Hooray For Harley!

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and yes I watched my share of football like every other American man. But I also found myself again watching a little bit of the Westminster Dog Show, that has also become a Thanksgiving Day tradition on TV the past year or two.

I didn't get carried away and sit there for hours on end wondering which pampered pooch was going to win, but I couldn't help but notice these are extraordinary dogs. But they're not Harley! Harley the goofy, big white dog with long legs is truly the most extraordinary dog I know.

Harley is Florida dog. He belongs to my life-long friend Tim and his wife Kelly. They are huge dog lovers and have owned a bunch of real nice dogs over their 25 year plus marriage. I have loved them all, but Harley has a story to tell. Harley is some kind of big white dog with long legs, block eyes, and a very expressive face. Harley almost never barks, sweet as can be. He lives a great life, with doggy doors, a fenced in yard, plenty of Florida sun on a canal, with screened in pool area. The pool though was and is not Harley's friend.

Years ago, while Tim was working on the pool area, with the built in pool empty for maintenance, Harley had a mishap. Harley did, and still does have this strange habit of walking backwards for who knows what reason, (remember he is goofy). And this day it cost him as he backed up and fell into the empty pool. According to Tim, Harley's front legs were completely smashed and broken. A freak accident for sure.

What do you do? A young, sweet dog, with a lot of naps and barks and time left to go at the bottom of your empty pool....shattered. Tim called Kelly at work. The decision was made. "Harley's gonna make it" - period. Harley was scooped up and off to the vet.

Harley had both of his legs completely rebuilt with titanium rods, hinges, bolts and screws and who knows what else. Sounds far fetched? (no pun intended) But true. Harley is darn near bionic in his front legs, but he still has them, and they work just fine all these years later. The cost? I don't know, but Tim jokingly says with a smile the the dog better live to be 100...in human years. We all laugh at that line and at the dramatic story that Harley himself cannot tell. Harley probably couldn't make it though airport security, but I don't think Harley's planning any vacations soon.

To look at Harley you would never know he was once broken in half and his life hung in the balance at the pool's bottom with two people that could have easily chosen another option. But it was Harley's destiny to live on. Today, he's they greatest dog with the greatest life. You can see it on his face, he's glad to be here, and I'm glad he is too. When we go to visit a time or two a year, Harley remembers me , likes me, and spends time with me as I make a big deal over him, and he's earned it. Harley gets it. More importantly, Tim and Kelly get it. Both the gifts Harley dishes out daily and the fact that good dogs....are just flat out worth it.

I have no idea who won the Westminster Dog Show and to be honest I don't really care. Because none of them regardless of the bloodline, or any of the snooty blah blah, can compare to the extraordinary journey taken by a simple big white some kind of dog - Harley! The titanium dog!