08/21/2026
Every year for my birthday, for the last 14 years—wow, that’s actually crazy to say out loud—I’ve rescued some kind of senior animal. About 98% of the time, it’s a senior Boxer. Last year, it was a senior horse.
So, of course, I started scouting the shelters and owner surrenders for this year’s birthday rescue.
I found a senior dog at the Bonita Shelter in San Diego and was planning to pull her Tuesday for my birthday. But she got adopted before I could get there. And honestly? YAY. They told me her daughter had gone to get her. Apparently, her dad had become very sick and didn’t realize that his brother had taken the dog to the shelter. When the daughter found out, she went and got her.
She’s home with her family. She doesn’t need me. And that is exactly how rescue is supposed to work. ❤️
So I found another owner surrender and had been trying desperately to get ahold of the owner. I called five or six times and never got a response.
Then Monday, I got a phone call.
Someone had a white Boxer, and the microchip was registered to me. They said his name was walker
I called them back on my way home from work. I left a message
If you’ve followed us for a long time, you may remember Walker.
Six years ago, Walker was a dog I seriously considered keeping for myself. He was just perfect. But a woman came to me looking for a companion, and Walker was the absolute perfect fit for her.
She was 50 years old, incredibly active, ran three miles every day, went to brunch with her friends every Saturday—and Walker went everywhere with her. Her three kids were grown, and he was her companion and her best friend.
So I adopted him to her.
Yesterday, I got another phone call—this time from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department—telling me they had my dog.
And it was Walker.
Walker’s mom sadly passed away last week, apparently from a suspected heart attack. Her daughter, who normally spoke to her every couple of days, couldn’t get ahold of her, so she requested a welfare check.
When deputies went into the house, they found Walker’s mama had been gone for about a week.
And Walker was in bed with her.
He stayed with his mama until the very end.
The deputies told me they actually had to carry Walker out of the house because he wouldn’t leave her.
When I arrived today, he recognized me immediately. He was SO happy to see me that he peed everywhere. 😭
But Walker smells like death.
If you’ve ever smelled it, you know exactly what I mean. It’s a smell you never forget. I’ve worked around enough animals and situations to know that smell, and unfortunately, Walker carried it with him.
I couldn’t even put him in my car.
So yes… today I groomed a Boxer in the Stater Bros parking lot in Riverside. He got a full bath and grooming right there because there was absolutely no way I was driving that smell home.
He looks like absolute s**t right now. I’m not going to lie.
But he’s here.
He has a healthy appetite. Everything else seems okay. He has a vet appointment next week, and we’ll figure out what he needs from there.
Right now, I’m not asking for donations.
I’m asking for prayers. Good thoughts. Good energy. Loving light. Whatever you believe in, please send some of it Walker’s way.
If you know anything about me, you know I struggle with depression and some other personal battles, and this one hit me really fu***ng hard.
People love to say dogs don’t understand, or that they don’t have the capacity to grieve.
I call bulls**t.
Walker is visibly grieving.
He lost his person. His home. His entire world.
And somehow, six years later, when he needed someone, he ended up back with me.
I don’t know what the next chapter looks like yet.
I just know he’s safe.
And I know he’s not going to have to go through this alone.
Please also send an incredible amount of love to Walker’s mom’s family. I cannot imagine the pain of losing someone you love and then having to walk into a situation like this.
This is why I do what I do.
Not because of tragedies like this—God knows I wish I never had to see them—but because without someone like me to step in, Walker could have ended up in a shelter.
And honestly, a senior Boxer who had just lost his person might not have made it out.
That thought breaks my heart.
The really sad part is that for the last two years, the majority of the dogs being returned to me have been senior dogs who were adopted more than five years ago.
They loved their people. Their people loved them.
And then life happened.
So here we are.
Walker is home. ❤️
For now, that’s enough.
If you’d like to help later, we’ll attach our Amazon Wishlist with the things we regularly use, and we’ll do my official birthday fundraiser next week.
But tonight, I just need some good vibes for this old boy.
Send Walker some love.
He’s been through enough. ❤️🐾
A current picture of walker getting a professional groom this afternoon
