I’ve owned a dog of some kind since I was 10 years old. All my dogs were special to me. I loved them all with what I had to give. They were all unique. They all died a natural death.
Ten years ago, for the first time ever, I adopted a 7-year-old rescue dog from the Oregon Humane Society. He was a grand dog loved by all.
There is an old saying that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. I proved it wrong. I named this dog Dusty after an old friend, because he was anxious to learn, anxious to please much like my friend. I taught him to fetch, sit, lay down, roll over and heel. There was one drawback: he hated other dogs.
At the end, Dusty’s hip gave out. He was in terrible pain. He cried all night for two days. To help me decide what to do, I took him to Dove Lewis. The vet said he would continue to suffer and recommended that he be put to sleep.
Dusty gave me seven good years and putting him down was not an easy thing for me to do. The vet asked me if I wanted to hold him while he took his last breath. I could not.
For seven days, I cried. Then a miracle happened. A lady named Stephanie, who worked downstairs, was outside taking a break. She looked up and saw a man walking a chihuahua. She told the man he had a fine-looking dog, to which he replied, “I have six dogs to sell.”
It was Monday. I called him and ordered one pup to be delivered on Friday. Heidi was about to come into my life. Thursday morning, Stephanie called me on the phone. She said, “Norman, I need to see you right away.”
It was a very cold day in February – Feb. 1 to be exact. I went outside to see Stephanie. She told me to close my eyes. When I opened my eyes, there was a man standing there with two 8-week-old chihuahua puppies and a photographer.
I reached out to both pups. Heidi came to me first.
“I’ll take this one.”
I gave the man $200 and put the puppy in my shirt pocket. She stuck her nose out of my coat. I looked at my dog, thought of my friend and decided to name her Heidi.
A year later, I started selling Street Roots. I would put Heidi in my coat and take her to work with me. She became very popular with my customers. People started tipping me. Heidi was a love magnet.
I take Heidi to work with me in the spring, summer and fall. Winter is too cold for her. Like Dusty, Heidi is all personality, lovable beyond my wildest dreams. She draws people to me, making friends everywhere we go.
I don’t know what I would do without her. She has changed my life for the better. And that is my story how my miracle dog came into my life.
In the spring, summer and fall, the pair of us can be found at Southeast 34th Avenue and Belmont Street, selling Street Roots and giving away puppy love for free.
Street Roots is an award-winning, nonprofit, weekly newspaper focusing on economic, environmental and social justice issues. Our newspaper is sold in Portland, Oregon, by people experiencing homelessness and/or extreme poverty as means of earning an income with dignity. Learn more about Street Roots