At Long Last, Lenny!
The Right-Fit Happily Ever After
Thank you, readers, for coming along with me for the past few months on my dog-journey. You shared your sympathy and memories of your own beloved pets when, in Life Lessons from a Very Good Girl, I wrote about the death of our sweet Lynn. You were kind and understanding when, in A Tiny Tragedy with No Villain, I wrote about having to return Lulu, a terrific dog we had hoped to adopt, to her foster family.
Today I have wonderful news to report: Our journey has reached its happy end. Meet our new dog, Lenny:
It was meant to be. For three dogs in a row we have adopted a dog once a decade for my birthday. Lenny joined our family on the anniversary, almost to the day, of Lynn’s joining our family in 2015. His name, like all our dogs’, begins with an L and is almost identical to Lynn’s nickname, Lynnie.1 Lenny also fits the gestalt2 of our family’s dogs. My husband, Matt, likes to joke that our dogs—all bassets or dachshund-mixes—are, as he puts it, misshapen. (This is for a good reason! Not only are low-slung dogs cute, but it’s also a lot easier to exercise them. But I digress.)
Welcome, Lenny!
No one enjoys making mistakes, but if we get lucky, at least we learn from them. Well, we got lucky. Shortly after our Lulu debacle, I found a different organization that rescues dogs from Hungary. This rescue focuses on finding the right fit for dogs and families alike, which made all the difference for us.
Right-Fit Rescue
The process of adopting Lenny was easy and streamlined. I filled out a short online form, and a few hours later a rescue worker I’ll call Anna contacted me. She asked detailed questions so that she could help us find a dog who would be a good match for us. This time around, I made it clear from the outset that we would not consider a large dog, and Anna agreed.
A few days later, we met Lara (another L name!), a dog being fostered in Switzerland. Unfortunately, she was nearly catatonic with fear the whole time we visited her. I felt sorry for Lara, but she was not for us, and Anna didn’t try to talk us out of that decision. Instead, she contacted the shelter in Hungary to get more information about their dogs and then called me so we could discuss the choices. Matt and I were interested in Mokaš, a darling border collie mix, but Anna thought he would need a “job,” for example Agility or Mantrailing. Given that the only jobs we are interested in doing with our dog are Hike and Sofa, we agreed that Mokaš would be better suited to a more active, playful family. So Anna recommended Lenny.
The following Saturday, we had our home visit and were approved to adopt Lenny right away. The next morning I signed the contract and transferred the adoption fee. Because we would not have a chance to meet Lenny before his arrival in Switzerland, the contract included a one-week grace period, during which we could return Lenny if necessary (say if he was a biter or barker). There would be a full refund and—importantly given our experience with Lulu—no recriminations. The total time from initial application to the signed contract was ten days.
We then began toughest part of the adoption process: the nine-day wait for Lenny to arrive near Zürich, where we would pick him up. The afternoon before adoption day, Lenny and five other dogs were loaded into a transport van and driven overnight out of Hungary, across Austria, through a tiny corner of Germany, and into Switzerland and to us.
Doggymoon
We’re now a bit more than a week into our Doggymoon—my name for the short time after adopting a dog when we’re getting to know each other. Lenny came to us knowing nothing, not even his own name or (the second-most-important word for dogs) “treat.” He had to learn our daily routine too. A former Strassenhund (stray dog), he had no concept of Indoors,3 let alone Sofa. Lenny also has no concept of Fetch. When I toss his rope toy, he looks at me, baffled and hurt, as if he’s wondering why I threw away his toy (which prompts Matt to say, “Mari. Stop trying to make fetch happen”). We were also amused to discover that Lenny had never seen a mirror before. He is convinced that one of these days he will find that other dog who lurks behind the mirror.
Other changes are afoot too. I have been doing more snuggling and less scrolling. I now have a little companion on my errands and a kitchen helper who cleans up the scraps that fall to the floor. (Turns out that Lenny likes cheese, but kale? Not so much.)
As for Matt, the guy who used to be Mr. Are-We-Sure-We-Want-Another-Dog-Maybe-We-Can-Talk-about-It-Next-Year? Well, a picture is worth a thousand words:
We took a leap of faith with Lenny when we adopted him sight-unseen, and we have been rewarded with a dog who is a total delight. Two days after Lenny arrived in our home, I messaged Anna to let her know that we didn’t need the trial period and wanted to finalize Lenny’s adoption right away. In Anna’s words, “This is how it should be . . . happy dog and happy humans!”
