with their people to go home, you are king here. Most importantly you will need to sleep at least part of the time on the bed and couch or they will float up to the ceiling. I hope you wouldn’t mind letting me rub you, do you like shoulder rubs? I give great doggy shoulder rubs! You will need to take me for a walk each morning and evening. You also need to keep pulling the toys out of the doggy toybox.
Hi Karen!
Smokie has asked me to reply to your creative and enticing offer – he’s old school and doesn’t know how to type. But he wants you to know that it all sounds really good to him, especially the shoulder rubs, he loves shoulder rubs. And sleeping, he’s good at that one. He encourages you to get in touch with A.R.N.N.E. (there’s a link under Terms of Adoption above) and let them know of your proposal.
Oh, and he says “woof!” (nose-lick)
Hello Doug,
Thanks for your response.
ARNNE is helping me adopt Hunny right now and when I told them I was looking for two dogs they gave me Smokie’s link.
I am now in my fifth week of doggy withdrawal. Had to put my Hurricane Katrina refugee, Moggy, down and I have always had dogs.
I have a cape style home on a corner lot with a fenced in backyard. My neighborhood has three deadend streets butted up against a rails to trails path. I stroll, no jogging. To me the walks are more for sniffing and wagging tails than real exercise.
Assure Smokie that head warts and tummy lipomas don’t bother me; Moggy had them, too.
I just added some new photos of Smokie settling in with our house gang, even eating treats together. What a sweet boy he is! When he first arrived and I’d reach out to stroke him, he’d flinch at my touch and that broke my heart. But he’s already learned that no one here will hit him, and he craves loving attention. You’re going to love Smokie. I’ve been following Hunny’s adventures, and I think they’ll get along fine.
Oh wow, I actually have tears in my eyes. This makes me so very happy.
Good morning, Smokie.
You are such a handsome gent. I wonder, would you mind if I called you Archie. You see, my mostest favorite actor was Cary Grant. He was very handsome and his real name was Archie Leach. Also, my very fave hockey goalie was Arturs “Archie” Irbe. He made my heart stop several times every game with his amazing saves.
So, to me, you look like an “Archie”.
Would that be OK with you?
Excellent video!
Arche, have a good trip. I’ll take you home Tuesday evening. Your fosters here are outstanding. They cared for your new sister, Zunny.
We are looking forward to having you in your furever home.
Love, Karen
He’s a little apprehensive about the long trip and quarantine, but is looking forward to meeting You and Zunny.
I was wondering if there’s any update on smokie…i hope hes doing well …thank you
In fact, just this evening I got a letter from Archie:
“Hello, our friends!
We just want to be sure you know how important you are to us. Both of us remember how we were taught to walk on a leash and the kindness you have shown us. Life really is good, now.
Zunny’s feeling a little hesitant around me. Zunny needs my mom-person to be sure she knows how important she is to her. I’m just “yep, this is good, I’ll charm Zunny within the week”.
We just spent most of the day sleeping yesterday.
We’ve explored the backyard. Nice to have access all day long. We don’t have to do much to keep the squirrels out, just stand there and they go back up the tree.
We’re both really smart. No barking at the mail carrier because they don’t stay long.
Meals are fine, no competition for the other bowl, until it needs just another lick or two to get the last piece of kibble.
Plenty of doggy beds to choose from. Not naming any names, but one of us dropped down on top of the other in the middle of the night. That’s cause for a yelp but no real biggie because there are plenty of others to snooze in. And sometimes just being on the floor is good.
Tomorrow we meet the breakfast aunties at the nearby lake/park. Gram might be there too. Auntie Janet loves to take photos so we’ll have some new ones to send off to everyone.
Nothing really exciting. Lots of sleeping, and snuggling, and still working on what treats are preferred. And Doug, thank you so very much for those out of this world peanut butter treats. We both like those a lot.
Love to all,
wag wag wag
Zunny and Archie”
This is just precious
We love getting letters from our “alumni”!
Have you heard anymore from Archie?…Has he adjusted well?
Archie is doing very well. He’s lead dog on our walks, now knows windows let him check on the neighborhood, has discovered the comfort of the couch and living room chair, uses the doggy bed by the tv to sleep and the quilt next to it for chewing treats, and crawled up into my lap a few nights ago where he relaxed for about 45 minutes. He licks his bowl clean without hesitation and gets all the smells left in Zunny’s bowl.
We have our vet apt Wednesday. Zunny gets her stitches out and he gets all his prep work for his upcoming lump removal surgery. Trying to get drops in his ears is virtually impossible if I want to keep his trust in me. I have asked if there is an oral solution or a cream/ointment I could put on my knuckle. He enjoys having my knuckles in his ears for slow deep rubs and he shakes his head less after I do that.
I am so very lucky to have him and Zunny in my home. They are both such gentle souls, just looking for some kindness and lots of love.
