Turbo the Love Machine

 

Turbo at 4 weeks

About 10 years ago I began looking for another husky to join our pack. Our Coyote, probably the most beautiful Siberian who had joined our family, had recently passed. We were down to two Sibes, Bailey and Ziva. Three huskies always seemed to be the perfect number for us.

Recently I had seen some pictures of Siberians who had Piebald coats, mostly White with Black splotches. They were very striking looking dogs and not your typical Black & White Siberian. They weren't rare but there weren't many of them out there.

Being a engineer, I'm pretty good at researching things. I quickly found a legit breeder in Southern Maryland who bred Piebald's. And as chance would have it, they had a litter of puppies soon to be available. An application and a phone conversation later, we had access to the puppy pics. Once I saw the picture above, I was in love and knew he was the one.

First car ride, heading home in Maggie's lap

Settling into his crate for the first night. As a preview of what our life together
would be like, he didn't whine or scream, just was a happy and tired puppy.

He was quickly adopted by the pack and fit right in. Bailey and Ziva indulged his puppy playfulness with good grace.

Turbo joined me in my home office while I was working during the day. Puppies play hard, and then crash, repeating the cycle.

Sleeping under my office desk - a typical Working Dog

My dogs need to be good canine citizens, which means obedience training. Since the dogs are technically "my dogs" as they interact with me the most, we have Maggie do the formal obedience training as to get into their heads. He was a star pupil, learning his skills easily. Unlike the rest of the goofballs here, I can't remember a time when I got mad at him. Now probably when he was a puppy, he destroyed stuff. But he was for the rest of his life, a well behaved and happy dog.

Maggie and Turbo at Dog Training School
Who's training who?

My favorite time was the morning. I'd  let dogs in from taking care of their morning business and they'd run into the kitchen, looking for their breakfast. I would hold back in the hallway, 20 secs later Turbo would come running back. He'd rear up on his hind legs, and bounce down the hall into my arms. I'd give him hugs and rubs and scratches. I called this recharging his Love Battery so he could return it later throughout the day.

Turbo's bowl, bought on a trip to Prague

The pack would hang with me for my breakfast which took place after I have fed them. Obviously there was an ulterior motive here, the remnants of my breakfast plate. I have an expresso machine and make a latte every morning. While the 3 crazies would squabble over the plate, Turbo would wait patiently for my coffee mug with the leftover coffee and foam. This was his special treat and he wouldn't share with Stormy no matter how much he tried.

Sorry Stormy, but this is Turbo's mug.

A job that he took seriously was Official Greeter. Whenever I came back from somewhere I could always count on that shortly later a smiling tail wagging dog would be at the gate looking for me. The others? Not so much. Usually they were on the porch. If I was lucky I'd get Neo to look at me and that's it. But not with Turbo. He'd be right there either jumping up or sticking his head through the bars of the gate. "Welcome Home Mom! I missed you!" Luckily he passed that tradition on to Stormy puppy.

If you buy me a beer I'll share with you the story of Turbo and the Chicken Incident. Enough said :)

Starting last year, his breath stank. Vet said it was probably just getting old. I purchased some Greenies dental treats, in the shape of little green toothbrushes. Turbo loved these and they got rid of his bad breath. He grew to expect these. My nightly routine before going to bed was to throw the dogs outside so they could do whatever they needed before bedtime. Turbo passed on going out and headed to the kitchen gate as he knew where the toothbrushes were stored. While the others were out, Turbo would be there, sitting just outside the kitchen. Silent, tag wagging and staring at me. We both knew what was required. He would gently take the dental toothbrush - he was the only dog I didn't have to count my fingers when giving treats - wag his tail, and retreat to one of the dog beds. I'd bring the other dogs in and they would head up to the bedroom while Turbo spent the night downstairs, happily moving from one dog bed to another.

The Kitchen Gate - Nighttime it would just be Turbo

We called him the "Love Machine" because he was the sweetest dog. While the others are bouncy and flashy, he was the quiet, submissive one. But he loved everybody. While out and about, he could detect if you were a dog lover and quietly get close to you. If you gave him some scratches, he would melt into you, close his eyes and smile. You could feel the love pouring out of him. 

He rarely complained, always deferred to the other dogs. He was quite happy being at the bottom of the pack hierarchy. He frustrated me at times as he wouldn't go through doors or gates if they weren't fully open. Unlike my other dogs who would smack a door with their paw or give it a hip check to open it, he would sit and patiently wait for me to open it for him. 

Like a previous dog, Saber, as the low dog in the pack hierarchy, he was part of the pack sometimes - when he wanted to be - and other times ignored them. All the other dogs sleep upstairs in the bedroom, but not Turbo. Peace and quiet were his as he got the entire downstairs to himself. In his younger days he would often spend the night outside. I'd find him behind the house, on top of the hill, just watching over his domain. Oh, but if I tried to give the other dogs some treats, or god forbid, go on a walk without him .... boy would I hear about it. The others are rowdy critters and now and again, even Turbo wanted to join in on the fun.

We're going hiking!! Aroooo!!!

My favorite thing to do with him: If I saw him looking at me and he's sitting up, I'd step over him and put him between my legs. I would then reach down and rub and scratch his chest. He would close his eyes, lean back and melt into me. I could feel the love pouring off him. It was magical and will be missed.

My Instagram Beer Model
10 seconds later I'd be over him and dispensing chest rubbies

I know I'll never be able to totally forget him, he made sure of that. One of his oddities was the ability to shed prodigious amounts of fur. A chance cuddle, a few pats on the head, no matter what, any encounter resulted in little white hairs being transferred to you. No matter how much daily grooming, or spa visits, any contact resulted in you carrying a bit of him away with you. Originally frustrating, we came to call it just Turbo dispensing "Magical Fibers of Love" and accepted it. I'm sure my clothes, furniture, cars will continue to surface those fibers for years, reminding us of the time he spent with us.
 

Magical Fibers of Love ❤

I know you shouldn't have favorites. While I love all my dogs, and they all are special to me, Turbo was my favorite. He was such a sweet dog and brought nothing but Love into the world. Losing him is putting a huge hole in my heart. I'm so thankful for having 10 years with him. I miss him terribly.

Godspeed my friend.

Turbo Love Machine - born 8/23/13  passed 11/7/23