Flip, homedog, our Good Boy!

In September 2024, our dog Flip showed signs of disability, in sporadic and different ways. One difficulty appeared, then disappeared, then something different affected him. After each episode he seemed to recover. We consulted with our vet who couldn't identify a specific cause, only suggesting that an expensive series of x-rays might indicate causes.

On Saturday morning October 5, I found him lying, unresponsive and incontinent on the kitchen floor. We took him to a vetinary hospital where they found him unresponsive and beyond help.

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We brought Flip into our Hill House Home mid October 2012 from Three Rivers Rescue, a reliable local rescue run by Kim who finds dogs and cats to rehome. Over the years Maura had previously adopted three dogs from Kim.

Flip, a very recognizable Cardigan Welsh Corgi (short legs!) Australian Shepherd mix, was found running down a road in rural Wapato, just south of Yakima. When Kim selects her dogs she usually takes them out for a walk to see how socialized they are and this gorgeous boy just flipped out on her, wrapping his leash around her legs, tossing himself over on his back, crying in fear. Knowing he would be a hard placement she took him back to the shelter rep and said, No, I don’t think so. The tech said, Well, we’re killing him tomorrow, and that was enough for Kim to say, okay, she’d take him, and on the spot named him Flip.

Flip spent the first three months hiding under her stereo cabinet. He was at Three Rivers for almost a year.

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Read more history below the photos.

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 Flip (continued) 

Flip spent the first three month sat Three Rivers hiding under a stereo cabinet. He was there for almost a year when Maura called to see if Kim had any special dogs for her husband (I had never had a dog growing up in Texas). She said, yes, I have the perfect dog. Flip was still very fearful – he was petrified of being outside and Kim cautioned us that we had to ignore him when he was out doing his business or he wouldn’t even pee! We told Kim that we really wanted him but were going to Victoria then Vancouver Canada for a ten-day vacation and she said she would watch him while we were gone. It was hard to drop him off after two weeks of bonding. Flip looked so sad and confused. We didn’t quite have the best holiday experience as I came down with a miserable cold the first day in Victoria, then as I was recovering Maura woke up sick in Vancouver and we decided to just go home early and retrieve our dog

We told Kim that we really wanted him but were going to Victoria then Vancouver Canada for a ten-day vacation and she said she would watch him while we were gone. It was hard to drop him off after two weeks of bonding. Flip looked so sad and confused. We didn’t quite have the best holiday experience as I came down with a miserable cold the first day in Victoria, then as I was recovering Maura woke up sick in Vancouver and we decided to just go home early and retrieve our dog.

When he came to us he was a shy and timid soul who was severely frightened by loud noses, especially fireworks. He was not used to being touched. Since I was retired and home all day I had the time to really pay attention to him. At first Flip didn't seem to ask for anything, appearing passive. But over the years he began to quietly let us know when he wanted something.

When we got home from Canada and immediately went over to Kim’s to pick Flip up we were sad to see that we had lost ground and that he had reverted back to the petrified boy crammed against Kim’s screen door wanting to get back into her house rather than get into our car. But we soon noticed as we drove the mile up our bumpy gravel road that he had jumped up onto the seat from his hiding place on the floor and really perked up, poking his nose out the partially opened window to smell the trees out the open window. He wasn’t wagging his tail but he was definitely interested in where we were going. When we got him out of the car he actually tugged on his leash to get to the front door. Then inside, remarkably, he took off like a crazy dog zooming through the rooms, up the stairs, down again, obviously so very happy to be back home. We were sure that he thought we returned him because we didn’t want him which was so very far from the truth. We already loved this quirky little guy.

Flip always hated being on a leash, something he never ever got over. He preferred being outside on his own, without restraint. On our vet’s advice, about a month after he came to us, we took him to a dog behaviorist to see what we could do to help Flip live his best life. It didn’t take the dog trainer long to figure out that Flip was a homeboy. He was not going to be the kind of dog that liked traveling, or dog parks, or random car rides. We could always trust that he wouldn't roam and when he would venture off the property it wasn’t far and he was never gone for any length of time. We never needed to go looking or him. Sometimes, he wouldn’t even walk with us to the end of our long driveway, preferring to just sit and patiently wait for us to return.

About two years in our house I took him to a vet for annual shots. When we arrived home, he did something that he never did again. I was lying on the sofa under an afghan and Flip jumped up and lay down beside me. At that moment he accepted consolation. This was the first of rare couch comforts that he took - he didn't like to be up on sofas, much preferring his own comfortable tidy bed.  It seemed that his attitude was shifting. The only other time we noted this behavior was when we took him to a Thanksgiving family gathering at a cabin up by Crystal Mountain. He jumped up on the couch for a short while to sit with us. Just reassuring himself that it was a safe space we guess.

The most satisfying thing about Flip is that over the years he became more "normal," showing pleasure, calm and even excitement, especially for food. Mostly he held a dignified pose just sitting outside surveying his kingdom. He loved living on Indian Hill. Since Flip was part Corgi and part Shepherd, both strong herding breeds, it was not surprising that he would intently watch our neighbor’s sheep and goats who would come right up to the fence to nibble on the laurel and blackberry leaves growing through the wire. Flip would charge the fence and try to intimidate them, but the ram and Billy goat would have none of that, and bash the fence back at him, sometimes denting it. Flip was never deterred though. Once one of the sheep came rambling down our driveway lured by the abundance of untouched wild growth. Maura heard Flip whine-cry and stuck her head out the door to see him confronting the ram up close and personal, but not so happy since there was now no barrier between them! She hustled Flip back inside and ran next door to tell them to come retrieve the visiting sheep.

We learned after his death that he was our four-legged, continuous roomba! We often saw him smiffing around the edges of the floor and on the rugs. At that time we didn't realize how effective he was! After, crumbs of all sorts accumulated in every room!