Happy Pets and People
If you are feeling despondent about humanity, allow me to recommend adopting a rescue dog or cat. It will restore your faith! Humanity’s best qualities have been on display throughout Lenny’s adoption.
We’re generous. The rescue is supported by a legion of volunteers—veterinarians who neuter and immunize the dogs at a deep discount, workers at the shelter in Hungary who care for and cuddle the dogs, and dog-lovers in Switzerland who foster dogs and perform home checks for prospective adopters.
We think ahead. The rescue makes an effort to set their dogs up for success in their new homes. The week before Lenny and his five buddies left for Switzerland, trainers took the dogs on walks through the city so that they could get used to the noise and excitement. The rescue also suggested, amusingly, that we purchase dry shampoo. They are aware that their dogs have never been bathed, that the resulting stinkiness might be off-putting, and that it would be no fun for anyone if the dog’s first experience of his new home was a bath.4
We share our talents. Lenny’s fetching portrait at the top of this post was taken not by me, but by a skilled photographer. When we’re browsing the rescue’s website and see the professional photos, we inevitably think, “Oh wow, I want to adopt that dog!” (Or at least that’s how it worked for me.)
We look out for one another. Friends and family have checked in to hear all about Lenny and to celebrate with us. When Lenny and I stroll around the neighborhood, neighbors keep stopping us to tell me how happy they are to see me out with a dog again. It’s heartwarming!
How about you, readers? Have you ever taken a leap of faith and been rewarded for it? Do you have sweet pets too? Please tell us about them in the comments!
The Tidbit
As soon as we knew we were adopting Lenny, I started casting about for his celebrity namesake. Should we say he is named after Lenny Bruce? Or Lenny Kravitz? And then I realized that the choice was obvious, given that we live in Bern: Lenny Bernstein! I recently read a novel in German that had a character with “Bernstein-colored” eyes. The German word “Bernstein” (“Bern stone”) derives from the gray-green stone quarried near Bern, from which Bern’s Old City was built in the fifteenth century.
Leonard Bernstein is the greatest conductor of works by one of my favorite composers, Mahler. Take twelve minutes to listen to Bernstein’s rapturous interpretation of the Adagietto from Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. A moment of bliss!
We didn’t name Lenny; for 50CHF (about $60), donors get to name a dog of their choice. We’re grateful to the donor: “Lenny” really suits him. The only downside is that because “Lenny” is so similar to “Lynnie,” and because we have had only girl dogs for the past twenty years, I keep misgendering Lenny. Hopefully at some point I will stop saying “Good gir— boy!”
I mean this literally. “Gestalt” in German means “shape,” and Lenny is the same elongated rectangular shape as our previous dogs.
A brief note about house-training: Many people are unaware of how easy it is to house-train a dog. With the exception of dogs who come from puppy mills, hoarding situations, or other abusive backgrounds, dogs have a natural instinct to be clean. I have house-trained several dogs, and it is always easy.
All you need to do is give the dog the opportunity to do the right thing. Take him out every couple of hours and praise him for doing his business outside. If you do catch him starting to sniff around, or if he has had an accident in the house, scoop him up, take him out, and praise him for going outside. (When you come back in, be sure to spray the offending spot with an odor-remover.) If you need to leave a dog alone for more than a couple of hours during this early stage, I recommend keeping him in a crate or other confined space. With these simple steps, your dog will be house-trained in no more than a day or two, I promise!
If you have been hesitating over whether to get a dog because of concerns about messes in the house, I hope I have allayed your worries!
Luckily, Lenny is not at all stinky. Then again, after half a lifetime with basset hounds, I may have a higher tolerance than most for stinky dogs.
"Stop trying to make fetch happen” 😂 -- that's great.
I'm so happy for you and your family! And for Lenny who is very lucky to have such a loving, dog-friendly home.
I am crying tears of joy. Congratulations Mari and Matt, and my goodness Lenny chose his perfect family. Well done all! When it is meant to be, it will be. And if fetch is meant to happen, it will :)