On Sunday, our sweet baby boy, Seiko, crossed the Rainbow Bridge.
Seiko came to us thru a local rescue on April 29, 2017 when he was 3. By then he had been rehomed 8 times. He was very protective of his home and barked at everything-the trash collector, recycle, mailperson, UPS-FEDEX-Amazon, neighborhood walkers, bikers, joggers & cars, pooper scooper, pest control, dogs, cats, friends, family and even a quail & her babies who took up residence in our front yard and of course the assorted plastic bags, leaves, and paper. As hard as we tried that never changed although he did eventually stop barking at the trash & recycle collectors, the Amazon truck and some neighborhood walkers. I don’t know why UPS & FEDEX didn’t earn his okay, but they didn’t. He was always on guard- 24/7.
We got Seiko as a playmate for our shepherd, Harper, but evidently the previous 8 people never taught him to be a puppy. Try as we might he had no interest in fetch, toys or playing with Harper. He also had no interest in having another adult dog in the house. We had several meet & greets, but they did not go well. So, we accepted the fact there would be no more dogs in our household. Then one day the rescue called and wanted to know if we would consider fostering a puppy. Sometimes dogs like Seiko would accept puppies, she said, so we said we would give it a try. And WOW, he was an amazing foster dad. I am proud to say Seiko fostered 11 puppies for just over a year, and he was so patient but firm with them. And thanks to that we got our 2 girls. He did his best with them, but they are malamutes after all.
He was one of the founding blood donors at the LV Blood Bank and donated regularly before retiring. They loved how well behaved he was. He always hopped up on the table as if to say, “Let’s do this!”
He was also a food thief and earned the moniker, Mr. Iron Gut. The multiple thefts included a dozen assorted bagels (including jalapeno cheese), a dozen apples, ½ dozen pears & oranges, two chicken breast, one steak, half a bag of puppy food (one of his less appropriate puppy training sessions), 1½ dozen hard-boiled eggs, shell included and a partial bag of flour with no side effects. And now you understand the nickname. It got to the point if we called the vet about him, their first question was “What did he eat now?” We all had a good laugh about that!
When he was out and about, he was so good and so well behaved, it was like having two different dogs. If he got a treat, he took it so gently, you wondered if he actually had hold of it.
I have always believed our dogs teach us something, and Seiko taught me patience & understanding. Despite the problems, Seiko was and always will be my bestest boy.
Run Free, my sweet baby boy. It is time for you to learn to be a puppy with Harper and all your brothers & sisters. We love you and miss you.
04/29/2014 – 12/24/2023
Mark & Susan Haboush
Las Vegas, Nv