Some Things Like Bassets Are Meant To Be, Part II - The Polo Chapter...

King of his domain - he certainly likes his space.

Charleigh's loss in February 2006 left a huge vacuum in our lives. I didn’t realize the magnitude till I saw my son within a week, checking out basset rescue websites to look for another basset. Unlike me, my son internalizes a lot and when I saw him doing this so soon, I knew he was hurting and we should start to look again. They say, the best way to get over the loss of a pet is to start looking immediately for another. Isn’t this the same advice given to us humans regarding failed relationships! There is some wisdom in it...

Our Designer Brand Polo
The very same co-worker who introduced us to the world of bassets came to our rescue. Apparently, our care for Charleigh had convinced the breeder, from whom she got her bassets, that we were the epitome of animal foster parents. So we were needed again. This time, the breeder had a gentle male basset who was a complete misfit among her many girl-bassets who would not brook his undignified sniffing habits as was evident from the bite scars on the ears of the otherwise extremely handsome Polo. Yes, he was named Polo because the breeder clearly has a fetish for American clothe brands. She had named Polo’s grandfather, Levi!!!

Polo on Baku's bed- Baku is of course, his true boss!

Boy, Was He Beaten!
Anyway, we brought Polo home in April 2006, two and a half months after Charleigh’s trip to Heaven. We met the breeder at a dog show in Harrisburg, PA, where she had traveled from Massachusetts. The first time we saw Polo, we were not impressed. Though clearly a handsome male with brown and black markings on a white coat, he looked beaten in spirit with his head hanging low. He appeared to cringe at his own shadow! Those basset bitches had certainly reined him in. Anyway, Baku was stuck on getting a basset and to get a pure bred without paying a dime, was not a bad deal. Little did I know…

Many Rude Revelations!
Initially when Polo arrived at our place, he was completely stressed out. I guess he missed the women in his life, however abusive. Loneliness is certainly a bitch – Of course, the pun is intended! Crazed in the new environment, he sanctified my house with his presence in more ways than one, something that I initially attributed to stress, but which I soon learned to my horror of horrors was not the case. Polo was completely not housebroken! Yikes!!! A three year old basset – not potty-trained, totally freaked me out. To say I wasn’t pleased is to put it mildly!!! At such provocation, I can make a sailor sound relatively angelic. Not to forget, I am bilingual so the impact is double. To avoid Polo being deported to the now not-so nice-breeder, Baku was soon desperately pouring over dog training manuals. He kept Polo on a leash in the house tied to his chair while he did his homework. What a sight! The ingenuity behind it was that Polo, instead of wandering all over the house and choosing the choicest places like my silk rug to relieve himself, could instead tell Baku that he needed to go out. We learned later that the breeder had a huge yard where the dogs played all day and did their business. Clearly, housebreaking had not been on her agenda.

Neighborhood kids checking out our new family addition

Worst of all this canine was so docile that he NEVER barked. He had never heard a doorbell and visibly shrank each time it rang. Apparently folks don’t have doorbells in uppity New England. Wonder how true that is. I recall calling the breeder to ask her the bizarre question of whether she had somehow removed the dog’s vocal cords. I think she was privately worried that she had sent Polo to a looney bin. Our relationship was certainly teethering…

Polo Transforms
Anyway soon Polo, with all the attention he received as a solo player, blossomed–if one can say that of an alpha male creature. His personality gradually started coming through. He started barking when the doorbell rang- it was almost like Pavlov's theory in action. Just substitute barking for salivating… Polo also became housebroken–thanks to my calm and patient son. Of course, it only cost me an entire flooring on one level. He is now a fully vested member of the Krishna households – mine and my ex’s. A true dog-lover, my ex is hooked on the dog, just like he was on Charleigh. So, yes, we have a sort of joint-custody situation except this now applies to a canine and I provide the support while Polo goes for weekend visits.

Two most important men in my life

Basset Stubbornness in NOT a Myth
Don’t be fooled by Polo’s docility, it is only a veneer. He has given the customary basset stubbornness a whole new meaning. A big animal, almost 73 lbs, trying to making him move in a direction he doesn’t want to go is next to impossible. Once he embarrassed me completely before the neighborhood teens when he glued his big rear-end on the ground and decided he was done. When I pulled on his leash, he managed to wriggle his large head with all of his long floppy years out of his collar so that I was left standing with only the leash while he just stared at me defiantly with a look that plainly said – I ain’t moving, do what you will. Needless to say, I was the neighborhood entertainment that afternoon.

Don't be fooled by that dumb look- he will stay put if he wants to.

Jump, Greet - Topple
Another annoying, to many, is Polo’s trait of ‘jump and greet’ everyone. The first time he almost toppled over a rather short girlfriend who has always claimed she is five feet tall, but apparently is not, since Polo clearly towered over her. It was hilarious when she sternly wagged her finger in his face after he had calmed down. She might be height-challenged, but she certainly makes up for it in other ways - very effectively. Polo is now dead scared of her.

He Can Kiss Too
Since Polo is extremely athletic, it took us a little getting used to as we had become accustomed to Charleigh’s physical limitations. He can sprint and jump very high, very easily. Despite his bed being rather high, Baku often found himself with this big dog’s dead weight on his legs when he woke up many mornings. An unsuspecting date one evening had his face licked by the infernal dog when the guy sat on my couch and Polo went flying at him to land him a big smooch right on his mouth. The man clearly not a dog-lover was not amused to be kissed by a dog! Had it not been for my placatory charm, even the friendship would have been lost…

No kidding, he is a smoocher!!!

Polo is My Man Now!
With Baku leaving for college, Polo is truly my best friend now. There’s nothing like having that scrumptious face waiting for you when you come back home to an empty house. Daily he waits for me at the landing of our hallway stairs looking out the glass windows in my front door, just as he did when my son would come home from school. Taking him for a walk before and after I return from work is our mutual treat though it does appear that he is taking me for one as he drags me along. (Let me also add that one needs the patience of a saint to walk a male dog because of their innate desire to mark their territory after every few steps.) But our compatibility is evident from his happy tail sticking up in the air, ramrod straight, and my smug grin and matching strut… He is indeed a worthy successor to our Charleigh!