Feel good story of the day: dog saved from meat trade provides love to dying author

Alfie the poodlePhoto byKristina Etchison

Several years ago, the late Dennis Etchison, an award-winning author in the horror genre, visited our home with a new dog. He and his wife Kristina (Kris) already had one dog, Ylla, but their friend Marc Ching, owner of several gourmet pet food stores, Petstaurant, and founder of Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation, told them about another who really needed a loving home.

Alfie was not a typical rescue. Though dogs in the U.S. sometimes have horrific pasts before they’re saved, Alfie, and too many like him, endure unimaginable suffering and fates in foreign countries where dogs are not seen as companions but as goods for sale. This article will not delve into the horrific details of animal suffering or the dog fur or meat trade, as this is meant to be a feel good story. If you want to learn more, a simple Google search will provide more disturbing images than you’d ever care to see.

For this article, suffice it to say, from what was relayed, Alfie was found tied to a post at a market in Beijing, China. He was severely underfed when the rescuer saved him and others to bring back to the U.S., to give them not only a chance at survival but to thrive and feel love. Alfie was likely not slated to be slaughtered for meat, based on his emaciated body, but instead for his fluffy, poodle fur.

One would not expect a dog under such dire circumstances to escape unscathed. Yet a short time later, he was fattened up, healthy, and joyously wonderful, when he came to live with Dennis and Kris. Their other high-energy dog, Ylla, welcomed Alfie, with his easygoing personality. Before long the two were best friends.

Ylla and AlfiePhoto byKristina Etchison

What few people knew at the time, was that Dennis had late- stage cancer. It wouldn’t be diagnosed for some time, and he didn’t divulge it to even his close friends until his life was close to an end. His bright spot, outside his wife of course, was Alife. He talked about this little dog all the time, and it was clear why.

Alfie was Dennis’ constant companion, motivating him to go for walks, providing love and cuddles when his cancer progressed and he became housebound. He and the dog were inseparable, and he rarely had a conversation where he didn’t talk about Alfie. He loved Ylla, but Alfie was his special dog.

When Dennis passed away in 2019, Kris was devastated. Ylla and Alfie were all she had left and she clung to them in her grief. Ylla was “Too much like her Mommy (Kris). Nervous and high strung.” Alfie was a soothing and calming force, providing enough love to help Kris wade through the sadness of her life without her husband of many years. Alfie carried his two people companions through the worst times of their lives.

Fast forward, four years to 2023. Tragedy struck when Alfie’s happier, charmed life was cut short. He was recently hit and killed by a passing car. Though Kris is once again mourning a loss, this time, because Alfie’s brightness shone so strong in life, she can still feel his spirit and love even in death.

Alfie may have had a terrible start to life, but his final years were spent loving and being loved. and to a dog, that’s the most important thing.

“Dogs die. But dogs live, too. Right up until they die, they live. They live brave, beautiful lives. They protect their families. And love us, and make our lives a little brighter, and they don't waste time being afraid of tomorrow." – Dan Gemeinhart, author of The Honest Truth (DailyPaws).