Ray has a girlfriend (a real girl) ………….. Heather!
Heather is a trainer at OMHS* and, while he has many friends there, he seems to get particularly excited when seeing her. He had developed a relationship with her during the 5 months that he lived there after being rescued.
We had an incident with Ray (a story for another time) which dictated he be returned to OMHS for a couple of weeks and, during this time, Heather was once again a significant part of his world.
Due to his severe separation anxiety, we needed a dog-sitter** if we were to have any chance of a life outside of our home. Unlike getting a sitter for a child, anybody taking on this role must be pre-approved by Ray otherwise the consequences could be significant. Heather came to our rescue and has since looked after him a number of times. It is ironic that, for her, there is no work involved because he is so comfortable with her around that he generally goes to sleep once we leave!
Towards the latter part of 2013, we knew that OMHS was selling a 2014 Calendar as a fund raising exercise and, having had nothing but amazing service and cooperation from them, decided that we should buy one. We also thought that, as Ray was the catalyst in our relationship with OMHS, we should let him buy the calendar!
After much thought and a number of dry runs, Ray was ready to offer $20.00 for an OMHS calendar. We now just needed to make the final arrangements but needed someone who Ray would be very comfortable with. We needed someone who would be willing and able to receive $20.00 from Ray, and of course Ray would only cooperate if he knew and liked that person. Heather!
Ray handed over the $20.00 and Heather gave him the calendar. Perfect!
On a personal note, whereas a number of individuals have had a positive impact on our Ray, we would like to acknowledge that Heather has gone “above and beyond” so many times for him and we offer our sincere gratitude for everything she has done. Thanks so much Heather. It is a real pleasure, and a privilege, to have you as part of Ray’s world.
*Oakville & Milton Humane Society.
**Refer to “Ray Sitting” – Jan 29, 2015
A New Direction Perhaps? 
Good for ray .. He found himself a girl he likes and obviously she likes him too maybe Ray can tell us his secrets and I really enjoyed reading this 🙂 🙂 Good luck both of you
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I am convinced that if I had a “Ray” with me back in my teens/early twenties, my social life would have been much different. He attracts so much attention! 🙂
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Hahahha well you have him now
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Calendar buying is serious business!
I’m glad Ray has found someone who he can be comfortable with.
I have my humans, but they’re the only ones I trust. Hmmm…maybe that’s why they say I have trust issues?
xoxo Sookie
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Hi Sookie. Yup ………… can relate. Thems is trust issues! Woof! Ray.
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Ray looks so happy in that picture – he obviously loves Heather!
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He was afraid of pretty much everybody and anything that moved when we first met him. His attachment to Heather, and a few other people at OMHS, demonstrated that he was still capable of trusting people. She did a great “job” on a dog that may not otherwise have had much of a future.
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For your sake (and all of those who enjoy hearing about Ray), I’m so glad Heather and others were there for him!
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He is very special but then, so many dogs currently awaiting adoption could be equally special if given the opportunity. If Ray’s story can motivate one other person to adopt from a shelter ……….. what more could he (or I) ask!
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Preaching to the choir – I have only ever had shelter dogs, and I don’t know why people don’t give them chances. They make wonderful pets!
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Perhaps the Blog will attract new “choir members” 🙂
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I hope so!
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Such a sweet moment captured!
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Agreed. Thank you. 🙂
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A lovely post and so happy to see the bond…always heart warming..sometimes the problem child provides the sweetest moments 🙂
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I completely agree with you. These moments are especially sweet when one can reflect on both his past (as much as is known) and the challenges that he has faced. 🙂
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Forrest we have had since a puppy..but a puppy farm puppy ..his middle name is issues..and we get these magic moments and i think they trump having a ‘normal’ dog any day…so bless them those sweet weird ones 🙂
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Heather sounds like an A+ friend. Can’t have enough of them!
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Agreed! 🙂
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Just look at that broad dog smile, not that I blame you Ray, she’s lovely! It’s very good of you to remain so involved in a worthy cause.
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Well I often take my Mom and Dad there on my walks, which is about a 2hr outing allowing for a short social time there, and I usually get to see Heather when I’m there! My Mom and Dad know how important it is for me to stay in touch, and for them to keep supporting such a good cause. Woof! Ray.
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