Howard’s Hero Inspires Hope at Humane Society

by Loree Walden, Marketing Manager, Yavapai Humane Society
In September, I was blessed to meet a woman who has touched a lot of us at Yavapai Humane Society, but she especially touched one special little guy named Howard, who had been looking for his furever home for too long.
Nicole Luck contacted me through Facebook, and that’s where it began. She later sent us a letter, which really sums it all up.
To Everyone at Yavapai Humane Society,
“Howard has been home for almost two weeks now and I just wanted to give an update on our new life together.
“I wasn’t ‘looking‘ for Howard, I was still mourning the loss of my girl, Kara. Kara was my 9½-year-old Cairn terrier mix who I adopted at 5 weeks old. We had been dealing with an illness since February and finally made the gut-wrenching decision to let her cross the Rainbow Bridge Aug. 14.
“Fast forward to Sept. 10; after following Howard’s story on Facebook for several days, I reached out to Loree to see if he was still available. I had seen something in Howard’s eyes that made me realize that we needed each other.
“I went into this experience knowing that Howard was a damaged soul that might never become a ‘pet.’ That was OK, because I just wanted him to have a home. He went from hiding up against the back of his crate on his first night home, to being an actual puppy. Howard is now running around the house, playing with toys, terrorizing his furry companions, getting into the ‘puppy play‘ position, giving kisses and cuddling with both me and my husband. Then, at the end of every day, he lifts up the blankets and makes his way down to the foot of the bed to sleep next to me.
“I cannot put into words my gratitude to everyone at YHS who believed in Howard and trusted me with his care. From the very bottom of my heart, thank you so much for what you all do every single day.”
That last part is what makes Nicole even more of a hero in my heart. She says she can’t put into words her gratitude to us for trusting her with Howard’s care, but we can’t put into words our gratitude to her for taking care of and loving Howard.
We knew there was someone special out there who needed Howard and who Howard needed. Nicole saw hope in Howard’s eyes and their souls bonded. I talk to Nicole regularly about Howard’s progress and she sends me pictures so we can see her boy in action and share their story on Facebook, and right here as we celebrate “heroes”. Howard truly is home and settled in, knowing that he is loved and will always have Nicole and her husband Avery. Howard even attended Dogtoberfest and the YHS Walk for the Animals in October and did great with people and other animals around him! It just goes to show you what love, faith and a hero, can do!