I was quite stirred by today, by getting up before dawn with Maria, going with Red to our therapy work at the Veteran’s Home in Bennington, Vt. I couldn’t sleep, despite getting no sleep, and so that is when I know I have to write about what I am feeling. Dr. Karen Thompson, the wonderful human and breeder from Richmond, Va., the person who gave me Red reminded me tonight of our first conversation about Red, when I saw the videos of his trial and farm work and she said her hope for him was that he become a therapy dog, that he has so much trust and heart she knew he would be very good at it.

What Red did not have was faith, because that is a human trait, not an animal one. Karen Thompson supplied that. She had faith in Red, and she followed her God and instincts and chose to have faith in me. She wouldn’t take any money for Red, she was heartsick at the thought of giving him a way. There are people who speak of selflessness and people who are selfless and Karen is the later. The friend who picked Red up for me said she will never forget the look on Karen’s face when she stood in the doorway and watched Red leave.

I think of Karen’s gift of Red every day, and I have not, in fact, ever forgotten that conversation. I took it as a sacred obligation.  I have thought every day how I might honor it, and the truth was, Red was not ready for this work when he came to me. He was not neutered or housebroken, was nervous on many floors, unfamiliar with crowds and buildings, spooked by many sounds and movements from men. We have done so much calming and focus work, he has been joyously and successfully socialized,  he has been everywhere with me. I realized a month or so ago that he was ready. I took him to Therapy Dogs Of Vermont, and we went through good and useful hours of training and evaluation.

Karen does not speak ill of people, and she has never told me the full story of Red and  how he came to her, and it is not my business. I don’t need to know, I can probably guess, but there is no point. Red doesn’t care, and it is no longer important.

I was, Karen remembers, doubtful of the idea that a farm dog like Red could be trained for therapy work. I doubted it was possible.  Lots of people think nice dogs make good therapy dogs, it is more complicated than that. For me, a great therapy dog connects with the soul of the people he or she is seeing. It is not just about obedience, it is a spiritual thing beyond training or breeding. Karen saw the truth. Today, in a dementia ward a tall man sat silently in a wheel chair, the nurse told me that he simply was not present this morning, was off in a faraway place. He seemed discouraged, depressed.  A combat veteran, I imagine he had many such places to go to. He had been staring at nothing for some time.

I walked up to him, he did not respond to me. I have a command now for Red, it is “go here,” and he turned to the patient, and he put his head on this man’s knee – we’ll call him James – and James looked down, and broke into the broadest smile, and then asked me if he could hold the leash, and I gave it to him, and he and Red simply looked at one another, and then Red put his head on James’s knee and I saw him return to the moment, become present, saw an expression of peace and happiness, as if life had become something familiar and comforting again, and the nurses were astonished and overjoyed.

This did not happen because of me, or even Red. It came about because of the great generosity of spirit in Karen Thompson’s soul. I am a controversial figure in some parts of the animal world, among some  border collie people, many of whom were greatly upset by some of my early  writings about dogs and some of my philosophy about dogs. Karen chose to trust me and trust her own faith and instincts. She chose to sacrifice the  breeding fees and the substantial money she could have gotten for this remarkable dog. I was deeply affected by her faith in me, and I considered our arrangement a contract that I would honor.

That is why James  returned to us and smiled  a great and meaningful smile in his nursing home today and why Red is coming into the life he was meant to live, this is how he got to go on his great journey.