Nobody wanted Ollie, a big, white mutt with a reverse-panda eye-patch and a tendency to either try to hide from sight or run madly off in all directions. He was young and full of energy that had nowhere to go. He worried about anyone touching a jagged scar on his left side and found himself labeled "untouchable." When his time was up at the city-run shelter, a call went out to find a "no-kill" facility that could hold him until the right adopter came along.
Ollie ended up at the Owen Sound Animal Shelter in rural Ontario, Canada, a few hours from my farm home. The OSAS is a loving shelter that never turns away an animal in need and creatively manages to find homes for dogs that have challenges, like rambunctious Ollie. Shelter manager Renee Robins keeps coming up with solutions to keep tails wagging.
Ollie had been hunkering down at the shelter for a couple of weeks when I arrived to launch a "Wally’s Week." I had a slew of adoption goodie bags filled with free, donated products for Renee to hand out when a dog found a home. I also had a newspaper photographer coming to take pictures. Instantly, Renee had an idea. Ollie was swiftly renamed Wally in honor of my late bull terrier, "Wally the Wonder Dog," who inspired the "Wally’s Weeks" at animal shelters. The photographer wanted a picture and next thing you know, Wally/Ollie was on the front page.
A few days later, a family came to the shelter. Like the shelter "Wally," they were new to rural life. The big, white dog wagged his tail at the 12-year-old boy who had convinced his parents that he would be responsible for feeding a dog and making sure it had long walks and a fine bed to lay in. His 8-year-old brother recognized the broad-headed dog with the black patch on his eye and shouted, "There’s Wally! Can he come home with us?"
Today, the brothers spend time throwing a Frisbee to their Wally-Dog in a big, fenced yard next to an orchard. The only direction the dog runs is into their loving arms. His left side is no stranger to them. They groom him with a soft brush. He loves their touch.
Since then, dozens of difficult-to-adopt shelter dogs have been named "Wally" during a "Wally’s Week." Their pictures and stories have been told, inevitably touching someone’s heart and ending in a forever home. My beloved Wally the Wonder Dog is no longer with me physically, but I will be forever grateful for his help in weathering life’s storms and the lessons he taught me. Lending his name to shelter dogs in need is his final legacy. Good dog to fetch a dog a home.
Marsha Boulton is the author of "Wally’s World – Life with Wally the Wonder Dog" (St. Martin’s Press). She lives on a farm in Ontario, Canada, and in New York City with a young Bull Terrier named Monk. A "Wally’s Week" in New York City that ended October 8 resulted in at least 200 dog adoptions; several of them are named Wally.
