WILLY AND STAN

Dachshund And Beagle

Squeaker specialist

When he was 2 years old, Willy bounded into the lives of Laura Lieck and her 9-year-old beagle, Stan.

“He sort of found us,” Lieck explains. “That’s what happens.”

The older dog, a calm and gentle soul, wasn’t threatened by the younger pup’s presence. In fact, he seemed to delight in it, Lieck says.

“They got along from day one. Stan didn’t mind Willy getting on the bed. He loved his little brother so much,” she says. “When Willy arrived, Stan seemed to become a little more youthful.”

Rather than lying on his back, as Stan might do, Willy often assumes the “Karate Kid position” in order to make his belly accessible to potential petters.

And his greatest gift is perhaps the deconstruction of dog toys. He doesn’t destroy the toy, but turns it into a flatter version of itself by carefully creating a small incision through which he withdraws they toy’s heart, otherwise known as the squeaker.

“First, you must silence the squeaker,” Lieck notes.

Then he finishes pulling the stuffing through the incision. And that is how Willy earned his nickname: “The Surgeon.” There was a time when Stan would step in to ensure that the stuffing, post surgery, was effectively torn to shreds.

“It was clearly a two-dog process,” Lieck recalls with a laugh.

Around Christmastime, Stan succumbed to heart complications. In the months leading up to the old dog’s death, Lieck says, Willy often tended to Stan, licking his coat and, in his own way, petting him.

“I think animals just understand what is happening.”

After his friend was gone, Willy spent a couple of days frantically going through Stan’s toys.

“He seemed so anxious,” Lieck says. “But after a couple days, he settled down and went on with his life” — a world of belly rubs, neighborhood walks and an abundant supply of squeaky toys.

And waiting for the day when, maybe, another young pup will join them.