Respite

Stepping into TaMara’s lane for a moment – while she’s hard at work editing her book – here’s a feel good story shared by hitchhiker.

South Whidbey man runs old-age home for dogs

Story by Kate Poss

There’s a whole lotta four-legged good juju at Ron Kerrigan’s home, which is a former Langley parson’s dwelling that was moved to Clinton years ago.

He shares his home with old dogs whose owners can no longer care for them, boards them for Dogs on Deployment and houses them for friends who can’t keep dogs where they live.

During an interview on Kerrigan’s porch, Qehua, Loki, Qoqo and Fenrir warmed themselves in the sun and occasionally asked for ear scratches. Kerrigan currently has five dogs staying with him — he’s had up to 10 at times; one of the newest is Qehua.

Kerrigan has kept a book, called the “No More Dogs” chronicle, which details the 69 dogs he’s adopted, fostered, boarded through Dogs On Deployment and had as guests “when friends go to Hawaii and don’t think to take me along,” he wrote in an email. Dogs on Deployment is a nonprofit providing a network of volunteers who care for the dogs while their owners are away serving the country. The numbered dogs do not include all the fosters and guest dogs, who are indicated by alphabet letters – all 26 – and now he uses the Greek alphabet to document additional dogs.

Kerrigan’s long-time friend Ela winters in Maui and volunteers at the Maui Humane Society walking dogs. Late last year, Ela stopped by to walk a blind dog, only to discover the dog was being walked by a friend. But another dog waited for a walk. Ela took one look and felt it was the reincarnated spirit of her beloved dog Stella who was killed 30 years ago when she lived in Alaska.

Click the link above to read the whole thing.

So many good people out there.  I try to remember that, especially now with so much ugliness on display right now.

A Lot of Good People Out There, Here’s One of ThemPost + Comments (17)