My Dog Fudge

Everyone who has ever had a dog will have an "unbeatable" dog - their best friend. For me, I always thought that would be "Spotty" whom I had from the age of 4 until 22. We had other dogs of course but I never thought that another would take my heart in the same way - but Fudge did.

When Panda died around May 2011, we decided that we wanted to take a break from dogs as they are so heartbreaking. We also decided that the next dog that we did get was going to be my choice (as Jo had chosen Panda - who was the offspring of her mother's dog, Gizmo). We did a holiday and then shortly after we got back, we started looking for a new dog.

Our First Meeting

I had decided that I wanted a Pug. This was partially because the one in "Men in Black" had grabbed my attention years ago and partially because we'd recently seen one for real and Kaelan and I loved it. Jo had read about breathing issues with pugs and requested one with a longer nose. The hunt was on. We took my best friend Jose and Joanne's sister Catherine with us to look for a dog. After checking several pet shops, we finally found one at Rouse Hill (it's gone now). Fudge was in a little glass box by himself and was looking very lonely. When the pet shop lady opened the cage he more or less leapt into my arms. We talked about names and I think Jose (or Catherine) was the one who suggested Fudge. It seemed very apt.

Early Days

Fudge was a mixed breed, he was Pug x Jack Russell (a Jug) and often the Jack Russell side of him would come out in "crazy racehorse" behaviour where he would run around the room and run sideways along the tops of the lounge chairs. He loved chewing things with his most expensive chew no doubt being the wiring in our treadmill. He was also a great help when getting undressed. As soon as I'd lift my foot to take a sock off, he'd be there, ripping them off my feet - this eventually progressed to underwear in an amusing but highly dangerous set of situations. Fortunately I never got bitten in a bad place.

From the very beginning, there was something quite different about fudge. He loved soft toys and often needed to have one in his mouth to fall asleep. Jo said that that was probably because he'd been taken from his mother too early. He used to sneak into the boys rooms to grab their favourite stuffed animals and no matter how much they tried to hide them, he always used to find them. Eventually we started buying fudge his own "stuffies" and he loved them - especially the squeaky "hedgehog" which we had to buy several of because he'd get so upset when they broke. We used to keep all of his toys in a wooden box with heart shaped cutouts on the side. Sometimes Fudge would just stand there with his head inside a cutout looking at all of his toys. He used to love being given a chance to choose which toy he wanted to play with and would often go searching for a particular one.

Another thing that fudge did that surprised us was that he learned how to take the tops off coke bottles. We gave him the bottles to play with but he would unscrew the lids with his mouth and then lie on his back holding the bottle in his paws and drink the leftover coke. He also took to raiding the bins for bottles and scraps.

Fudge was always full of fun and I remember taking him to the beach for the first time. He loved digging for crabs in the sand and when we went out swimming, he tried to keep up with us. At one point, it got too deep, so he climbed onto the back of a random swimmer for a ride. She was quite shocked but it was very funny too.

Fudge was never shy with other dogs either. When we looked after Jo's brother's dog "Chops", Fudge used to grab his little bump of a tale and do the "Elvis Presley" gyrations on it - even though he had to stand on his hind legs to reach. At dog parks, he'd often run up to bigger dogs and try to play - and one time, in his old age, he tried to hump a dingo.

The Rock

We had Fudge through some of the most difficult times in our life. When Jo's brother, Paul passed, it was fudge that we all turned to for comfort. He used to know who needed comfort the most and would jump up on the lounge to cuddle in beside Jo - or when one of the boys was having a tough time, he'd sneak up into their bedroom and curl up with them.

When we lost Jo's dad, it was fudge that broke our hearts by greeting her mum and then running outside looking for him. Fudge was always a great comfort to Jo's mum who called him "Fudgey-wudge" and would always feed him under the table. Fudge used to greet her with squeals of delight.

When we lost Jo's mum, Fudge was there to cuddle with Jo and he was there when we were trying to fix her house up. Looking back, it feels like Fudge just stuck around to get us from the start of the difficult times to the end.

Old Dog , New Tricks

As he grew older, Fudge became better behaved but never lost his cheeky streak. He learned new tricks and would bang his food bowl loudly to get our attention when he wanted to be fed. He could open most doors and would open the glass sliding door to let himself out. He couldn't be contained and didn't like to sleep downstairs. He'd wait until everyone was asleep, then muscle up to the doors, break through and sneak upstairs into one of the boys bedrooms.

Fudge developed a bit of a fixation on lizards and he was always hunting them. We tried to discourage it but sadly he did kill a few big ones. Once, Jo attempted to intervene and Fudge threw the lizard at her and it terrified her as it slid down her chest. He was always hanging around the box near the pool and near the bins because that was where the biggest lizards were to be found.

Fudge loved the car and hated being left at home. We left him when we went on a couple of long holidays and although he had company and lots of walks, I don't think he ever fully recovered from our absence. The second holiday ended in October 2019 and we came back to COVID lockdown. He never got left alone again but would stress out even if we just went to the shops. Whenever we came home, he would make a noise that sounded like he was being strangled. In the end, we took him pretty much everywhere.

If you grabbed your keys, Fudge would be right by your side all the way to the car. He loved sitting in the front seat and watching out the window. Even when Kaelan was learning to drive, Fudge was in the back seat.

Fudge also became a master of walking and didn't need a leash. He would stop at the curb. If he saw other dogs, he would stop and watch from afar if we told him to. He was very well behaved. I always called him doggie when we were out on walks, so that other people (or rangers) wouldn't learn his name. He responded more to doggie than he did to Fudge.

Around 2022, Fudge started to slow down. He lost his sight suddenly but managed to keep moving around - albeit with a few more bumps and scrapes than usual. He was still going upstairs but would simply come down a couple of steps and sit at the top when we went down. He'd wait to see if we were having food down there before coming down. He always expected food and would come to my desk and touch me with his paw or his nose (knowing that I was deaf and wouldn't hear his whimpers). He always let us know when it was dinner time or break time. If Jo put a chicken soup in the microwave he'd magically appear by her side ready for his share - and if you ate a yoghurt in his presence, he'd be there as soon as you put the spoon down.

In early June 2022, Fudge weakened to the point where he was unable to keep water down. We took him to be put down at the vet at Umina Beach. Jo and I kept our hands on him and talked to him as he passed.