Beau knows home

Mathis Winkler

The row of staples in Beau’s leg looks pretty gruesome. But once the

wounds from his latest operation have healed, he’ll finally be able to

forget about his life-threatening ordeal a few months ago.

Beau, a 9-month-old Labrador-terrier mix, almost didn’t make it after

his front and rear left legs were crushed in a hit-and-run traffic

accident. Turned over to the Orange County Humane Society, the puppy

would have found an early death if a Newport Beach veterinarian hadn’t

volunteered his surgical services.

After George Katcherian of the Back Bay Veterinary Hospital fixed

Beau’s legs, he searched for new parents to take in his homeless patient.

Several people applied. In the end, Karen and Peter Bennett, a Newport

Beach couple with two other dogs, made the cut.

Annie, the Bennetts’ 18-month-old golden retriever, immediately took a

liking to her new stepbrother.

“She is very gentle with him,” Karen Bennett said Monday, watching her

“children” race around the backyard.

“She’s real cautious to make sure he’s OK,” she said. “And [Beau] just

feels like he’s lived here forever. There’s no shyness, no tentativeness.

He sleeps in bed with us up near the pillows.”

Originally called “The Kid” by Katcherian and his hospital staff, the

Bennetts decided to rename their new housemate.

“At times, he’s the cuddliest, sweetest dog,” said Bennett, who runs a

catering service for dogs and cats with her husband.

“We thought the name of a Southern gentleman would fit him,” she said

as Beau eagerly chewed on a doggy treat next to her. “But he does have

his terrier moments.”

Jake, a 12-year-old Labrador-terrier mix and the house’s alpha male,

tries to stay out of the younger dogs’ games.

And while Beau still drags his hind leg a little -- Katcherian removed

the joint from his crushed hip, forcing the muscles to carry Beau’s

weight -- Bennett said her family is blessed to have the little guy in

their midst.

“We feel very lucky,” she said. “We just have reaped the benefits.

It’s great for Annie and it’s fun to watch them grow up together.”

And at 26 pounds -- eight more than when he first joined the family --

Bennett said Beau had just about reached the right size.

“We don’t want you to be any fatter than that, do we Beau?” she asked

jokingly.