Adopter Name

Kevin Wimmer

Rescue Dog's Name

Mason

Where Did You Find Your Dog?

Nearly 8 months had passed since we had to say goodbye to our 3-year old Lab Mix (another rescue) due to an aggressive onset of pancreatic cancer. Seemingly nothing could fill the void we were missing in our family without our special boy. It was tough to make the choice to begin looking for another dog to replace our best friend. Could any dog ever live up to our Sonny? But given the emptiness of our household without a pup, we decided to put ourselves out there. We casually began our search at the same shelter Sonny was from - Circle Tail. We checked in from time-to-time over a few weeks and saw a handful of faces we wanted to meet. My wife keyed in on one skinny little dog named "Parry". He looked sweet and friendly and we wanted to see him in person.

Tell Us About the Moment When You Knew that You Two Were Meant for Each Other.

We drove the 40 miles or so out to Goshen and waited patiently on a warm and dusty August morning for them to bring him around. They put his leash in our hands and he immediately went into a perfect "heel" following us with complete trust and obedience and I think, hope. He was ~1 year old without a definitive birthdate and had spent the first year of his life in shelters and foster homes. I can't believe nobody kept him, I do believe in fate.

How Has Your Hero Changed Your Life?

We drove him home on his freedom ride and allowed him the afternoon to settle in, and adjust to his new name, Mason. Just one of the many benefits of adopting a mature dog is they are typically house trained and have some obedience training (again, thank you Circle Tail!) Now I always tell people - adopt THE DOG, not THE PUPPY. You'll have them a lot longer as a dog, than you'll have them as a puppy... The second day we had him, we wanted take him somewhere special for his first walk with us, so we went to the Cincinnati Nature Center for a long hike... Or so we thought. About a mile into our hike Mason was completely exhausted, he'd never walked that far and didn't seem like he could make it another step. So I lifted him up and carried that 50lb dog back to the car. He smiled the entire time. Mason is now five and a half years old and is such a huge part of our lives. He inspired me to quit my career as a Creative Director and begin teaching outdoor fitness at the park (with him as my co-instructor!). And if you've met him, he can out hike me on my best day, and we've now covered hundreds, maybe thousands of miles together. Now he lifts me up! He has had a profound effect on our lives and now enabled us to inspire others. And THAT is truly heroic. Love you buddy!