Meet Higgins

Almost everyone has had a pet some time during their life. If you have had multiple pets you understand it when I say that there are always one or two who stand out in your mind and remain in your heart forever.

This is Higgins. He was a "service" dog.



Higgins worked with a man who could not see. When Higgins was "retired" he was 7 1/2 years old and came to live with us. His working career spanned from the age of two when he completed his training until he came to us. We had been on the adoption waiting list for three years before receiving that fateful call saying we could come and pick him up. Although some service dogs do decide on their own that they have had enough of the working life, this was not the case with Higgins. The organization that had trained and placed him, Leader Dogs For The Blind, removed him from his placement due to concerns for his health. Higgins was what could be termed morbidly obese. The majority of his days were spent under a desk and his master fed him lots of people food. The vet put Higgins on a strict diet and soon enough he dropped the excess weight.

I am sharing memories of Higgins with you in the hope you might consider adopting a retiring service animal. They put in their time and really appreciate having time to just be themselves. Higgins did not bark, chase any other animals, loved all people and children and pooped on command - "park it" was all it took. Boy did we love this dog! Now that we are settled here in Hawaii we have once again gone on a waiting list. This time it is with an organization called Eye of the Pacific that provides assistance to people with sight issues. Hope it won't take another three years but you never know.