I have a soft spot in my heart for old dogs. We’ve lived here long enough that the young pups who used to jump and pull hard on their leashes when we walked by with our dogs have now mellowed into gray-faced dignitaries who sit quietly while their humans talk for a few minutes, standing up stiffly when the talking ends, tired hips moving forward to sniff a few trees and rocks before heading home to a comfy dog bed and a long nap.
Being a dog owner means knowing your heart will be broken one day. If you’re lucky, there will be many good years before the bad days come. Or sometimes, life happens and the dog who was part of your family for so many years needs to find a new home.
I got a text this past week from my friend, Kristi, with a post about a black lab that needed a new home. Harley was 12-1/2 and had been a service dog, but her person had died, and she needed a new family. My heart sunk because at that age, her odds of being adopted were not good. She wondered if it was one of our hospice patients’ dogs, and if so, could I track a family member down? She had a friend whose parents might be interested in adopting her.
I remembered one of our Lions Club members, Turalee, who died last year, had a beloved guide dog named Harley. I called her husband, Tim, who confirmed he needed to find the dog a new home. It had been a tough year for Harley without Turalee to care for. He had an appointment with the vet the next day to see if it even made sense to re-home her or if it would be kinder to put her down — just one more thing to think about in what had already been a heartbreaking year for both of them. “Her eyes aren’t great, and she gets tired walking, but there’s still a lot of love left in her,” he said.
What followed next is what is great about this community we live in. Everyone knows someone who knows someone. Texts and phone calls flew back and forth, a meeting was set up, the vet appointment was canceled and by the next evening, Harley had a new family.
Harley’s new owners, Debbie and Tom James, spent 20 years in Flagstaff training puppies for Canine Companions for Independence, a group that helps people in wheelchairs who need service dogs. Of the eight puppies they raised, five went on to be certified service dogs.
I asked her how they managed to hand them off to CCI after the training was done, knowing they would never see them again. “You just do,” Debbie said, “but you cry buckets after giving them up. There’s just not enough Kleenex.”
They have lived without a dog ever since they moved to Prescott a few years back. But they’ve thought about adopting an older dog for a while now. Last week they even fenced in their yard.
When Harley showed up online, their daughter, Amy, was the instigator, running down leads and encouraging her dad, who wasn’t entirely sure he was ready to take on an old dog who might break his heart after only a few months. But they decided to stop by and at least meet her.
And that was all it took. A wonderful dog who had spent her life taking care of her human had come full circle. She will be spending the rest of her life being cared for by wonderful humans who trained other dogs like her.
I got a text later that evening with a photo attached. It was Harley, stretched out on the floor, relaxed and happy, Tom’s hand resting gently on her back. “She’s really affectionate and sweet,” Debbie said. “If we can give her a few happy months with us, it will be worth it.”