EJ & Marvin
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EJ and Marvin
Human: EJ
Canine: Marvin
Location: Harrisville, Rhode Island
Together since: 2002
Type: Labrador Retriever
Favorite dog group: Rhode Island SPCA On July 1, 2002 I became the director of the Rhode Island SPCA, the third oldest humane society in the United States, after a 34 year career as an equine veterinarian. My whole life I'd been involved with horses in some way; I had a dog or two as a child, but always favored horses from an early age.
This was a new career for me without any more nighttime emergencies or weekends spent roaming the countryside, caring for horses. My son Tim had graduated from college and secured a good job, and my wife Marie and I were finally free.
This all changed in a matter of months because of a three-year-old black Labrador Retriever given up by his owners who no longer had time for him in their lives. His name was Marvin. Marvin seemed to be a nice dog but had a disability. His right hind leg had been injured when he was a young pup, and he could hardly bear any weight on it. After a few weeks in the shelter a young man came in looking for a family dog. Marvin fit the bill despite his leg problem. I saw Marvin leave the shelter that late summer day wagging his tail, thankful for a second chance.
As the leaves began to turn colors that fall, Marvin was brought back to the shelter, unwanted for no good reason for the second time in his life. He'd done nothing wrong, but he accepted his return to the kennel. I really don't have an explanation as to why our eyes kept meeting on my morning visits to the kennels, handing out snacks to the dogs that were with us. Marvin was always there at the front of the cage, staring at me while he gently took a treat from my hand. I'd learned it's a bad sign if a dog stares at you, but I saw Marvin's gaze as a sign of friendship.
I told my son about this wonderful dog and he said, "Dad, you should adopt him." The thought of bringing home a 90 pound dog that shed didn't go over too well with my wife. My son persisted. I convinced my wife to visit Marvin at the shelter and it went so-so. She'd been attacked by a large dog as a young girl and that fear never seems to wane. But as the weeks passed, no one seemed interested in the black Lab who'd been given up twice and had
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EJ & Marvin
