A New Family Member — Monsieur Gaston

Since Alfie’s been gone for 14 months and Annie over 2-1/2 years, we searched our souls long and hard with respect to getting another dog. We made it through this past year thinking we wanted to retain our freedom and would wait to adopt—all with the intentions of traveling a bit more.

The pandemic is keeping us from our roaming retirement plans, so we decided to start looking, but only to adopt the ‘right’ dog (whatever that is!)

Most of you know from Facebook postings that we went to see a couple of Griffons in Saintes a while ago, but they were outdoor dogs, with no training and were way too big and wild for us to handle. So we took a pass on them, but left the refuge with a donation for their efforts.

Then our online research got more serious, perusing the sites of the local SPAs, refuges, rescues, etc. for candidates. And that’s when we found him. And his name was Gaston. This is his online pic that we fell in love with.

He was one year old. Perfect.
He got along well with female and male dogs. Perfect.
Not too big, not too small. Perfect.
He was a lover man and very sweet. Perfect.
And boy, was he a cutie! Done!

I found him online in the middle of the night (insomnia, ya know). I knew I wanted to start up a dialogue, so I sent a little note, because time is often of the essence when you find a desirable dog. I heard back from them the next day with answers to some basic questions. I then sent a slideshow I had prepared for another rescue association showing photos of the house, the property, the fences and gates, where we would take him for walks, etc. And I think I won them over!

He was ours for the asking. But there was one more hurdle. He was in Buchelay…west of Paris! A six to seven hour drive and the government was rumbling about a new lockdown. We were already under curfew from 6pm to 6am, so we had to be strategic. A previous obligation that was keeping us from traveling until February 4 suddenly was postponed, so we called and told them we could come for Gaston sooner and hopefully dodge any new lockdown measures. In the least, we figured if we could get up there, then we could have an attestation that would state that we were returning to our home (which is allowed). In the end, there were no additional lockdown measures, but we were sweating it.

Gaston still needed to be neutered and was scheduled for January 29, and they were willing to release him on Monday, February 1. So we booked a hotel for Sunday night and drove in torrential rain to arrive at the hotel to find it all locked up with nobody in sight. Ugh. So we called the number, finally got an answer, and they said the front desk person would be there at 6pm. Only about 45 minutes, so we waited. But what a fright.

Anyway, got up Monday morning and went to the refuge, met Gaston (love at first sight), paid his ‘bail,’ and off we went to try to get home before 6 pm (it was already close to noon, which didn’t leave much time for peepee stops…) Not sure he had ever traveled in a car before, so I sat in the back seat with him, while Theo drove. Well he barked and howled and tried to claw his way out for about the first hour on the road. He was freaked out about all that was moving by so fast outside the car!

Then he finally settled down and he and I bonded the rest of the way home. Even had a nap somewhere along the way (you know, it’s just better for me to NOT know how fast Theo was speeding in the rain, so a nap in the back seat was perfect for me…)

While he is a very sweet dog, he has everything to learn. He wasn’t housetrained, had no recall, didn’t know how to sit or stay, etc. And so the regime has begun. Thankfully our lot is completely fenced and secure, so off-leash training is easy. Or so I say. He is definitely a hound and gets easily distracted when his nose picks up something irresistible. And so it goes. Every day is a little better.

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The cone they sent him home with was too small and he could easily reach his stitches (did they not notice how LOOOONNNGGG his body is?) And so I quickly whipped together a onesie for him from an old sweatshirt — four holes for feet and some stick-on velcro and voila! My little dinosaur! Had to laugh.

He sleeps through the night, is a good eater, has come a long way with the potty training, knows his name, and at least has some respect for me. We work on his manners by asking people to come by so we can ‘practice,’ we’re taking him to new situations so he can learn about new sounds, sights, smells, and circumstances. He’s not bad on the leash, but that training will continue.

He is fairly reactive and barks when something noisy drives by (especially motorbikes and tractors) and is learning to love his doggy buddy next door ‘through the fence.’ As a puppy, he chews, but you can see the glimmer in his eye when he has the devil in him (about twice a day) and he goes and gets things that he knows are off limits, then runs like hell to play keep-away. Working on that… (Oops, update just now. Theo came to announce that his glasses were destroyed.)

Yes, we do love it when he sleeps. He’s an active young lad, but is eager to learn and to please, so stay tuned for more Gastonion Chronicles!!!

Oh, by the way, ’cause I know you’re going to ask. We think he’s probably a PBGV, Petite Basset Griffon Vendéen. He fits the profile—happy, friendly, loyal, and stubborn. And we kept his old-fashioned French name because we thought it suited him. But we love him dearly and are so happy to welcome His Furryness into our household.