Havoc was born September 18th 1993 to 'Magnum
of Pontiac Lodge' and 'Sullivan's Canadian Belle'. It was some 5 weeks
later that I first saw him...or rather he saw me ...I had picked up one
of his sisters...he was not having that and made a beeline for me and then
demanded all of my attention. I had wanted a medium sized Labrador
...this was a compromise with my husband who  wanted
a BIG dog ...but labs aren't too big I figured. 'Course when confronted
with 9, absolutely beautiful pups I failed to take into account the size
of the parents and the fact that they were hunting stock ... much more
muscled than show stock...something my darling Mitch did note but merely
grinned about (and also, take note, he said nothing to warn me!!!) The
other thing I didn't realize is that these pups were only five weeks old
....they looked at least 10 weeks. Too late, decision made! .... and when
we finally got him home he grew ...and he grew ...and grew ...and grew...and
grew...till he was almost 100lbs of pure muscle. Thank goodness he
was a good natured dog ...who, while cunning, mischievous and stubborn
...more or less did what he was told....except in one area ...his love
of roaming during his youth. How did he manage to get out? Never
the same way twice ...under the fence...over the fence ...through the fence.
If he was outside on his own I'd attach a chain, too... and he'd
take that with him ...or as happened, he'd figure out how to open it! He
became pretty well known in our neighbourhood ...thank goodness it was
a closely knit community. I think his many escape attempts and the
subsequent chases were legendary ...especially the time, to evade capture,
he got into a neighbours car as she was cleaning it out. The school
children grew to know him, too, as one of  his
favourite stops was the local school ...why do dogs love kids so much?
I'd be on my way to find him when I'd spot a tiny child manfully hanging
on to his collar bringing him home...and Havoc would be letting him!
What a relief he eventually outgrew this predilection. With a dog who was
already the talk of the place and a source of amusement it was one small
step to put him into his very own cartoon strip. Which he is the star of
to this day and which runs in a small paper.
1999 was not a banner year for Havoc, as many
of the MGfans know he took a tumble on the basement stairs and landed in
such a way that he twisted his back, popped a couple of vertebrae and bled
into his spinal column with the result he was paralysed from the waist
down (if dog's can  be
said to have waists). It was a pretty hairy time (or not as you can see
from the extreme 'shave job' he was given!)and all that could be done was
spinal surgery that might not work or put him to sleep. Well, we
had to try ...and as luck would have it he's made a pretty good recovery.
He still has a bit of nerve damage ..and his left leg limps a little but
he doesn't seem to notice the deficit and is as loveable as ever. The nursing
staff wouldn't agree ...he was the worst patient and wouldn't let anyone
near him unless I was around so I pretty much had to stay with him all
the time and they released him from intensive care as quickly as they could
...they wouldn't believe he was really a sweetheart! The first few  days
home he was still paralysed but you could see feeling returning ...and
we had to support him on his walks with a sheet under his belly as his
back leg just dragged (hoisting a 100lb dog around is not easy!) but 5
days later he moved the left of his own accord into a walking position
...you could hear our whoops in SA I bet (how about it Sonja?) His cartoon
celebrity pretty much guaranteed that the local neighbourhood were enquiring
about him ....and total strangers were stopping as they drove by to see
how he was faring....but more  touchingly
the whole time this had been going on the MGFans list were being
a wonderful bunch ...sending cards and letters of support and asking for
regular updates. I guess they'd got to know Havoc through the months as
I burbled on about him and his various trials and tribulations (nose stuck
to the door in the cold, the skunk incident,....and I don't even want to
mention what happened to him when he sat on the ice in sub-zero temperatures
this winter! He does seem to be pretty accident prone!) so Gin suggested
he be the Official MGfans Mascot and as others were in support that's how
he became our mascot ...and why he features in so many tall-tales.
I guess the only thing that sums it up is
....I'm a nut for my dog!!! (but then, he IS the best dog in the world!!!)
Marnie
~happiness is a warm puppy~
Charles Schultz
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