Argos, el Galgo Espanol
Argos was a superhero. He taught me more about dogs, and myself, than I ever imagined. Coming from inauspicious and mysterious background, he eventually rose above it like a phoenix from the ashes. Argos was a hunting dog from Spain (adopted from Scooby Medina) and he was an adventure. In many ways he was the most difficult dog I have ever owned. However, he taught me more than any dog, or person, ever has. He taught me about trust, respect, love, courage, commitment, patience, adaptability, independence, baby steps, and human nature. He grew and blossomed like a flowers and changed like the seasons, slow and deliberate. When he got sick we did not talk about it a lot with people other than close friends and family. There were so many questions and we did not get a lot of answers. Towards the end he faded fast and we finally had an answer that we did not like. Even on his way out he showed us empathy and understanding beyond what we could imagine. He also showed us love and appreciation. People who don’t believe that dogs have a soul have never met this dog.
Our journey with him started at an airport. We had chosen him to come in our lives and we drove to Atlanta to pick him up and start him on that journey. The waiting and the anticipation was killer. When we finally got the clearance to get him we were faced with a dog with haunted eyes. He coped fairly well with the trip and the transition but as he settled in we realized that this dog was not quite what we were expecting. Argos had a lot of trauma and history to work through. Things were rocky at first but we were committed to him and, over time, he began to trust us.
Gaining his trust took time, patience, and understanding. It was a slow process, like dusk to sunset, but when we earned his trust it was beautiful. He had a lot of fear to work through and simply traveling halfway across the world and gaining a new home wasn’t enough. He had to confront his fears and we helped him along the way. He grew and changed with each passing season. From fear grew trust and respect. They bloomed into courage and independence. We took a dog who was so terrified of life that he almost couldn’t function and walked with him to a life filled with confidence and happiness. It was a long journey, and sometimes a rough one, but the destination was so perfect, so beautiful, that it was worth it.
There were milestones that made us, grown adults, cry. Two specific moments come to mind. One was when we tried (probably foolishly) to take him to a picnic. He wasn’t quite ready but we had to try. There he met a Hispanic family. Argos hated Spanish and Hispanic accents. One time we were out walking and he heard a man tell us that I had a beautiful Greyhound in Spanish. He had a complete, thrashing, panicked melt down, tried to drag me home, and hid for days. So when he slowly, cautiously approached this family and let them get down to his level and pet him I cried. Right there, in the middle of a public picnic, a grown woman was crying over a dog being petted. Those who knew him understood the moment. The other time was when we were at the creek near our home. He spent a little while watching a family that was sitting on the rocks. Eventually, he started walking towards them, no fear, no trepidation, and asked the family to pet and love on him. Cue the waterworks again. He had never asked strangers to pet him, let alone approached them. The family was very kind to him and it was a beautiful experience. Eventually he went from fearing people in our home to greeting them enthusiastically, helicopter tail going full force, and sitting on their laps and kissing them. He loved his people very much.
Argos was more than his journey. He was a dog who ran for the sheer joy of it. While every other hound that we have ever had here has preferred to run with others, Argos ran both by himself and with others. He’d let loose and fly. It was beautiful to see him so free and happy. He was fast and extremely agile. He loved to “stalk” other dogs in the yard. He would start by standing and hunting. Eventually he would lay down in a perfect sphinx position and then lower his head to where his entire body was one flat plain. Then, when the time was right, he would launch at the other dogs and initiate playtime. He also loved to chase the occasional fluffy creature that was brave enough, or stupid enough, to come into our yard. He had an intense prey drive and never forgot where he spotted or flushed a prey animal.
Argos was mischievous and entirely too intelligent. He was a food thief and found creative ways to get anything he wanted. Often that led to naughty behavior but the charm about Argos is that, despite all of his mischief, he would look at you with the same love in his eyes that he did 20 seconds before being naughty. It was just part of him. He had a brain and a love of tasty things, especially instant breakfast, and the motivation to reach for the stars.
Argos had intelligent, expressive eyes and no matter what the situation was you could always tell exactly what he was thinking and feeling. He was also an exceptionally affectionate dog. While kisses were sometimes shared he was always free with snuggling. He almost always wanted to be touching a human or other dogs and you could almost always find him snuggled with his packmates or favorite people. He spent years sleeping with us and loved to wrap himself around the other dogs and put his head on them. He loved resting in laps and often laid across us.
