A couple of months ago I had to say goodbye to a dear friend. My Dog Mr. Harvey Woo.
Harvey was half Pit-Bull and half Rhodesian Ridge-back. A very beautiful combination. He was rescued from a dog fighting ring in Oakland and unfortunately was never able to socialize with other canines due to his unpredictable, explosive and devastating aggressive tendencies.
Harvey was rescued by a hippy who called him Hare (like Hare Christna) but that definitely wouldn't do in THIS house so the next best phonetic alternative was Harvey. Like Harvey Keitel. The Woo part of his name was stolen from Harvey Wu's place on 5th street @ Folsom. Harvey Wu is/was famous amongst the bike messenger community for cashing their checks and giving them "store credit". AKA the bike messenger Buddha.
Harvey's life was good but restricted one. He was always a very affectionate dog with human beings and gave and received a lot of love. The outdoors were a very different story however, whereas we would usually have to walk off the sidewalk to avoid other dog walkers, small children and the elderly. Dog parks were always to be completely avoided.
Harvey's restricted life wasn't due to my lack of trying to socialize him. I did try on numerous occasions but the outcomes were always very bad. I had also been told that there were various dog schools that specialize in retraining dogs to not be dog aggressive but most of those options required time and money... neither of which I had much of during those times.
Numerous attempts were made to try to socialize Harvey. None of these were successful and all of them were bloody. Vet bills always had to be paid afterwards... always for OTHER dogs. Never for Harvey.
One of these such attempts was with my good friend Newmans dog "Niko". Newman and I tried to slowly integrate and for a couple of weeks things seemed to be OK. Then on one friday evening I took Niko to take care of him while Newman went away for the weekend. I happened to be painting my apartment RED that particular weekend. All the furniture was in different places and so was Harvey and Nikos food. The doorbell rang and some friends of mine came in. Not but one or two minutes later Harvey attacked Niko with a ferocity I hadn't seen before. Niko squealing, Harvey growling, my friends screaming... I then learned that Harvey had Niko by the eye socket with his longest canine tooth. I beat him and beat him with my fists to no avail. I kicked him as hard as I could, pulled his tail and still nothing. Realizing that Niko would soon be dead if I didn't get Harvey off of him, my friend Ben passed me a Hammer and I began tapping Harvey on the skull harder and harder until he finally let go. At one point I WAS ready to kill Harvey to save Niko.
Needless to say more vet bills and some psychological trauma would ensue. I didn't know what to say to Newman about Niko. I could tell he wanted to kill Harvey and I actually couldn't decide if I should put him down myself. Harvey was my "road dog". He used to sleep on the bed with me. I kicked him off the bed at nights. I felt betrayed.
Time went by and Newman and I actually strengthened our friendship from that event. Newman is a painter and painted a scenario of the aftermath of that night. (see above).
After some passing of time I eventually forgave Harvey and he would continue to sleep on the bed with me but his walks and social life would become even MORE restrictive. Kind of like a HAPPY prisoner who gets to walk the yard.
Years later I had to put Harvey down from cancer that had spread to his neurological system. Niko is still alive and well. I feel the loss everyday I come home. It's easier and easier but still hits me hard from time to time. He was my closest friend for 13 years.
