Husky News

Sometimes a story comes along that reminds us how profound the human-animal bond can be. Ellen Frost, owner of Bed & Biscuit Kennel, shared such a story recently.

Sometimes a story comes along that reminds us how profound the human-animal bond can be. Ellen Frost, owner of Bed & Biscuit Kennel, shared such a story recently.

“I wanted to share a happy animal story that could have ended in tragedy,” she wrote in an e-mail.

It seems an Asheville man, Herbert Davis, was walking his golden retriever, Tanner, when the young dog saw something that excited him and lunged at it. In trying to hold onto the dog, Davis fell and broke his hip. Davis, who lives alone, needed rehabilitation treatment at CarePartners Thoms Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospital. He was so concerned for Tanner that he refused to go until he knew that Tanner would be cared for.

Donna Jackson, a nurse at Mission Hospitals, started making calls, which led her to Shelley Moore at Asheville Humane Society. Moore contacted Frost and thanks to the Mimi Paige Foundation, Tanner will board at Bed & Biscuit Kennel and will be trained during his stay.

“We always hear the stories when things don’t go well, but now because of a caring nurse at Mission we have a very good ending,” Frost wrote. “People can never say that the animal-human connection is not strong. Mr. Davis’s reluctance to move on to rehab until he knew that the dog would be safe and well cared for is not unlike the hurricane victims not evacuating because of their pets.”

When Frost took Tanner to visit Davis earlier this week, Davis was clearly delighted to see the handsome dog.

“He’s helped me get through some mighty stormy times,” Davis said.

Davis remembers the exact day when Tanner moved in with him — Dec. 3, 2004. He had recently lost “Miss Hailey,” his 13-year-old Samoyed/chow crossbreed.

“She was a very sweet-natured dog. She would look at you and wag her tail and you would end up petting her, one way or another,” he said.

But arthritis and old age caught up with Miss Hailey and Davis had to have her “sent to the man upstairs.”

“For a while there, I didn’t want to live to see the sun rise the next day. I went from living to existing,” he said.

A co-worker at SuperPetz, where Davis said he is a janitor, came to the rescue. She had a dog she needed to find a home for and she offered him to Davis. Tanner was 11 months old at the time.

On the day the transfer took place, she brought Tanner to work for grooming.

“I went in the grooming department and lo and behold there he was. He needed a bath, but he was still drop-dead gorgeous. I walked up to the cage and put my hand in to pet him and he rolls over and wants a tummy rub, and dang it, I just had to give it to him,” Davis said.

Davis said it takes all the money he makes to care for himself and the dog, so the expense of boarding him for several weeks would have been beyond his means. He expressed his gratitude to Frost and to the Mimi Page Foundation for caring for Tanner and training him. He said he knew the nurse who made the calls that got them involved in high school.

“Donna was kind and sweet when we were in high school and she ain’t changed a bit,” he said.

As for Tanner, Davis said he believes the man upstairs sent the big dog his way and he’s highly motivated to get better so he can be reunited with him.

“He brought me back and helped me get through some tough times since I’ve had him. Every day we’ve been separated has been hard on me because I miss him,” he said.

Davis was scheduled to be released from Thoms late last week, but it will be at least six more weeks before he’ll be able to take care of Tanner. But when the time comes, he’ll be ready.

“I’ve got a couch waiting for him,” Davis said, “And a dog needs that.”

Source: Asheville Citizen-Times