BRANDY WAS ALONE.
Though she had met her fair share of people. Her first owner? A family that wasn’t equipped to manage a German wirehaired pointer’s fathomless vigor. Her second, and possibly third? A big question mark. Her latest? An outdoorsman, who’d no use for a dog that wouldn’t hunt.
Therein lay Brandy’s great problem. She was gun shy; too frightened by the report of a firearm to be of any use around one, for reasons nobody could say. The outdoorsman, having discerned this, had been contemplating doing something dreadful to Brandy.
And then – for the first time in her two years of life – Brandy was lucky. She broke loose from the outdoorsman's place and wandered toward a bar, where she was tied up until somebody could come to get her.
“There I was, doing some remodeling for a local bar during the pandemic, when I came across this wirehair; beautiful, but clearly not doing well,” recounted Joe Haeg. “I took notice right away because that’s my all-time favorite breed. Smart. Loyal. Tenacious. Good around children. A fur and feather dog in full, which can track, point, and retrieve on water and land alike.
“After learning about Brandy’s situation, I couldn’t just walk away. I’d owned a dozen wirehairs before then. I swore that Ziggy would be my last. But there was something too touching about that skinny, shaky dog to ignore. She reminded me of 12 of the greatest friends I’ve ever had, I suppose. I almost named her ‘Lucky 13’ right there.”
Upon evoking similar sentiments from Joe’s wife Mary Jo, Brandy became one of the Haegs. But there was still a problem. Although he values a dog’s life inestimably higher than Brandy’s previous owner, Joe is an outdoorsman as well. What is a hunter to do with a gun dog who doesn’t like guns?
“I decided to try rehabilitating Brandy,” said Joe. “We started out slow: visiting a game farm so she could get excited about birds, and parking outside the Minnesota Horse and Hunt Club to listen to gunfire through rolled-up windows. With lots of comforting and reassurance, Brandy grew calmer and calmer in a gun dog’s natural environment. It wasn’t long until I could fire a 28 gauge shotgun right behind her without sending her into a tizzy. And before I knew it, she wasn’t remotely bothered by a louder, more powerful 12 gauge, either.
“My friends said it couldn’t be done, but those powerful wirehair instincts won out in the end. Brandy became one of the greatest hunting dogs I’ve ever had.
“But she’s also much more than that. She’s a lover, who has to be right by you (and ideally on top of you) at all times. That’s probably pent-up loneliness from spending so much of her puppyhood penned up in a kennel. She’s a buddy, who loves playing fetch with my grandkids, and dances around and snatches their hats off their heads while they’re sledding. She rides around with me in my truck. She supervises me whenever I grill. She wakes me up if I have the audacity to try sleeping past six. And when she gets that mustache all messy, and then gives me a great big kiss? Well … that's just part of loving a wirehair.”
"Brandy is incredibly sweet," said Dr. Amanda Haeg, Joe's daughter. "She'll take any opportunity to be petted and loved. I took her camping once, and she slowly, sneakily leaned closer and closer into me until she'd somehow ended up fully in my lap – and she is not a small dog.
"I adopted my own cat, Stealth, 17 years ago. I treasure every cuddle and purr from her, too. Our family tradition of welcoming pets into our hearts is why I'm so excited to host our eighth annual Motion Is Life 5K/1-mile walk-or-run fundraiser this year in support of Pet Haven. They're the oldest foster-based pet rescue in Minnesota, and they do incredible work with harder cases like Brandy once was.
“Pet Haven is going to make this year’s fundraiser the first to include a live adoption event! Come meet some amazing dogs in need of forever homes, and learn about equally amazing cats in need of the same.”
(Learn about; not meet. Cats do not like events.)
“Whether you’re as passionate about loving and supporting animals as my dad and I are – or just want to connect with our community during a fun, completely noncompetitive outing – I welcome you to Cadence Chiropractic’s Motion Is Life fundraiser on Saturday, October 3rd at 10am,” Dr. Haeg invited. “Feel free to bring your own dog along. Brandy will be there to point the way!” CadenceChiroMN.com
"She’s a lover, who has to be right by you (and ideally on top of you) at all times."