Harper is our 4 year old Black and Tan Coonhound. She is a rescue I brought home from the Seattle Humane Society the day before a 24+ hour road trip to Las Vegas with my husband and his 3 wonderful kids, my “Bonus” kids (pre-fosters). Another proof that I “married up.” Or proof that my husband, Mauricio, is an amazing man with an unlimited amount of patience. He’s too good to me. I need to remember this thought for the next time we are fighting over backsplash in Home Depot. Ha!

I watched videos of Harper on the Humane Society’s website for a full week, researched her breed and needs, before emailing the Humane Society. I HAD to have her. She was only 10 months old at the time and unfortunately the videos of her with a professional trainer made her out to be better behaved than she was (see video HERE). It was impulsive. Bad timing. Such a bad idea. And I’m so grateful because she’s one of the biggest blessings in our family. She’s amazing. She has so much patience for our kids, and never retaliates or growls when they are a little rough with her. And she adores them. She watches out for our kids. I’ve seen her provide comfort to so many foster kids who have come through our door – for a day, a week, a month, still here… Harper is so perceptive and knows when to comfort one of us. It’s her gift. It’s therapeutic. And at the same time she is sassy and lazy and hilarious.

Harper struggles with anxiety. She went through 5 different families before we got her. She was abused, skittish, had a hard time trusting, and she had patches of hair missing all over. 4 years later and she still has food insecurities and separation anxiety. We had to rush her to the emergency vet (side note – those emergency vet bills are no joke!) one evening last week because she had cut herself escaping her kennel, leaving a 4 inch gash along her side. She had to be put under anesthesia and cleaned up and stitched together. We are so grateful she’s back to her normal happy self, healing, and expected to make a full recovery.

Harper isn’t just our family pet. She’s a symbol of resilience. Of finding that happy ending after 5 really awful placements. Adoption. Family. Trust. Healing. Togetherness. (and a few chewed pieces of millwork)