Remembering Phineas on his 15th birthday and 14th Gotcha Day
September 18th will forever be my favorite day of the year. Today is my dog Phinny’s 15th birthday and 14th Gotcha Day. My first without him as he once was. His first over the rainbow bridge. In his honor, I made donations to Animal Care Centers of New York City to help homeless pets in our city and to White Whiskers Senior Dog Sanctuary near Buffalo, New York to help homeless senior dogs with medical issues.
14 years ago today I took a train to a shelter in Harriman, New York to rescue a dachshund that New York Dachshund Rescue told me about. I had been talking to them for a few months about rescuing an adult black and tan male dachshund because I’d heard adult dogs who are black are less likely to get adopted than others. (This is actually not true though at the time it was a persistent online story.) They told me there was a little guy who matched my description in a very underfunded shelter. Even if I wasn’t sure if I was ready to adopt, if I could just go get him they’d help me find him a permanent home. I agreed. They didn’t even have a picture to send me much less any information about him other than his breed, sex, and color. His name was Beasley.
As I walked from the train station to the shelter, I was nervous. Was I ready to have a dog on my own in New York City? I had a demanding job. I’d never had a dog whom I was solely responsible for. I had a small apartment with not-so-pleasant neighbors. There were a million reasons to not get a dog and only one reason to get one — I really wanted a dog.
To calm down, I reminded myself that I had only committed to getting him out of this very underfunded shelter and fostering him. If it didn’t work out, we would find him a good home and I would have helped him on his journey. I walked into the lobby and said to the woman at the desk, “I’m here to get Beasley.” She sighed, and went into the back.
Less than a minute later, a little black and tan wire-haired dachshund wiggled out into the lobby. That was it. Love at first sight. This was my dog. I picked him up and he happily gave me a smooch as if to say, “I’m so glad you found me. Let’s go!”
“You want him?” the woman asked.
“I’ll definitely take him,” I said.
“200 dollars. Cash or check.”
I wrote a check for $200. She handed me an envelope with some health papers and we stepped out into the world together. Me and my dog, Phineas. We never looked back. I miss you every day, bud. Happy birthday. Happy Gotcha Day. Thank you for being my boy all these years.