From Rescue to Inspiration
By Cindy Lou Ruffino
Most of us have had a pet that has touched our lives and left an everlasting effect on us. Sarge Harley did just that to John, aka DaSarge. After being bitten by the (Boston Terrier Bug) John heard of an older Boston Terrier at the Williamson County Animal Shelter. The story was he was being labeled “Hard Luck Harley.” Harley had lost his original owner to the war in Iraq and his second owner to a fatal car crash. John asked no more questions because being a Marine he believed that you take care of your own. John did not have a clue that Harley was about to change his whole life.
As John walked into the Williamson County Animal Shelter he didn’t have a clue as to what Harley looked like or what temperament he had. All he knew was this dog was coming home. He laid his wallet on the counter and said “I am here to get Harley”. The volunteer did not know what to think, but John was determined to give Harley a home. As John filled out the adoption papers he learned that Harley was 11 years old and was present in the vehicle during the accident. He and a doggie friend were the only ones to survive. Harley had been injured and had bitten one of the rescuers as they were trying to remove him from the vehicle. Harley had spent the last two weeks in quarantine. When they brought Harley out to meet John he waddled over then lay at John’s feet. John had never seen such a large Boston Terrier. Harley was a whopping 38 pounds. The average large Boston weighs in at 25 pounds. John fell in love with the frosty face as soon as he laid eyes on him.
John did not see the older dog with sagging middle and huge lump on his rear. He saw a dog that had lost the only family that he knew and needed to feel like he belonged again. He knew there were medical issues with Harley but was still interested in being his Daddy John. On the way home John took Harley to Doc. McBride and was advised that Harley had a perennial hernia which meant that Harley’s intestines were extruding into his pelvic area. This was the reason Harley had such a large protruding area on his backside. Doc. McBride advised John to feed Harley soft foods and make sure that he has daily bowl movements. John was also advised that Harley had a short time with us here and be prepared.
Once John and Harley were home John began to investigate exactly where Harley had been. He knew the date that Harley arrived at the animal control so he researched accidents with fatalities for that date. There was only one. Rose Marie Gill was Harley’s owner. Then as John researched he learned that Harley originally belonged to Rose’s son Steven Patrick Gill a United States Marine that had been killed in action on July 21, 2005. John was shocked. Fate had placed a Marine’s dog in his care.
The more John looked the more information he found. There was a Post Office in Round Rock named for Steven Gill. He searched for people that had placed messages on Steven’s Memorial Page until he met Karen Cupples. Karen was Rose’s best friend. She filled in many of the blanks about Harley. In the meantime John was getting very little sleep. Harley was having nightmares crying out at night until John would curl up on the floor next to him. Eventually Harley began sleeping in the bed with John. It did not take long for Harley to climb into John’s heart and place his paw prints on his soul. Eventually John met Steven’s father Bill who answered many unanswered questions.
Harley was seen all over Burnet County and went everywhere John went. Harley had a Face book page where he gained many friends and helped spread the word that other senior dogs needed to be rescued. As a result of Harley and his Face book, people started opening up their hearts to the frosty faced senior dogs that found themselves in rescues, animal shelters and city pounds. Harley touched many lives and was an inspiration. His friends love to read about his adventures (of going on patrol) and all of the witty remarks Harley had about everything you could think of.
Sadly on February 12 Harley went on his last patrol. John was lost without his sidekick. Harley had taken all the meaning of life with him and John was devastated. Harley’s Face book friends also were shocked that he had gone on his last patrol. John decided that he wanted to remember Harley with a tattoo. He visited American Gypsy Tattoo in Marble Falls and met the owner Dave Justice, also a Marine. Dave picked a picture of Harley from his Face book page then designed a tattoo of Harley that was so lifelike it took John’s breath away. American Gypsy made a video of the tattoo and the moving story of a man and his dog. The video can be found on you tube by searching Sarge Harley. As John was grieving he did not know that there was a plan in effect to give him another rescue that was in danger of being euthanized. The little Boston Terrier had been rescued by a friend and being prepared to fill some mighty big boots. Also in the works was a non-profit organization to raise money so they could help Harley keep on giving while he was at the Rainbow Bridge.
The Sarge Harley Memorial Fund was born and already it had met with great success on Face book. An auction was held to kick off the organization and in just a week $700 was raised to help pay medical bills for a Boston Terrier named Tulu that had begun having seizures and was in need of testing and medication. A Face book friend donated a web page and the Sarge Harley Memorial Fund was born. Money raised in the Sarge Harley Store has also helped other dogs in other states and right here in Texas. Money has been donated toward the purchase of a wheel chair for a little pug, medical treatment for a little Boston Terrier in Dallas with a severe skin problem and even a little dog in California that needed emergency surgery to remove an eye. In the month of October the Sarge Harley Memorial Fund will be having a Face book dog show. Entry is $2 per picture per category. Participants will pay pal their entry fee then email their pictures along with which category they choose to the email provided on the Sarge Harley Dog Show Event page. There will be three winners in each category then a Best in Show and Best Runner Up will be chosen. Sponsors are providing prizes and the winners will receive a Rosette just like you would win in a real dog show. The money raised in the dog show will be placed in the Sarge Harley Memorial Fund to help other dogs that need a helping hand.
We didn’t forget the little rescued Boston Terrier in East Texas that was to be a surprise for John. A little Boston Terrier Marine named Chesty Puller and his Boston Terrier sister Candy had been training a little youngster named Recon. He was to be delivered whether John agreed or not. Needless to say John fell in love with little Recon but was floored to discover that Recon was born on July 21, the anniversary of Steven’s death. To make it even a bigger coincidence Steven Gill was a Recon Marine. Recon may not be Harley but he is working his magic and making himself at home in John’s heart. Sometimes we have a path laid out for us but we are not aware.
You can still find Sarge Harley’s Face book page and be his friend. It is there you will find the link for the Sarge Harley Dog Show. To read more of Sarge Harley you can get his full biography at www.sargeharleyfund.com. If you have not been introduced to the dog world on Face book you are missing out. There are a number of special fur covered characters that call Face book home. They raise money for breed rescue as well as other pet related causes. Boston Bettis recently raised over $7000 by auction to buy 70 Oxygen emergency kits for fire departments. One of the kits will be donated to the Burnet Volunteer Fire Department in the Memory of Sarge Harley. Candy and Chesty donated a kit to the Red Springs Volunteer Fire Departmant in Tyler, Texas in the Memory of Sarge Harley. But you have to keep a secret about the fur kids on Face book because only people can have a Face book page.
About the author
Cindy Lou Ruffino is an author of two mystery novels an artist and a part time resident of Burnet. She is an avid Boston Terrier lover and donates copies of her books as well as paintings to auctions to help raise funds for breed rescues. Cindy is working on her Masters in Criminal Justice and hopes to teach online so her beloved fur babies may sit in her lap as she teaches.
