This story takes place many, many moons ago……..
Two shady characters in a U-Haul pulled to Canine College and wanted to board their skinny, floppy eared Doberman with a big white patch on his chest.
Yes, this should have been a red flag, but anyway…….
I asked the “owners” for enough money to do an in-house stool sample since he looked so thin. It was negative and they were gone, never to return again.
A few weeks later, my brother Bruce and I were doing some protection work with our friend Digi and his 10 or 12 year old son. Bruce told the kid, “Hey, go get Wolfie”, and gave him a flexi-lead. This is where it becomes really interesting.
Digi gave a little pssst, and got into position. Wolfie went CRAZY! His eyes glazed over and his long narrow snout was snapping and spitting as he focused on Digi’s throat. We stood there speechless, that is Bruce and I, for a few seconds until we realized the danger our friend was in. Digi had on a sleeve only, no bite suit or even a leather apron. His son was pressing the button with all his might as Wolfie was stripping the gears of the flexi lead and foot by foot. His intent was to kill the bad man.
“I can’t hold him Dad!” The fear and defeat in his young terrified voice.
Digi backed up one slow step at a time, not daring to turn his back or run without possibly disastrous results.
Finally! He reached the end of the flexi and Digi was able to escape unharmed, although he probably needed to change his underwear.
Bruce snapped out of his shock and amazement and told Digi, ” Go put on the full body suit!” ( I know Bruce would have helped his buddy Digi if he was near death).
Wolfie just got a whole load of respect and admiration and a little fear from all of us.
Wolfie is now put on a thick, snug leather collar and a sturdy 6 foot leather leash anchored by the big and sturdy Bruce Billings Jr.
Digi squeezes into the full bite suit, only his head and feet are left unprotected. “Psst”, Digi’s hisses as he crouches into position ready to balance himself.
Wolfie transformed and leaps without hesitation, mouth gaping wide as he lunges for Digi’s shoulder connecting with a full bite while shaking his head back and forth like a Great WhiteShark tearing off big chunks of meat from a dead whale.
“Holy ####!, Oh my god!, were a few of words shouted out by everyone watching. Wolfie hung on like his life depended on it. Bruce, shouted to the kid, “Get the wedge! and the gun with the blanks!”
Wolfie wouldn’t let go. They had to use the wooden wedge to pry his jaws off. Digi kicked out his leg in offering and skinny, scrawny Wolfie latched on immediately. The gun was fired before, during and after all this chaos and it was like it didn’t even exist.
The dog was fearless and maybe a little crazy too. He obviously must have had some sort of previous experiences. We could only hope it wasn’t on unprotected flesh.
When Wolfie wasn’t doing bite work he was a total sweetheart. I could train, bathe and cut his nails without any problem, no muzzle necessary. But who could possibly want to buy or adopt a dog like this? He had the potential to strip a human of their flesh in no time.
I was grooming at the time at Canine College in Holbrook Mass, and one of my clients was a local car repair shop in a not so good neighborhood. The dog came in with a muzzle and left with a muzzle. This dog had bitten so many people that I had to change his appearance at least twice a year and his name because he was supposed to be euthanized so many times. Don’t judge him, he was just doing his job. If you don’t trespass, you don’t get bit, pretty simple. As an owner, you can prevent trespassing on your property so that your dog doesn’t have to spring into action. A good way to do this is by installing a home camera system to improve your home’s security. Alternatively, you could install anti-trespass fencing to make it difficult for trespassers to enter your property. This way, you won’t have to change your dog’s name or look to keep him alive!
It wasn’t too difficult to change his “look” as he was a long haired shepherd/Collie cross of some kind. Sometimes his coat was long, shaved down, had a Mohawk, or a springer cut.
He eventually died and the shop owner a big, burly and gruff guy wanted to take Wolfie to his shop to replace the last protector of his Business. This guy loved him so much it was like they were always meant to be together, soul mates, two peas in a pod.
He built Wolfie an insulated dog house and bought him a winter coat. He would sneak him home sometimes on really cold nights, probably without his wife’s approval.
Wolfie lived out his life with a purpose and more love then he probably could ever imagine. The owner wept like his heart was shattered into a million pieces when Wolfie passed over the Rainbow Bridge.
The story of Wolfie will live on in my heart forever and now yours
By: Robin Billings CPDT-KSA