Another Happy Dog Story: Bodie Goes Home

I honor of National Dog Day, along with , here's a happy dog story from my corner of town: My wife and I have been fostering for Animal Friends Rescue Project out of Pacific Grove for years. AFRP takes animals on either on the short list at shelters or who just need a new home. The dogs are fostered (that's us), and their new "forever home" is found. It's a great organization. Here's the latest success story. It's about a gorgeous Aussie named Bodie who now lives in Monterey.

I’ve heard that Aussies (Australian Shepherds) really bond with their owners. I think in this foster’s case, it was the other way around. We brought in Bodie a few weeks ago. His owner had to move to an assisted-living facility and turned him back to the original breeder to find a good home. She contacted AFRP and we ended up with him.

Bodie quickly found his place with our pack of knuckleheads. But he always tended to hang out with the human faction of it. Mostly, when I worked at home, he was at my feet. Great dog. See where this is going? (Curious: Are tears welling up yet?) 

We drove Bodie down to Pacific Grove (the perfect dog town) to his new forever home a couple of weeks back. Couldn’t have been a better fit. Bodie’s new owner is the nicest person you could ever meet: A semi-retired lawyer who works exclusively with veterans. He walks to work (Bodie will go with him) and lives in a complex where everyone else has a dog. And it’s in PG, so they’re surrounded by deer. Lots of smells and sounds (and trees). Again, a perfect fit for a perfect dog.

If you're curious to learn a bit more about AFRP, here's a video they put together a couple of years back (I wrote and recorded the song with my pal Breanna Eddy).

The morale of this little tale (pun unintended, since Aussies don't have tales) is that there's a dog out there for everyone. And he or she is waiting in your local shelter or is in the hands of a volunteer at your local rescue organization? Don't believe me? Visit the Watsonville Animal Shelter this weekend. Or if you already have a dog—or cat—make sure you have them spayed or neutered.