Argos loved to eat. He loved all kinds of treats and got insanely excited about them. He even learned to sit for a while. He loved to chew bones, hooves, and other things and to take the eyes and sound makers out of new toys. He was excitedly play with a new toy until he took apart what he wanted and then he was done. He also loved Lorelei and bonded tightly to her. When he first came home he had some trouble integrating with the other three dogs. We fostered her and he bonded to her immediately. They slept together, played together, ate together, and became BFFs. We always joked that Argos adopted Lorelei. We just paid. We spoiled him on his last weekend and let him eat a ton of things he’d not normally get to eat, and chew so many things. I even let him have a little instant breakfast. He was so happy.
Argos was a gentle soul. He took Delilah under his wings when she was 8-weeks-old and was so incredibly gentle and loving with her. He was extremely tolerant in molding his little white minion and together they got into a lot of naughty adventures. He loved that puppy and loved watching her grow up. They would play together, nap together, and just had the best time cooking up fun things to do. By time Finnegan came along he was older and he still loved puppies. He also had a paw in raising Finn into one of his minions. He loved human children too and was always kind and gentle with them.
Argos was a strong spirit. He suffered from some medical setbacks along the way (head tremors, cancer, various injuries) but he never let them get him down. Even in the end, in his last moments, he made sure to kiss my face vigorously over and over as his last goodbye. I will always cherish those last kisses, a gift from a dog who knew he was loved and was content. He was a fighter, and a lover, and his spirit was never broken. We let him go before it was. I laid next to him, eye to eye, as he slipped away and he looked completely at peace. Justin and I are going to spread his ashes in the field where he once flushed a bunny and spent years checking back. He will be a wild spirit forever chasing bunnies. It would have made him so happy.
He made me a better trainer. He made me a better dog person. In truth, he made me a better person. My life was forever changed by that little Galgo. He was an ambassador for his breed and an ambassador for traumatized dogs everywhere. But, even beyond all of the inspiration that he provided, he was one of my best friends, and my family, and my much beloved pet. Run free, Argos. Chase bunnies in heaven until we meet again.
??? - July 28, 2014 (He was between 8-10 years old.) Argos was adopted on October 16, 2008, back when Galgo adoption was rare. Many people have told us that he paved the way for education and understanding about the breed and adoption. His legacy lives on.
Our journey with him started at an airport. We had chosen him to come in our lives and we drove to Atlanta to pick him up and start him on that journey. The waiting and the anticipation was killer. When we finally got the clearance to get him we were faced with a dog with haunted eyes. He coped fairly well with the trip and the transition but as he settled in we realized that this dog was not quite what we were expecting. Argos had a lot of trauma and history to work through. Things were rocky at first but we were committed to him and, over time, he began to trust us.
Gaining his trust took time, patience, and understanding. It was a slow process, like dusk to sunset, but when we earned his trust it was beautiful. He had a lot of fear to work through and simply traveling halfway across the world and gaining a new home wasn’t enough. He had to confront his fears and we helped him along the way. He grew and changed with each passing season. From fear grew trust and respect. They bloomed into courage and independence. We took a dog who was so terrified of life that he almost couldn’t function and walked with him to a life filled with confidence and happiness. It was a long journey, and sometimes a rough one, but the destination was so perfect, so beautiful, that it was worth it.
There were milestones that made us, grown adults, cry. Two specific moments come to mind. One was when we tried (probably foolishly) to take him to a picnic. He wasn’t quite ready but we had to try. There he met a Hispanic family. Argos hated Spanish and Hispanic accents. One time we were out walking and he heard a man tell us that I had a beautiful Greyhound in Spanish. He had a complete, thrashing, panicked melt down, tried to drag me home, and hid for days. So when he slowly, cautiously approached this family and let them get down to his level and pet him I cried. Right there, in the middle of a public picnic, a grown woman was crying over a dog being petted. Those who knew him understood the moment. The other time was when we were at the creek near our home. He spent a little while watching a family that was sitting on the rocks. Eventually, he started walking towards them, no fear, no trepidation, and asked the family to pet and love on him. Cue the waterworks again. He had never asked strangers to pet him, let alone approached them. The family was very kind to him and it was a beautiful experience. Eventually he went from fearing people in our home to greeting them enthusiastically, helicopter tail going full force, and sitting on their laps and kissing them. He loved his people very much.
