Hokie Reynolds was a rescue pug hound mix from Blacksburg, Virginia. He was our “Virginia Tech'' dog, hence the name. I found him on Petfinder.com with a small rescue organization there, run by a lady named Cathy Higgins. He almost died of Parvo when he was 5- 6 weeks old – before we got him; I paid the vet bill for him so he ended up costing about the same as a French Bulldog.
He was great company. He liked to bark and howl when he felt good. He felt he should always go where he wanted to go even if the door was closed. He could and did scratch on doors until they opened (as you might guess this did affect the appearance of the woodwork on the doors). He also felt it was his duty to be with me when I went to the bathroom. Another task that he felt was his job was patrolling the perimeter of the yard & barking at every dog or person passing by. I had a vision of Hokie being a therapy dog; that was not to be as he didn’t like small children or large dogs. He was willful, self-focused, and not very obedient. His main life skill was to catch treats. He loved his food. He always met us at the door and told us that he missed us.
We love pugs. What attracts us to pugs is they have tons of personality. You can’t be depressed around a pug; they can literally smile. They are so ugly until they are cute. They are a sturdy breed. We fell in love with pugs in Mexico when we met Sultan, who managed to charm and mate a female Shar Pei. Pugs became part of us. I sign my notes to friends, “Pug Hugs.” We loved Hokie to pieces and he loved us back and we miss him tons. R.I.P. Hokie 12/1/2008-4/5/2023
Nick and Becky Reynolds have lived in Arlington for about 20 years. Becky is an acupuncturist in Ballston and a retired Foreign Service Nurse Practitioner. Nick has written two well received books, “Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy: Ernest Hemingway's Secret Adventures, 1935-1961,” and “Need to Know: World War II and the Rise of American Intelligence.”
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