Red is a spirit dog, a companion, an alter ego, a doer of good, a loving creature who lives to lift up the spirits of me and others. At some point in the life of a spirit dog, they are always beside us, we see them so often we don’t really see them age, we look up and see they are getting older.

Red is 11 years old, not very old for a border collie, but older. He is in good shape, but he is slowing down. He is nearly blind in one eye, and losing sight in the other. The sheep are beginning to get wise to his vision problems, and while they don’t yet dare to really challenge his authority, they are getting cheeky, and slower to jump when he tells them to.

His therapy work is stellar, even better than before, he seems to have boundless energy for being where he is needed. it is pure joy to see him life the spirits of people at the Mansion. It is different from working with sheep, and Red has an almost mystical intuition about helping people in appropriate ways.

I have never had a dog like Red, although I have had many great dogs. Rose was something if a wild dog, she did not care to uplift other people, Lenore loved everybody but like many wonderful Labs, she was sometimes too big and enthusiastic for the very delicate work of working with the sick and the very elderly.

Red is a master, he strikes the right note, approaches gently and with care, and turns away if he is not wanted. I come into the Mansion and just let him go, and he visits the staff, people who call out to him, goes to rooms where he is wanted and pushes the door open, patrols the hallways looking for residents who are sitting in chairs and sofas, checks on the porch, the Great Room, the dining room.

He is moving more slowly, sleeping more, getting out of the sun a little quicker. He is, like me, beginning to get old.

He is a resident there in so many ways. Red is always with me. When I write, when I ride, when I go to the doctor or dentist, when I visit the refugee kids or adults in Albany. I never have to call him or urge him along, he lives in my shadow and is an extension of me.

He is not just my dog, like Gus, he belongs to a lot of people. He is much loved. He enriches and defines every part of my life.

I expect to have many wonderful dogs in my life, I don’t spend too much time mourning for them, but I will never have another dog like Red. He has done me so much good, taught me so much, led me to so much, I am eternally grateful to Dr. Karen Thompson for trusting me with this remarkable gift.

It seemed he dropped out of the sky and suddenly entered my world and made it safer, brighter and  warmer. I love you very much Red, it is an honor to get older with you. As always, we are in synch. That’s the kind of dog Red is, I think. Even if he were much younger, he would get older to stay right alongside of me.