A Rescue Dog's Tale - Said Goodbye To Willy

We adopted Willy from Noah in Stanwood, WA in the spring of 2012. We originally chose his podmate Grant from pictures available on the internet. However, when we arrived at the shelter, William jumped on my significant other's lap. In other words, he chose us! The Rescue Coordinator encouraged us to go outside and walk with Willy on the trails. However, we really didn't need to. We knew we were going home with William. They told us Willy was bout 6 years old.

We said goodbye to our little Willy
Feb 2022

Willy was originally from the Yakima area of Washington State. According to his bio, Willy was "found wondering the streets of Yakima." Willy was in rough shape. He was a bit thin and had some dried up scabs as if he was in dog fights. It is hard to believe that this tiny 8-pound Chihuahua/Dachshund mix was on the streets scavenging for food.

From the very start, Willy was full of confidence. He didn't bark for 2 weeks until I took him to his first vet visit. There was a garden crew mowing the lawn. William did not like the lawnmower guy. During this time in our life, Willy traveled with my S.O. to eastern Washington. We were building a cabin on a mountain top. I stayed in the Everett area. Pretty soon, I was feeling lonely. I had to get a "girl dog." I adopted Duchess, a Chihuahua Terrier mix. A year later, we decided to move to our property. Since the property is in a remote location, we decided to adopt a "big dog." We adopted German Shorthaired Pointer Mix.... and then there were 3. Willy taught our big dog to tread lightly around small dogs. Our big dog literally bowed down to Willy. Two years later, my sister had to give up 2 of her dogs. One was a feisty Dachshund. The other was a Spaniel/Beagle mix. In a blink of an eye, our household had 5 dogs.

Our rescue dog Willy would have turned 17 this month.

Willy was the alpha of our pack of rescue dogs. He trained every dog that entered our household. He taught everyone how to play nicely. He commanded respect from all 5 dogs. From about 2019 onwards, it was apparent Willy was aging fast. In late 2021, Willy's heart condition worsened and his collapsed trachea bothered him more. His will to live and rule our house was inspiring. It motivated us to get together with family and start a nonprofit foster-based dog rescue. On February 26, 2022, we said goodbye to our little man. 

Thanks, William. 

Because of you, we have rescued 17 dogs including Wilson, a 10-year old Chihuahua who is partially blind. (Willy would have been 17 years old this March)

Because of you, I try to live in the moment.

Because of you, I open my home and heart to other homeless dogs.

Willy, in honor of you, we continue to save dogs.