Hank Mauer, aka Hankie Bear, has been the center of our world for the past 6 years. He’s the being who brought us together during Covid and the one who prepared us for life with a baby. He wore a bow tie at our elopement and was the only one besides our officiant to witness us get married in the redwoods. He’s been our adventure buddy on hundreds of hikes and snuggled me throughout my pregnancy when I was feeling sick. He’s taught us to be more patient and understanding, and we’ve loved him deeply over the past 6 years.
Our baby is now 1.5 years old and is running, climbing, and jumping around. We’ve been working our hardest with Hank to help him accept his younger brother, and to teach our baby about Hank’s boundaries. It’s been heartbreaking for us to admit, but Hank is very stressed by having a little unpredictable creature around the house. We’ve met with trainers (who have confirmed that Hank’s anxiety around a toddler is incredibly normal) and have been trying what feels like everything, but if we’re honest with ourselves, Hank needs to be with a family that doesn’t have toddlers. Ultimately, we just want Hankie to be happy, calm, and comfortable.
We’re reaching out to our community to see if there might be a family who can love Hankie as much as we have, listen to his needs, and work with him to feel calm and confident. If so, we’d love to provide details on Hank’s needs to make sure we can find the right fit for him.
Basic information:
Hank is 7 years old
He is a husky, cattle dog, shepherd mix
He is 45 lbs
He is neutered
Summary of Hankie’s personality:
· Hank is generally an easygoing pup. He loves to sleep in, go for a nice long hike, and then sunbathe until the sun sets.
· Hiking and playing with his pals at doggy daycare are times when he seems the most free and relaxed.
· He loves to be around people. He’ll lay by your feet while you work and ask for snuggles before bedtime.
· Hank goes most places with us and does very well in the car and on adventures to dog-friendly restaurants, parks, etc!
· Hankie is in great health. He’s 7 years old and we’ve worked our hardest to make sure he gets the exercise and stimulation he needs each day. He doesn’t ask for tons of exercise, but we really like for him to have it to manage his anxieties (see below!)
· Hankie would likely do well either as a solo pup or with a sweet, calm, gentle dog sibling. He would also likely do well either with just adults, or with a family with older kids who can respect his boundaries.
Summary of Hankie’s needs:
The biggest one is isolation anxiety— Hankie struggles to be home alone. (It doesn’t need to be us in particular, he’s ok as long as a person is with him). We’ve worked with a trainer on this for many years and he’s improved, but he needs someone willing to continue this process with him.
We began working with a specialized isolation anxiety trainer on this within a month of adopting him 6 years ago, doing progressive desensitization training sessions for 2 years. He’s made a ton of progress, but when he moves to a new home he’ll need help to build his confidence back up.
Hankie can have leash frustration when passing others dogs, especially dogs bigger than him (he’s had a couple bad experiences with very large dogs and it’s a fear response). We’ve worked on lots of training for this and it has gotten remarkably better, but it’s a matter of carrying treats with you and redirecting him if he’s feeling anxious.
We are committed to navigating this process with our dear Hankie with all of our love, care, and intention to find him the perfect home.
This is a courtesy post. Hankie Bear is not a Muttville dog. If you are interested in adopting Hankie Bear and want to learn more about him, please contact: jake@jakemauer.com or hello@ashleymauer.com.
Posted on 08.15.26
