By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
RUDOLPH—Hank the Weimaraner has led a dogged life, but a good life.
The almost 15-year-old dog of the Amanda and John Taylor family has had his share of health scares that started the night they took him home.
The family arrived at the house with Weimaraner puppies for sale only to find a baby pool full of adorable, squiggly but rough-looking puppies “in a terrible living situation,” Amanda recalled.
Though their children liked some of the other puppies, she was drawn to the little dog that had nicks on his head but eyes full of love. She admitted wanting to rescue all 12 puppies to save them; in the end, she walked out with the stinky little puppy that just “looked like a Hank.”
He didn’t have much time to get familiar with the family home when he had a seizure on the first night. They rushed him to the veterinarian only to find out the seizure was caused by malnutrition.
“The person who had him said that the puppy had eaten, but he had the seizure because he had not eaten for quite some time,” she said. “It was terrifying.”
The little charcoal gray pup quickly became more than a pet. “He’s been a loyal friend, a goofy companion and the heart of our home for over a decade,” she said.
He was also the force behind Amanda’s decision to write a children’s book.
The idea grew out of his curiosity and sense of adventure. On walks down the Slippery Elm Trail, he would check out anything and everything.
“He would look back at me like, ‘What is this?’ and wait for me to answer him,” Amanda said.
One day, he surprised her by hitting the ice button on the refrigerator to get himself an ice cube, a trick he’d seen his family do a hundred times, she said.
She started writing notes about his life with their family. There were plenty of funny antics, but there were also several health scares that rocked their world—ear infections that led to deafness, bloat that nearly killed him, and an aggressive tumor that will be his final battle.
The more notes she wrote, the more she realized he had been through so much and needed to have his story shared.
For 10 years, she stockpiled her notes, always with the plan to write his story. Hank’s latest diagnosis—the cancerous tumor in his mouth—was the sign that Amanda needed to get the book written and published.
“We’ve had surgery twice to remove the tumor, but decided not to do it again,” she said. “The vet told us, if we hadn’t taken such good care of Hank, he wouldn’t have made it thus far.”
“You need to get this done,” a friend of Amanda’s told her as Hank’s health declined.
“I was scared to put it out there,” Amanda said. She didn’t have formal training or any confidence that children (or adults) would like her story. “But I knew it was something Hank and I had to do.”
The book is called “Doodles Adventures,” thanks to her husband’s pet name for Hank—“Hank or Doodle Dandy”—from the made-up song he always sings to his soulmate to the tune of “Yankee Doodle Dandy.”
“Doodles Adventures: New Family” is the first of what Amanda hopes is a series of 10 or more children’s books. She has used the notes from her many notebooks and written the content for a series of “Doodles Adventures” books. The remainder of the series will depend on the success of the first book, which she self-published and plans to sell on Amazon within a few weeks and in as many bookstores as she can get it into.
She started an Instagram page called Doodles Adventures, and her “bigger goal” is to have a cartoon about his life.
Amanda found Amy Rottinger, an Ohio-based artist, to illustrate the book to perfection. “She captured everything about Hank and his story beautifully,” Amanda said.
Within the first book and every book to follow, Hank’s lessons will be front and center.
“He’s such a blessing. I’ve never met a dog who could be so caring and learn the lessons he’s learned, and teach us lessons at the same time,” she said.
He had to learn that people can love him and it’s OK. “That was very hard for him because of where he started,” she said.
Amanda credits him with teaching the family boundaries, patience, strength and “the number one thing: to never give up.”
“With everything he’s been through, he never gives up. He’s the strongest soul I’ve ever met, and our family’s mutual love for him is forever.”
Each day he is with them is a gift, and she takes every opportunity to let him know how much he is loved. The first book, and every book thereafter, she hopes Hank’s story will inspire others to be kind and patient with rescue animals, and to appreciate the special bonds that can form between humans and their pets.
