For Doug and Julie Helmreich, the arrival of Archie and Wally into their lives not only meant new family members, but also new beginnings. 

It was when the Helmreich family was taking their cat, Stanley, to the vet and preparing for his last stages of his life when they encountered an English lab. His friendly demeanor caused them to fall in love, and when Stanley passed they decided to get their own English lab. As fate would have it, they met Archie (Archer) during their daughter Audrey's senior year at Dublin Jerome High School. The Helmreichs realized later that the timing meant they were replacing one “A” with another, as Audrey prepared to depart for college. 

After a couple years passed, the family decided that Archie needed a friend, and Wally (Wallace) fell into their laps, though they make sure to note that he is no lap dog by any means. Coincidentally enough, Wally arrived just before their son, Will’s, senior year at Jerome, and they replaced one “W” with another as Will also headed to college. For Julie and Doug, Archie and Wally have doubled as steady companions during the transition to empty nesters, in addition to giving the kids a good reason to visit home. 

As for the stories behind their unique names, Archie was named after a fictional detective from the 1950’s named Lew Archer, who sniffed for clues the way the yellow lab sniffs for scents. Though Wally was not named after anyone, people who meet him will see he is a total “Wally.”

Now 4 and 2, Archie and Wally have found many hobbies and pastimes together. They love playing in the snow, especially Archie, who enjoys rolling on his back in the soft white fluff. The two also love going for car rides, and are extra excited if it means a trip to the pet store, the ice cream store, or a trip where they’re rewarded with pup cups. When the weather is nice, Archie and Wally enjoy swimming, and have taken a dip in Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, as well as their kiddie pool. They also love any food, but especially peanut butter.

The two labs have made themselves at home in Muirfield, and their favorite part of the day is going for walks, during which they’ll encounter some friendly faces around the neighborhood. Although Archie and Wallace are each other’s best friends, they also love getting to play with their other furry friends, Monti, Tybee, and Cooper.

Over the years, the Helmreichs have had the opportunity to discover all the quirks and funny personality traits that make their two furry friends so special. For one, Archie sits like a human everywhere, from the couch to the car to against the wall, and everything in between. Wally, on the other hand, runs, or more like bounds, like a rabbit everywhere. Perhaps the funniest memory the family has is during a visit to their daughter’s school in Wooster, Ohio. They were taking a stroll through the arboretum on the OSU-ATI campus and came across a long slide built into the hillside. Doug went down the slide and Archie immediately leapt after him, hurtling 15 feet off the end of the slide. The good news is that he was unharmed.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what makes them lovable. The Helmreichs love their neck rolls, and as Audrey likes to say, “how smooshy they are.” They love Archie’s poses that make him photogenic, as well as Wally’s wiggles and how he moves his body like a shark when he’s excited. The Helmreichs also find it entertaining watching the two dogs experience the zoomies and watching them tilt their heads as they listen to people. Needless to say, Archie and Wally make for a pair of fun companions. But beyond that, they make for a pair of constant companions who are there for the family through the ups and downs, through the changing seasons, and through life’s biggest transitions.