In my last post, I introduced you to the founder of my pack, Misha. Now I’d love for you to meet Murphy, my sweet Schnoodle who turns 6 at the end of April #TaurusKing

During that first year of the pandemic, I was worried about Misha’s lack of opportunities to socialize with other dogs. He has always been super social with people and other dogs, but throughout 2020, he spent a lot of time cooped up at home with just me…and I could sense he was getting a bit depressed. So I activated my Petfinder profile again and started the process of finding him a BFF.

Apparently, the Universe sends me my soul dogs via other dogs. I reached out to a local rescue to meet this tiny little terrier name Bucky, who from his description seemed like he might be a good match for Misha…but the rescue got their wires crossed and sent me to the wrong foster, who had a different terrier in her care. She introduced Misha and I to all the other dogs she was fostering first, and they were all great dogs, but Misha and I hadn’t really felt a click with any of them. Literally right before I went to leave, she was like, “OH! I have one more for you to meet. He’s just the sweetest, but he’s kind of a mess.” And she brings out Murphy, who was initially named Flou but re-named Marty by the rescue.

Flou -> Marty’s picture on the adoption website before his glow up.

And MAN was Murphy a mess. He had been pulled by the rescue along with I think like 40 other dogs from the euthanasia list at his shelter in Deming, New Mexico. Schnoodle puppies from breeders can retail for up to $2000 each, but unfortunately, rescues are seeing more and more "designer doodles" end up in shelters, alongside other trendy breeds like Huskies.

Above is his photo from the rescue's website. He had been living as a stray for quite some time, and in addition to his fur being 10-inches long in some places, he was dangerously matted and covered in dirt, cactus spines, dead bugs, and his own poop. He also had a bad case of tapeworm, a horrible case of kennel cough, and mild hip dysplasia. The rescue initially thought he was a girl (hence the first name Flou) because he was so matted that he physically couldn't lift his leg to pee. Once they realized he was a boy, they changed his name to Marty.

He was also severely malnourished and weighed barely 20 lbs. But, despite his physical state, I just knew he belonged with me. When I met him, I crouched down to let him sniff me and instead, he leaned his head into my chest with the full weight of his little body. It was clear that, on a soul level, we'd met before and he seemed to be saying "Finally! You found me!" I decided NEW LIFE, NEW NAME and named him Murphy (I LOVE the movie Interstellar and had just rewatched it, which is probably where his name came from) and decided to formally adopt him.

Misha was SO PUMPED when I brought Murphy home, but because Murph was so sick and dirty, I initially had to keep them separated for Misha’s health, which Misha HATED. He sat right outside that gate just to be as close to Murph as possible.

That first night, I spent over seven hours cutting the mats out of his fur with a pair of hair shears, giving him bath after bath until the water finally ran clean, and holding his head in my lap as he slept. Throughout the night, he would wake up disoriented, frantically looking for me, and only fell back asleep once he physically saw me.

Murphy is actually Misha’s dog LOL They are so sweet together.

I also waited until Murphy had fully decompressed to do a chart rectification to determine his birth date. After consulting with the vet and getting our hands on his minimal medical records, we were able to narrow down a probable year of birth, and I determined his most likely sun & moon sign based on his personality. And using that info, I determined his Mammalian Design.

In Mammalian Design, Murphy is a Splenic Projector, which makes total sense. My guess is that his defined spleen and Gate 28 activation were probably an asset to him during his time as a stray.

Understanding that Murphy is a Splenic Projector has made so many of his behaviors make sense. He is a very safety-focused pup. For example, when he first came home, Murphy re-defined the term "velcro dog." Part of him had to be touching me at all times. But with time, patience, and love, he decompressed and after about 6 months, he could sit in the same room as me but without touching me (!!), and after about a year together, he was able to sleep in a room I wasn't in for the first time (!!!). Learning about Murphy's design, especially reading about his Gate 28 Earth activation, has been super supportive in helping me to help him feel safe in his furever home.

After shaving him down when he first came home, I booked him in with an amazing groomer and played around with coat length until we found the right style. Here he is in his FLOOFY era.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be introducing you to all three of my doggos and teaching you a bit about Mammalian Design using their charts. Drop your questions in the comments section!!!

Meet the Doggos of @humandesignfordoggos | Meet Murphy 🐾