10/17/2026
In life, the majority of us are blessed with a dog who became the heart dog. For some of us, if our hearts are open to it, we will have more than one. Hannah was mine. Hannah passed away last Saturday at roughly 17 years old from aspiration pneumonia. This isnāt a post that is meant to be sad, but a post to share with my wonderful supporters and clients, how wonderful my girl was. Hannah was a red heeler x Catahoula leopard dog something mix. I found 4 weeks after my dog Charlie was hit by a car at 11 months old (that broke my heart, but thatās a different story for a different time). After Charlie died, I told myself that I wanted to do something good for the world in remembrance of him and 4 weeks later I found Hannah and her sibling on a dirt road near my house. I lived in rural Florida and didnāt recognize them. The likelihood that they were abandoned was high. So I did what any animal rescuer would do and I coaxed them into my car with beef jerky. I took them home and left them in my garage until I could figure out my next move. My mom volunteered for a rescue and they agreed they would take both of the girls if I agreed to foster them, which I did. Hannahās sister was adopted within a week, but Hannah wasnāt as pleasant to be around. She was unpredictable, hyper and .. idk. Weird. When she did finally have applications on her, she would be picked up for a trial and then returned. She was returned 3 times. She peed in the house, she had zoomies. She growled at my kid etc. The rescue finally came to me and said āyou know, Hayley, you could just keep her.ā That was that. I kept her.
In those years I had puts hundreds and hundreds of hours of training and socialization into her. She did miles of hiking with me (even though sometimes I had to carry her). She was a professional mouser and destroyer of rabbits. She continuously challenged me every single and made me work for good behavior. I was frustrated a lot but I laughed/smiled so much more. Hannah was an absolute gem of a dog. She was smart, courageous, protective, funny, adorable and weird and I loved the 16 or so years I knew her.
