Mr. Humphrey

My dear Flora passed away suddenly early this year. She was a beautiful mutt; a mix of two breeds her father a Weimaraner, her mother a Basset Hound. She was a sweet soul and served her duties well as the family dog. I miss her, her kind eyes, her soft long ears and her silliness, she will always be in my heart, she was a good friend. I have always felt the need for a canine companion in my life. Houses have never felt like homes to me without a four legged friend.
Understanding the commitment of sharing our life with a dog and if we were going to get another, I wanted to be sure the dog could spend days here at the shop. One click to Pet Finder and it was clear a rescue is/was the only way to go. There are thousands of dogs looking for homes, you can even put in your zip code to look at dogs in your area. I am forever saying “think local first”, that’s when I phoned Gardiner’s dog warden, he knew of a small dog in a foster home. Now I was not sure about a small dog, we have always had large dogs, Flora was 70 pounds and that was the smallest dog we had ever owned. A small dog seemed like the way to go for the shop, a dog I could whisk away from customers if need be. I went to meet the five year old rescue that evening. Timid, tiny and wearing a diaper/wrap the shy guy held his distance, I was thinking, maybe he’s not the one. After an hour of visiting I had not even gotten the opportunity to pet the little fellow and then when we were (girlfriend Sue and I) about to leave he suddenly decided to join me on the couch. He picked me … I was done and sure it was not a match and he was ready to come home with me, long story short; that’s how Humphrey became part of two families. Our family at home enjoys him along with the HiHo family at work. He has come along way potty trained and not so shy anymore, he’s a happy little dog. Humphrey continues to surprise us, greeting customers and even letting strangers pet him. (It took days after I first brought him home to warm up to family.) He’s great at auction too, he arrives in his bag, really unnoticed and once I find our seat he comes out of the bag content to sit for hours people watching. He is slightly over seven pounds and loves to nap in his TV bed on one of the desks in the HiHo office. Humphrey is a cookie monster of sorts he dances, flips and jumps performing for cookies. He loves the sun shine, starting his day at work on the second floor, center hall where the smallest snippet of rays pour in through the window. Around 10:20 he wanders down to the main entrance knowing the sun has now moved to the front of the building. Very often he is sound asleep as someone comes in the door, awakening barking because he’s startled. Customers are wonderful about this new addition to HiHo and we appreciate everyone’s patience as Humphrey adjusts to his new role as a shop dog.
Mascot of HiHo, some say head of security, I say new found friend, now more than ever HiHo feels like home. Stop by and welcome Humphrey...