Meet Geordie, lads!

After losing Indy in June, I realised that life was far poorer without a canine companion in the house. Dogs seem to truly turn a house into a home. Losing Indy brought me into a deep emotional abyss – and there were evenings where I just had a quiet weep in front of the computer at home. Yani also had her moments of grief as well – although, I suppose because I’m the bigger ‘dog person’, I felt the intensity of the loss.

Being a rational guy, I thought with the years ahead of me, I could only fit in two more dogs, one after the other. The longer I wallow in sadness, my chance of fitting another dog in the household will diminish with time. So, as early as July, I already stalked several websites: Animal Welfare League, RSPCA, and Gumtree. Before we adopted Indy in 2011, the dog breed I thought I would want was schnauzers due to their iconic look. However, meeting Indy changed my opinion. Staffies (Staffordshire Bull Terriers) are just the best — they’re chunky and huggable, independent and noble … yet, they are the biggest sooks in the neighbourhood.

In July, I took the plunge by contacting a lady who advertised her staffy in Hackham, a suburb to the south of Adelaide. She listed her blue staffy for sale as she mentioned she couldn’t take care of the dog due to her husband’s illness. When I arrived at the property, I was greeted with a growl by a beautiful chunky blue staffy. He was much bigger than Indy — which then made me realise that I should have limit my search terms to English staffies as American staffies are bigger and typically more boisterous. The dog was playful and clearly lonely. He probably didn’t receive adequate training — and watching the lady violently smacked him for misbehaving just broke my heart. I wished I could adopt him but he wasn’t the right dog for us.

After the incident, I made a private resolution that I would probably start looking for a dog in earnest in December — after all of my business trips and my family trip to Indonesia were done. I continued to stalk the websites I mentioned, though – wishing to find a face that somehow resonated with me. Just like the look that Indy gave in his photo that won me over all those years ago.

So, after most of my business trips were done and we returned from Indonesia, I started counting down until December. I was eager to close the year – as it has been an intense year, mentally, work-wise, and emotionally.

Then I saw his face on RSPCA’s website.

His profile said, “I am a sweet and playful young boy who has made a lot of progress since I found my foster home. I enjoy spending my days mostly indoors, but when the sun is shining, you can find me lounging outside, especially if my foster carer is nearby. I would love a home where my new parents are around most of the time. I thrive on companionship and would love to be part of a loving family. Oh, and I have my favourite soft toy, Croc, who will come with me to my forever home!”

His name was Bear. He has the same sensitive soulful eyes that Indy had – and I just had to contact them to inquire. Bear isn’t a pure breed like Indy was – he’s listed as mixed breed with clearly some staffy genes in him. He’s listed as medium sized (20kg), so I thought – perfect!

After I filled in my Expression of Interest form, I had to wait until they contacted me. It was a nervous wait, as I feared that he was adopted in the meantime. I received a call and a text message to have a chat from the adoption officer from RSPCA. I mentioned I could drive down in late afternoon on Friday to have a look. I also asked about Bear’s history – the lady only mentioned that he was seized from his previous owner with no further details. I could only imagine what he experienced in his past, to have pain imprinted in his eyes. Bear also has some prescribed meds to treat his anxiety and skin issues. White staffies often have this issue. These didn’t faze me, as I was used to Indy’s itchy nose and skin in the early days of him joining our household. “Just in case”, the lady said — I should just get things ready at home, as I could bring the dog home if he was suitable. The lady also mentioned that there were already several people who had expressed their wish to meet Bear – who could blame them?

The Adoption

So, after work on Thursday, I bought a new doggie bed, a new water bowl, a food bowl, and some toys. I don’t want him to play with hand-me-downs. I thought I’d buy them. Just in case. If things didn’t work out, at least I would be ready when the right one came along.

On Friday afternoon, I drove south to O’Halloran Hill – an hour before RSPCA was due to close.

The moment I saw him trotting with the minder, my heart just jumped.

It was love at first sight.

Bear was bigger than I imagined – but by then, I didn’t care. Bear jumped to greet me – not rudely, he just wanted to give my face a lick. After spending just around 5-10 minutes with him, I said that I would like to adopt him. Especially since there were already other people who sent their Expression of Interest forms.

While going through the administrative steps, I mentioned to the officer helping me that I would rename him Geordie – after my favourite British accent from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Because I also like his original name, I wanted to retain it as his middle name: Geordie Bear Tanusondjaja. I learned that he was born on 17 May 2021. His birthday and Indy’s were just two days apart. The officer said, “Maybe it’s just meant to be.”

The drive home was uneventful – Geordie was whining a bit, and because he’s bigger and longer than Indy, he could rest his behind in the backseat, and extend his body so his face could be close to me as I drove home.

The First Few Days

Having Geordie at home took a little bit of getting used to. The months without having a dog – and then the extended period of having a senior dog in the house – had somewhat erased my memory of having a younger and much more energetic dog.

On Friday night, Geordie already took the liberty in jumping to bed and curled next to me to sleep. That was the first sign that he was a much more affectionate dog than Indy. When I met Indy all those years ago, Indy was much more guarded with his feelings – and this guardedness never completely went away although I truly know that he loved me and Yani. On the other hand, Geordie wears his heart on his sleeve – he would voice his displeasure more openly, and he shows when he’s happy expressively.

On Saturday, when Yani and I went to a prayer meeting at church, we returned home to find that Geordie had ‘killed’ Yani’s fluffy bunny keychain that was attached to her car key. He had also helped himself to a packet of salmon skins that we brought from Indonesia and had his snack in bed in the spare bedroom. On Sunday, when we went to church, Geordie decided to have an exploration of the rubbish bin in the bathroom. We forgot to close the door before we left home. He also went through his medicine bag and somehow crushed the plastic bottle so I went home to see his pills scattered on the hall way. I suspected that he could smell my meatball-scented fingerprints on the bottle because I put his meds in the meatballs when I feed him. On Monday, Geordie decided to check the content of a bag of old coffee beans that I had been meaning to scatter in the backyard. He thought perhaps scattering the coffee beans in bed in the spare bedroom would make it look more romantic when I went home.

Having lived with Indy made me realise that moments with our canine companions are far too precious to cloud them with harsh disciplining. It was our fault for having the items too close for him to reach and it’s our duty to discipline him through positive reinforcements not to counter surf. After the incidents on Saturday and Sunday, I bought him more toys to nibble and play with to minimise his separation anxiety.

So today, I went home from work expecting to find more things scattered around.

… and nothing was broken, eaten, scattered in the house!

Hurraaaaaaaah.

Today, as we walked around the neighbourhood, I somehow sensed his joy – he was galloping and jumping as we walked. The kind of joie de vivre Indy had when he was young – the exuberance of youth. When he went home, he decided to do zoomies in the house – our house is definitely not fit for zoomies – but somehow he was joyful and playful.

He knows he’s home.