Im so happy for him. His ears were terrible…I’ve never seen anything like them. I wiped them with a warm cloth but id have to massage the other to keep him occupied…maybe they could do that while he’s out having his other stuff done. That was the only time I was afraid he would bite….I hope he has many years with you and gets overloaded with love…He is truly a sweetheart…thank you for the reply
He really enjoys sleeping in the chair by the window. He’s figured out how windows work. And he does the happy doggy bouncy dance on our walks.
Big day for Archie yesterday.
And Zunny learned she’ll be left behind if she doesn’t come to the front door when we leave to run errands.
So Archie and I headed to the bank and then the Agway together. We needed more dogfood and I like that they have multiple bins of doggy treats on the bottom shelves. Archie started sniffing, 1,2,3, and back to bin #2. So we came home with a half dozen small jerky chews and I found out they were 3 to a packet when I unwrapped them. Both sweet beasties thoroughly enjoy them.
He is no longer shaking his ears and has some hearing. He doesn’t seem to hear normal voices but a happy “mom” voice gets his attention. I am eager to see how he does when the vet cleans them out while he has a couple tumors removed.
We greatly appreciate all the help everyone has given so he can be so happy.
We are SO happy to hear that he’s enjoying life again and getting bouncy. Thank you for all you’re doing for Archy and Zunny. And thank you for the updates! <3
We got another note from Archie’s Mom, Karen. She says, “Archie is now Archie. I was seeing the gradual changes in him and when I came home Monday it was obvious that old tired deaf doggie was now a totally different dog. He’s alert about everything. No longer passive about asking for lovin’, his muzzle is very insistent. He can hear me if I speak loudly, and he responds. He has a lot of joyful bounce in his step when we go for walks. Of course his tail still wags a lot but now there’s a confidence with each wag. I’m looking into getting a step for him so he can get up on the bed… though Zunny would prefer not to share judging by her body placement. He’s just really come into his own. The growth on his shoulder seems larger but as long as he is happy then we are happy.”
Oh my goodness, Mr. Archie’s seen a lot of changes in the last three months. He is such a gentle sweetie. Everything is a good idea to him. Unlike his sister, the stubborn diva, who has to mull it over for a bit and then she bursts into song with her opinion.
His ear infection came back a couple weekends ago, so another dose of that special “vaseline” at the vet’s. Surgery is on the 27th so they’ll be able to take a really good look at that ear. Do hope we can get the infection cured. He has some hearing.
He’s figured out that going outside will get a treat if he goes potty and nothing if he doesn’t. At night, he now knows the porch light will go on for a few minutes and when it is turned off the backdoor will be open for him. If I give them the option about where to go on a walk, he takes lead and Zunny follows closely.
A little ramp has been ordered so he can get up on the bed at night. He’ll stand and stare at bedtime but won’t let me give him a boost. Hoping they’ll leave enough room for me to get a good night’s sleep. Zunny’s very hard to nudge over if she gets there before I do.
I am so lucky to have these two fantastic dogs live with me.
Thank you for the update, Karen. It sounds like they’ve both settled into a comfortable routine and are feeling right at home. Sorry to her about his on going ear trouble. We have a Beagle with a similar issue, we keep Dermavet Ointment on hand for him, is that what Archie gets? Please give him an ear scratching for me. Oh and, good luck on finding bed-sharing equity. 🙂
Archie is just the bestest! He’s my Velcro friend, follows me around everywhere. Happy with either a treat or a rub. And he does like his rubs! The other night I finally called it quits with him after an hour and told him to go lie down. He still does his “stand in front for a shoulder rub”, but he’s added standing on either side of me, switching directions, sitting on either side, and sitting with his back right in front of me for a nice chesty rub. He’s such a happy camper, game for anything, just easy going, everything here sounds like a good idea to him.
I am such a lucky woman to be able to watch these two sweeties come into their own. As I write this they are both sleeping on the couch, one at each end. I wonder if they will ever get to the point where they sleep snuggled together?
Thank you for sharing Archie’s update, Karen. It’s wonderful to be able to enjoy “watching” him fit in and feel so loved. It does my heart good!
As the weather gets colder, they may seek warmth through snuggling together. I know mine do.
Just watched the video of his welcome and settling in. Oh my, he is the same happy easy going dog but he is so different now. Just a healthy relaxed happy boy.
But if you have a ride away from this last nor’easter, he and Zunny would like to catch a ride. No dawdling in the backyard or any requests for a walk out front with 16 inches of new powder on the ground.
He was always a Southern Gentleman, even while being beaten up by a disturbed human youth. Archie has the most gentle spirit! I’m so grateful that you have given him and Zunny a proper, loving home.
I saw the letters between Zunny and Sarah Sue, perhaps PMFC should build a bunkhouse for refugee Northerners to use in winter – canines and human! 🙂
Sad day today. Archie is making his way over the rainbow bridge. He developed a very rapidly growing mouth tumor. Stopped drinking yesterday. I have been so lucky to share his love.
Karen and Zunny
I am saddened by your pain in having to let him go. I am grateful that you made his life since rescue happy and loved. He was a wonderful fella, and he deserved that. I’m glad he wasn’t euthanized immediately by Animal Control. But my heart goes out to you.