In mid December of 2015, during a cold snap that saw temperatures in the low teens and snow flurries a daily occurrence, we received a call from one of our volunteers concerning a small dog with grooming issues that was tied up outside, 24/7, no matter the weather conditions.

 

He lived on a road she traveled daily, to and from work and for six months, this little man was never off his chain. From triple digits in summer time to single digits in winter, his life was 10 feet of chain with little to no human interaction.

 

On a particularly cold day that would see a night time temperature of 9 degrees, she finally had seen enough and stopped to knock on their door. She discovered the little dog belonged to the home owners daughter who was working two jobs. Our volunteer was asked to come back when the daughter was home and speak with her, which she did and soon after, Marley was loaded up and off to a new and better life.

 

He was SO over the moon happy to be given attention and to be going for a ride. There was only one problem. Marley STUNK. Months and months of outdoor living had created a bit of a funk and only God knew what might be living under all those mats and tangles, so we whisked him off to our veterinarian, for clean up and evaluation.  It was so fun to watch Marley join the world again.  At the vet clinic, he greeted everyone with enthusiasm and great joy, so happy to be off his chain and to be the center of attention after a very long dry spell of neglect. With his mop top of matted tangles it was often times difficult to tell which end was which and it was plain to see that Marley did not care one bit that he smelled like a sour washrag and felt like a tumbleweed. He wanted lovins’ from everyone who stopped to say hello and even through the grunge and the stink, his pure heart of gold was shining like abeacon. What was waiting for us to find underneath was like opening a present on Christmas morning.

 

Marley was ADORABLE!

 

Marley now lives with a great lady named Kathy who lives in Renton and there could not be a finer pair in the world. Kathy was not looking to adopt a smaller dog, after the love of her life Ben, a yellow retriever mix, passed away following a long and grueling illness. She is a "big dog" person and was not even sure she was ready to open her heart up again for a furry friend but after weighing the pros and cons, she decided it was time. She looked on line at bigger dogs to fill the space in her heart but once she saw Marley’s picture on Petfinder, her heart told her he was the one.

 

Marley, the dog left outside alone with no human contact, will  be a trained to be a therapy dog.  We have no doubt this lovely little man and his fantastic new human partner will bring happiness and joy to children in hospitals and seniors in nursing homes in the Seattle/Renton area.  His gentle heart and his kind and patient personality are the perfect prescription to bring smiles and happiness to some otherwise, dreary days.

 

Could there be a better "Happy Ever After After" to this once forgotten little man's "Furry Tail"?  We don't think so.