Havanese Fanciers of Canada Rescue

Sammy has been with me now for almost a year.  He is an adorable little champagne Havanese with the sunniest disposition you could ever imagine.  I can’t imagine why anyone would ever want to surrender him, but that’s what happened.  When Sam came to me he had no clue that he was a dog.  He didn’t wag his tail or know how to chew a bone, play with a toy or even sniff at a tree.  He wouldn’t eat treats either.  I suspect that he was placed on a mantle or a lap and simply made to look pretty and not move.  Well, now Sammy loves his bully sticks, will sit and lift a paw to say please for a treat, and comes barreling towards me when I whistle for him.  The running joke is “incoming SAM” (surface to air missile), and he does launch himself at you if allowed.  He is a happy, bouncy, kissy little fellow who loves his walks and loves his people.  He greets everyone literally with a smile and with excitement and is such a joy in our lives.  He is small enough to curl up on my lap when I’m working at my computer and that is where he seems happiest…attached to me.

Bentley was rescued from a puppy mill auction of over 100 small-breed dogs.  (see how he is doing now in this video) Poor Bentley was terrified to meet us and is still very nervous around strangers, but he has come along leaps and bounds in the five months he has been with us.  Bentley also loves his walks and will also sit and will give a high 5 as a please for his treats.  He is still struggling to learn to ask to go outside to potty, but with frequent trips out things are progressing along.  He runs to greet me at the door before he remembers that he is afraid and runs back to my room, but once I’m in and settled he will come back out to greet me.  Like Sammy, Bentley follows me around the house wherever I go.  He is eager to play and clearly loves people and wants to be with people, as if I have company he will often lay in the hall watching and it’s clear to see he wants to come closer, but is still shy.  It will just take him some more time, but he comes running when I whistle for him and comes to sit with me and even asks to be picked up.  He is a goofy Havanese with the energy of a 2-year-old on caffeine.   He must truly think I am also a dog as he will come up to me and offer the play pose and bark and will tug on my sleeve to get me down on the floor to wrestle.  

It took the boys a little while to get the hang of playing together, but now they play everyday and often.  They will play tag running back and forth between the couch and my bed and will wrestle with each other and get quite vocal.  King of the castle is Sammy’s favourite game and he will stand on the couch and defend it from Bentley jumping up.  I have to move the coffee table out of the way when they really get going.  Bentley’s favourite game I think is ‘you can’t get me’ in which he zooms by Sammy at lightning speed and Sam is supposed to try to ‘grab’ him as Bentley runs by, often resulting in poor Sammy coughing and sputting.  It’s quite comical watching the two play together, and I marvel at the fact that both these dogs who likely came from beginnings with no socialization and no one to teach them how to play and act both instinctively know how to play posture and get along.  They are really an absolute delight and I can’t imagine how I ever got by without them.
Trish