Earl

Our names are Michael & Colleen Kochik. In June of 2013, we were blessed to have “Earl” join our family, after losing our beloved Hank to a stroke. We had another Basset, Pacino and an elderly English Setter, Gunner. Pacino seemed to be the most heart-broken of the remaining two. After the application process and a visit by one of your volunteers, we rec’d the call that “Earl” would be available. We set the appointment for June 2nd, and came home with our boy. When we looked at him, we couldn’t help but keep his name the same. He looked like an Earl and it fit like a glove. We believe that his age when adopted was 2-3. His paperwork said his DOB was 7/28/12. It would make sense, because he gives us that look like a terrible two year old:).

Our favorite thing is that he is a cuddle bug and loves to around his humans. He has definitely taken a liking to women, more than men. My mother recently moved in with us and she loves her daily breakfast visits as well as his afternoon cat nap visits.

His biggest challenge is that after about the first week, he kept looking out the door like he wanted to run away. Almost as if he missed something. He heard kids playing one day at our neighbors and as soon as that door opened, he took off like a rocket. Thank god it has never happened again. He seems very happy at his home on 8 acres. He LOVES rides in the car and loves his walks at the lake. He has become a full member of our family and we love him to death.

He gets along well with the others. We lost our English Setter in late October. While we love the hounds, our house needs the craziness of a Setter bouncing around. So, being the responsible people we are, we attempted to adopt a Setter and had no luck. No one would allow us to adopt as we don’t have a fenced yard. So, enter the two smart ones….the idea was to get a puppy. Not sure we’ll ever do that again, because we haven’t had a puppy in a loooooong time. Earl wasn’t quite sure what she was or why she was so small, but he has learned to accept her. He’ll put her in check every now and then, just like a big brother will do, but right now they all get along just fine.

Attached are some pictures of Earl when we got him and recently. He really is a great dog and we are so pleased that your organization gave us the
chance to help him out.