When Darin and I moved to GP in 2008 I was really really lonely. I wanted a dog so badly but D kept saying, wait until after the wedding. (He wasn’t sold on the idea) We got married October 15 and the minute we got home from our wedding I started sending D links to dogs for adoption. I heard, no. No. No. And was starting to think he would never be open. Then one day I was scrolling the PARS (prairie animal rescue society) website and I saw his face. They called him ‘houdini’ because he was an escape artist that continually ran away from the people who adopted him. He had been with 3 different families and ended up at the pound repeatedly. I took one look at his big brown eyes, spotted ears and I just knew. I passed my laptop to Darin and said ‘what about this guy’? And this time something on D’s face changed. Instead of ‘no’, he said, ‘let’s go meet him’. So we drove to High Prairie and met Harley. He was a wild one. He jumped out of the foster families truck, ran right by us and straight into a huge dugout/ mud hole to chase the other dogs. They told us he had been let down by a lot of people. He wasn’t an easy dog and did not like being alone. He also was ‘confident’ and tended to have run ins with other dogs. They also said he would probably take a while to trust us, he didn’t have much faith that people would stick around for him. We didn’t care about any of that. We both knew this boy was meant to be with us. Head to toe in mud, stinky and drooling, he jumped in my Jeep like he owned it. We told him that this was the last time he would be adopted. We were forever. Harley was not an easy dog. He had never walked on a leash and he pulled like a freight train. I’m certain I had a subluxated shoulder from trying to leash train him. He also needed an unreal amount of exercise. We walked and ran him 2-3 times a day. And it still didn’t seem to be enough. And he was a huge suck. He really hated to be alone and followed me from room to room all day long, even sitting outside the shower door waiting for me to get out. But for us? He was perfect. The best running partner you could ever ask for. He was always willing to go no matter what the time, day, weather… he was game. We could run for 3 hours in the mountains in Jasper and an hour after finishing he would looking to go for a walk. When I was training for the Death race he did 100km weeks with me, and he still did his fast runs with Darin. Anyone who saw those two running together knows how my dear husband got to be such a speedy runner. All we had to do was think about going for a run and he would appear with a ‘let’s do it!’ face. For me, he was my best friend. I worked from home so we spent every moment of every day with one another. If I went somewhere he came along, and he was happy to wait in my Jeep while I taught classes or got groceries or whatever. As long as he was with me he was content. We took him on every vacation we could, he would spend hours traveling and never complained because he was so happy to be with us. Harley loved on anyone and everyone. He would lean in, plant his big butt right on your feet and act like you were the first person who had ever offered him affection. We would get stopped multiple times while walking by people commenting how beautiful he was. Even delivery people at the door who met him for just a minute were smitten. He left everyone he met with a smile and a huge pant leg full of hair. He was the most gentle boy with all 3 of my nieces, letting them maul him, sit on him and love him to death. And then, along came Ryder. This changed things (as babies do) and Harley’s time as my baby was over. This is where Darin stepped in and took over a lot of the things that I could no longer do. He definitely went from being a huge mama suck to a huge mama and daddy suck. But it also gave him a little brother, and Ryder grew up loving him just as much as we did. Our long runs turned into long hikes with a baby on my back and lots of stops for snacks. We spend many many hours on trails in the mountains, especially after moving back to Calgary. I’m certain Harley loved the mountains as much as me. He loved standing in a beautiful place and admiring the view. The last few years napping has become his favorite sport, although he was still always up for a walk or hike. As a senior dog he loved laying in front of the fireplace or following the sunbeam around the house. He loved coming camping with us this past summer and I’m so glad we have those memories as a family. The past few months he’s helped get me through the toughest time of my life. His health has been declining and I feel like he’s rallied more than once because I begged him not to go. This time it was time to let him go. He was tired, and weak and ready. Even though we rescued him, he has given us more than we ever could have asked for. He made us a family and taught us how to care for another being. He taught us to be excited for the little things and always reminded us that the best time to go outside and run is anytime. On Friday, March 2nd he exited our lives. He passed very peacefully, in front of the fireplace with his family holding him and telling him we love him. Our hearts and our home feel emptier. But the gifts he gave us and the memories we made in his 10 years with us will always bring a smile to our faces. And I know a part of him will always be with us. His hair. I am certain we will still be finding Harley hair for at least another 10 years.❤️