THE SOFTER SIDE OF SALVAGE
Even when employees at Tom Beerman's salvage yard are busy, customers don't wait long for a welcome.
Popeye, a pit bull who spends his days on site, will waggle toward a box of Meaty Bones, offering his paw in trade for a snack.
"You know how Wal-Mart and churches have greeters? He's our greeter," said Beerman, owner of Wagner's Pickup and Van Parts in Lancaster Township.
"He's an angel. He's the best dog in the world."
At 85 pounds with mud on his paws, the 1-year-old pup can look menacing though, much like the junkyard dogs that Beerman described from his past.
"When I was younger I went to junkyards where they had them chained up, and you didn't go two feet near them," he said.
Although Beerman and many other salvage dealers continue the on-site dog tradition, they say such animals are rarely chained up anymore because they typically lack aggression. The new breed of junkyard dog is more like a mascot, happy to play in the sun with hoses, hubcaps and other makeshift toys.
"I don't think there's any yards around right now that have mean dogs or guard dogs," said John Reges, owner of Reges Auto Wrecking in Center Township."Insurance companies regulate against it. They'll cancel your insurance."Even though theft presents a problem — with car parts and often with copper — Reges says risks outweigh the benefits of keeping a dog that bites."A thief can come in here, and it will take him roughly 10 years to take (my inventory) out by stealing it. But if I have a dog in here, I can lose my whole place if it bit someone."Ron Renick, who owns Renick's Used Auto Parts, agreed, saying technology is often employed over animals like the four retrievers he keeps in Clay Township."Junkyard dogs are almost a thing of the past," Renick said."The reason for that is surveillance cameras have taken over. Everybody puts everything on a surveillance camera with a hard drive. And insurance companies are scared if you have a dog (and) somebody gets bit."Renick speculated he is among the few whose dogs remain all night at the salvage yard. But unlike many, he lives on the premises — as do some of his workers.Although his dogs alert him if visitors come to the yard, he doesn't expect the animals to bite."I won't have any mean dogs here," he said. "The worst thing they'd do is jump up on you and give you a big kiss."
Although Reges and his wife Rachel take their three German shepherds home each night, they have used the salvage yard as a tool to socialize the animals during the day, exposing the dogs to a myriad of people.Two of the shepherds, Taco and Buddy, usually lie in the office, rarely appearing from behind the desk.A younger dog, Little Girl, follows Reges around the yard, hoping to go for rides in the wrecker."They don't have to stay home or be bored on a leash," Rachel Reges noted. "They get to go out and run around."Although Buddy and Little Girl are about a year old, Taco is 12. A previous dog, Puppy, frequented the junk yard for 11 years."That dog died about a year ago," said Reges, who keeps Puppy's photo at work."When one of the customers found out that he died, he broke down and cried and left. The dog was almost as much a part of his business life as it was ours."
Puppy is not the only dog to evoke tears in the junkyard. Renick still wells up a little when recalling his beloved Rocky, a yellow Lab that died at 16."You're only allowed one of those dogs per lifetime," he said, describing how Rocky would not venture into the road but would sometimes patrol the 40-acre salvage yard by walking its perimeter."I followed him just to see where he went," said Renick, recalling working late on a snowy night and wondering about the dog's absence.Although Renick can honor Rocky's memory with many similar kinds of stories, he also perpetuates the legacy through three of Rocky's offspring: Bubba, 14, and Jake and Ellwood, littermates who are about a year old.Even though Rocky was yellow, mating with a champion bloodline black Lab resulted in subsequent litters of black dogs instead of yellow ones, like Rocky himself. A 3-year-old yellow Lab named Frank also lives on the property, but is not related to the others.At Wagner's in Lancaster Township, Popeye, somewhat new to the junkyard, was preceded by Barney, a bichon frise that died at age 14. Also keeping a photo posted of his past pet, Beerman described Barney as a fuzzy, lap dog and the reason for Popeye's adoption."This dog applied for the job. He was white (like Barney). That's the only reason I kept him."
The loss of his Doberman pinscher seven years ago led Larry Walters to adopt Lilly, now his junkyard mascot."My daughter-in-law picked her up at a flea market," said Walters, who runs Walters Auto Wrecking in Forward Township."I didn't even want her at first, now she's like family."Weighing in at about 28 pounds, Lilly exhibits more attitude than most of her larger, scrap-yard peers."She's a mean little dog," Walters admitted "She's got Jack Russell in her, and she's a handful. She's only a year old, and she's bossy as heck. She barks at everybody."Adopted by Walters at 3 months old, Lilly was described by the veterinarian as fearful. For that reason, Lilly spends most of her day in Walters' truck, barking loudly at would-be intruders."I never have to take the key out of my truck," he said.In the morning at home, Walters said the dog proceeds from vehicle to vehicle, waiting for his signal about which one they will drive that day."She rides with me in the high lift. She doesn't care as long as it moves," he said."If I had a motorcycle she'd probably ride in it."Although Lilly is selective about human friends, she has begun to form a rapport with Scrapper, the Rottweiler at Turley's Towing and Truck Repair.
Jim Turley, who owns the business in Cranberry Township, said the dogs began to associate after he acquired Scrapper as a stray. A police officer brought the dog by — likely due to Turley's reputation."Everybody knows we love animals," he said, explaining one of his employees is a wildlife rehabilitator whose logo graces one of the company race cars."Everybody here likes to play with him. ... But sometimes it gets annoying," Turley said, telling how the still-clumsy 1-year-old tries to crawl under trucks with mechanics.As an unneutered male, Scrapper spends his time at the business instead of at Turley's home, already occupied by a beagle-pomeranian mix, a shepherd-husky and a great Dane.During the day, Scrapper sleeps in the shade under trucks or escapes the heat in a climate-controlled office.As is the case of Renick's Labs, Scrapper can sometimes resemble a guard dog, barking to announce customer arrivals.Although the barking is an effective tool that also can sometimes help deter theft, Turley views the dog as a friend. "Is he vicious? No," Turley said. "Is he a guard dog? No. He's here because we love him."Reges maintains that dogs trained to attack intruders are often connected with illegal dealings and not a true symbol of salvage yards."We're dog lovers, not people haters," he said.