Argos was more than his journey. He was a dog who ran for the sheer joy of it. While every other hound that we have ever had here has preferred to run with others, Argos ran both by himself and with others. He’d let loose and fly. It was beautiful to see him so free and happy. He was fast and extremely agile. He loved to “stalk” other dogs in the yard. He would start by standing and hunting. Eventually he would lay down in a perfect sphinx position and then lower his head to where his entire body was one flat plain. Then, when the time was right, he would launch at the other dogs and initiate playtime. He also loved to chase the occasional fluffy creature that was brave enough, or stupid enough, to come into our yard. He had an intense prey drive and never forgot where he spotted or flushed a prey animal.
Argos was mischievous and entirely too intelligent. He was a food thief and found creative ways to get anything he wanted. Often that led to naughty behavior but the charm about Argos is that, despite all of his mischief, he would look at you with the same love in his eyes that he did 20 seconds before being naughty. It was just part of him. He had a brain and a love of tasty things, especially instant breakfast, and the motivation to reach for the stars.
Argos had intelligent, expressive eyes and no matter what the situation was you could always tell exactly what he was thinking and feeling. He was also an exceptionally affectionate dog. While kisses were sometimes shared he was always free with snuggling. He almost always wanted to be touching a human or other dogs and you could almost always find him snuggled with his packmates or favorite people. He spent years sleeping with us and loved to wrap himself around the other dogs and put his head on them. He loved resting in laps and often laid across us.
Argos loved to eat. He loved all kinds of treats and got insanely excited about them. He even learned to sit for a while. He loved to chew bones, hooves, and other things and to take the eyes and sound makers out of new toys. He was excitedly play with a new toy until he took apart what he wanted and then he was done. He also loved Lorelei and bonded tightly to her. When he first came home he had some trouble integrating with the other three dogs. We fostered her and he bonded to her immediately. They slept together, played together, ate together, and became BFFs. We always joked that Argos adopted Lorelei. We just paid. We spoiled him on his last weekend and let him eat a ton of things he’d not normally get to eat, and chew so many things. I even let him have a little instant breakfast. He was so happy.
Argos was a gentle soul. He took Delilah under his wings when she was 8-weeks-old and was so incredibly gentle and loving with her. He was extremely tolerant in molding his little white minion and together they got into a lot of naughty adventures. He loved that puppy and loved watching her grow up. They would play together, nap together, and just had the best time cooking up fun things to do. By time Finnegan came along he was older and he still loved puppies. He also had a paw in raising Finn into one of his minions. He loved human children too and was always kind and gentle with them.
Argos was a strong spirit. He suffered from some medical setbacks along the way (head tremors, cancer, various injuries) but he never let them get him down. Even in the end, in his last moments, he made sure to kiss my face vigorously over and over as his last goodbye. I will always cherish those last kisses, a gift from a dog who knew he was loved and was content. He was a fighter, and a lover, and his spirit was never broken. We let him go before it was. I laid next to him, eye to eye, as he slipped away and he looked completely at peace. Justin and I are going to spread his ashes in the field where he once flushed a bunny and spent years checking back. He will be a wild spirit forever chasing bunnies. It would have made him so happy.
He made me a better trainer. He made me a better dog person. In truth, he made me a better person. My life was forever changed by that little Galgo. He was an ambassador for his breed and an ambassador for traumatized dogs everywhere. But, even beyond all of the inspiration that he provided, he was one of my best friends, and my family, and my much beloved pet. Run free, Argos. Chase bunnies in heaven until we meet again.
??? - July 28, 2014 (He was between 8-10 years old.) Argos was adopted on October 16, 2008, back when Galgo adoption was rare. Many people have told us that he paved the way for education and understanding about the breed and adoption. His legacy lives on.
February 2009: Argos is my superhero. I cannot fathom what he has been though in his short time on Earth but he continues to live with a zest for life I only wish I knew. He sees the world with the viewpoint of a small, unsure child. As he unravels each mystery, peels back every petal he learns something new about himself and the world. He is scared, unsure...yet brave enough to barrel into the unexpected with no hesitation. I only wish I had his bravery. True, he is scared of silly things but aren't we all? He bounded out of his crate in the airport ready to take on the unexpected, to fight for a new beginning.
This little Galgo has taught me the meaning of forgiveness. Humans were cruel and ruthless to him but he is still willing to give humanity another chance. He has taught me the meaning of the phrase "live today like it is your last." He wakes up in the morning snuggling into me and bounces out of bed ready to greet the new day. He explores, he plays, he loves. Things all people should do. He shows admiration for all new things. He makes sure to greet each toy, each dog, each person with the same caring manner so that they do not forget he loves them. He appreciates every meal, every hug, every soft place. He takes nothing for granted.
If I never follow the advice of a person again I will be ok...Argos has shown me more in his time here than any person can ever explain.
