Just three weeks after one of our volunteers from Missoula, Kate W., adopted blind Luke, we have another wonderful adoption to report. One of our volunteers, Katie R. from Helena, adopted blind Willie today! Katie had been planning on adopting Willie for a few weeks, but was waiting until she got married — just two days ago, on Friday! So on her way to Twentynine Palms, California, where her new husband Greg G. is stationed with the Marine Corps, Katie stopped by this morning to scoop up the Beagle boy and take him with her.
Willie was always a bit of a wallflower and quite timid around people. Often he seemed interested in people until they got to within a couple of feet of him, but then he would drop to the ground and slink. (We suspect plenty of abuse in his past.) Yet the first time Willie heard Katie’s voice, he sprang to life and started running in circles, tail up, just as joyful and as happy as could be. He was incredibly excited at the sound of her!
Alayne was there to witness his reaction, and she couldn’t believe the transformation. We had never seen him like this before. From then on, we figured we had an adoption in the works.
In our spring newsletter article about Willie, we joked that he was learning how to be a Beagle and would soon graduate from Beagle Basic Training. We invoked the U.S. Army’s famous motto, which for Willie meant, "Be all you can Beagle." But little did we know at the time that Willie’s future would actually involve the U.S. Marine Corps, not the Army!
I took this photo of the newly married couple and their newly adopted
Willie just before they left on the long drive to
California. Less than two hours later, Katie called from the road to say Willie had already climbed from the back of the car and into the front seat, and was now lying sound asleep on her lap as she drove.
I think this is going to work out just fine!
(Click on photo for larger image.)

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