Bentley (left) is looked after by Murphy (right) since Bentley has epilepsy. They live with West Seattle Real Estate agent Joey McCune who calls Murphy, 'The love of my life' though she's quick to include Bentley, plus her husband and two children!
Joey McCune is a West Seattle Real Estate agent with RE/MAX in the junction and has two dogs, both Havanese but they are not just companions. Murphy, the younger dog, looks out for the older dog Bentley because Bentley suffers from severe seizures. McCune tells the story best herself.
She writes, "Bentley is 6. He has a severe case of epilepsy. His epileptic seizures are pretty intense. We decided to get a second dog friend to be with him, in case we were not present, as they started to occur more often.
Bentley gets a little car sick, so when i am working in West Seattle the dogs comes with me to work, but when I leave the area on longer drives, they stay home. I also work from a home office most of the time so they have constant company.
Murphy is our second Havanese. He is 2 1/2.
He and Bentley hit it off immediately and not only is he Bentley's best friend but he is his seizure alert buddy.
When Bentley has a seizure, Murphy barks and tries to help him.
Bentley tries to get to me and wants to be on my lap when he is seizing (he is only 8 lbs/small for a Havanese). I am sure Murphy stays with him when we are not home to comfort him, because he is always right there worried when his friend is experiencing an epileptic attack.
Both boys are my real estate assistants.
They are happy to go on little drives around West Seattle and love to look out the window or let their ears flap in the wind.
They are true West Seattleites. They LOVE Alki beach and Lincoln Park.
They have been seen riding in the basket of our beach cruiser bikes along Alki (until the bikes were stolen).
Bentley loves bubblegum (Bentley finds it everywhere, on sidewalks, under benches, in purses) , chicken, tortilla chips and strawberries.
Murphy eats absolutely anything. He is quite curvy and proud of his robust figure.
He has a strange allergy. He is not allergic to food, but is allergic to people, much like people who are allergic to dogs. He doesn't care. He is on my lap, next to me, on me, and with me all day anyway.
Bentley is the boss and alpha dog even though he is a runt and is outweighed by his chunky brother by 17 lbs. He drags Murphy around by his pony tail (we call it a palm tree) on the top of his head.
Both dogs love going to Muttley Crew for spa days and play dates, Grandma's house in Sequim to visit their cousins; an Italian Greyhound named Sal and a Poochi (poodle/chiuaua mix named Olive), going to Ocean Shores to play on the beach with their friend, Captain, and Bellingham to visit their 2nd cousins Frankie and Dick, and have been VIP dogs at several little hotels in Portland, OR.
They are the love of my life. The kids (Emma, 19 studying at Colgate University, and Jackson, 15, a student at Seattle Prep) both say the dogs are my favorite, which is ridiculous, they all 4 tie for that position.
McCune sums them up this way.
"Murphy is my soul mate. He's special. I've never had a dog like him before. We locked eyes when we met and that was the end of that so I knew I found him for Bentley. Bentley is not any less special. He's just a wonderful animal, but I know Murphy is different. I never thought I was a little dog fan until I had these dogs."