ericportis.com

A House Full of Wizard-Shaped Holes

We adopted Wizard on March 12th, 2016 and we said goodbye to him on January 13th, 2025.

My partner and I crouching in the grass in front of a green house, with big goofy smiles on our faces. A big brindle hound dog (Wizard) with his ears all the way up and just the tip of his tounge out stands between us and leans forward toward the photographer while we hold on to his hips.
2016 (Gotcha Day)
Wizard laying in the grass, with his paw on my lap. I've got my hand on his paw. He's resting his head on his arm but looking up at me sideways in a coy way.
2016
Overhead view of my partner sitting on the couch with a laptop and a cup of coffee; Wizard is laying next to her on his back, snuggled close, both front legs stretched up straight so that his paws are by her shoulder. He's sleeping with a huge smile on his face. There's a little dog toy next to him.
2016
A white-faced Wizard curled up in a dog bed with his head low, looking at the camera (very cute face).
2025

They said he was six years old when we got him, but I don’t believe it. He weighed about 75 lbs and he taught us a lot about love. He was our first dog, but we were not his first people. We all figured it out, eventually.

Photograph of a folded newspaper, held up in front of a cute/innocent-looking Wizard. The relevant entry in the police blotter reads, “A visitor to Orcas Island was bitten by a dog at the dog park. The dog was current on its vaccinations, and no serious injury occurred. The visitor requested no further investigation and just wanted the incident documented.”
Scan of a printed “run card,” from a kennel. It reads, “Wizard - neutered male 9 years 5 mos Brindle. Behavior/health issues: Destroys kennels/runs.” There's also a sideways profile photo of Wizard looking real cute on a dog bed in front of a chain-link fence.

It became a thing that old men, passing us in public, would express a particular affinity for Wizard. “That’s a good-lookin’ dog!” they’d say. I told kids he was half-dog, half-tiger.

A cheesy/ironic photo-illustration with both a floating bust and full-body portrait of Wizard, photoshopped into an idyllic mountain/lake landscape. The floating bust shows Wizard smiling with his tounge out; in the full-body portrait he he is seated and looking sweet but also like he wants something.
Portrait by Evan Douglas (aka Wild Masterpieces)
An illustration of Wizard, dressed as Harry Potter, wearing a scarf, circle-frame glasses, a robe, and a yellow and red scarf and tie. He's holding a wand in his mouth, and a white owl is hanging out behind him.
Portrait by Matt Cummings
An illustration of our family, with busts of my wife, myself, and Wizard in the middle. It's cartoon-ish but the likenesses are great.
Family portrait by Hannah B. (aka fuzzzbrain)
A pixellated illustration of Wizard's head poking through the hole of a giant dount, drawn using KidPix. Lots of noise and texture and color.
KidPix portrait by Trish Reynolds
A photo of a sock, worn with some leather shoes and rolled-up jeans. The sock has an illustration of Wizard printed on it. He's staring straight ahead and looks quite serious.
Sock portrait by unknown sock artist

He hated getting wet and he loved the sun. All dogs seem pretty food-motivated but he was, like, very food-motivated? The first time we gave him turkey he started humping. He was curious, coy, sleepy, and sweet. He’d kerchuck-kerplunk down the stairs forty-five minutes after I got up, find me in the kitchen, and lean into me with his warmth and his weight. Good morning! More than anything, he hated being alone. So we made sure he wasn’t, for nine years.

We loved him so much, and he loved us right back. It was all so automatic.

And now he’s gone and our house is too big and lonely. It’s full of holes: where his beds used to be, where his stuff used to be, where he used to be. Holes in our hearts.

Buddy. Wizzy. Boo! Wizard. Thank you.