A Lifetime of Wonderful Dogs, by Debra and Tom Black

If you’re strolling the streets of Redwood City, you might very well see us walking Grant, a Grand Champion Dalmatian, along with Darby, his cute little Portuguese Podengo Pequeno sidekick.

Both dogs belonged to our neighbor who sadly died of cancer more than a year ago. As she became increasingly ill, we had started walking them for her, and when she died, we officially adopted them.

Rescuing Dogs Is Kind of Our Thing

These two additions to our family are just the latest in a series of dogs we’ve rescued over the past 30 years. We had two shelties when we first got married, and then rescued a black lab named Mollie almost 30 years ago when our kids were 7 and 11. Only 1½ years old, Mollie had just given birth to a litter of 11 puppies and the owners decided they couldn’t keep her. Destined for the local shelter, we met her, fell in love with her, and decided to bring her home with us. She was a wonderful dog and such an important member of our family until she passed away peacefully at the ripe old age of 16.

Best Laid Plans

We were still grieving Mollie’s loss and really didn’t plan to adopt another dog. But 1½ years later, our daughter and her friends begged us to take a dog named Cooper whose owner had moved out of state and left him behind. He had been sleeping in a shed for almost 4 months, cold and alone, so they rescued him, gave him a bath, and brought him to us.

As soon as he came in, he started rolling around on our carpet and we could see actual tears in his eyes. Around 7 when we got him, he was so happy and the sweetest dog. He too lived a nice long life, leaving us at around age 14.

Grant and Darby

Another year went by, Covid hit, and we were both working remotely. We needed to get some exercise and our neighbor needed our help, so 5-6 days a week we walked her dogs. We started walking Grant first because Darby was just a puppy, but when Darby got a little older and her little legs could keep up, we all walked together.

At some point, our neighbor started expressing concern about what would happen to her dogs if she could no longer care for them. She had a lot to contend with and we didn’t want her to worry, so we said we could give them a home if that’s what she wanted and nobody else stepped forward. We just needed to sit down and decide on a plan.

We prepared two pages of questions (the vet’s name, special diets, background info, health history) and we made a date to get together with her, but she passed away earlier that day. At that point, all we could do was bring Grant and Darby home for good and learn how to be a family together.

The Great Escape

As all dog owners know their dogs will run off whenever they get the chance. The first time this happened, I had just gone out to get the mail, failed to latch the door completely, and the next thing I know Grant is running down the street. Still in my pajamas, I took off after him but the faster I ran, the faster he ran. Luckily, after about four blocks, there was a woman walking her dog that Grant stopped to sniff and I yelled for her to grab him. She did and we were able to bring him home again ─ so disappointed that his grand adventure had come to an abrupt end.

Another time Grant broke for freedom through a side gate. A young couple in a white pickup knew Tom as “the neighbor who walks the Dalmatian” and asked if we were looking for him. They had just seen Grant, so they turned around, somehow got him into their pickup, and brought him back to us.

Living The Good Life

Both dogs have adjusted really well in their new home. Darby loves to snuggle and every day starts with joyful leaps and tail wags when we get up in the morning. Grant is especially close to Tom, letting us know that he doesn’t want to be separated from him for a moment.

Darby is the most expressive one and she embraces every day with utter joy. She is so lovable and cute, oblivious to the fact that she is often having “a bad hair day.”

And both dogs let us know every single day how happy and grateful they are for their new home.

Gone But Not Forgotten

We’ve had so many wonderful years with the dogs in our lives. Their feelings run deep and they show their love and appreciation in such special ways. When we walk by our neighbor’s house, Darby still runs up to the door and sniffs to see if her former mom is there. Then she slowly comes back to continue her walk with her new family.