Friend for Life

Sharon and Maggie May

Tri-City Tales Issue No. 45

Sharon Dooley wasn’t sure what kind of dog she wanted the day she walked into Tri-City Animal Shelter, but she knew the kind of dog she didn’t want: a big one. She was looking for a companion for herself, and for her Bichon, named Biscuit. She worked long hours as a nurse, and knew that a big dog would need a lot of attention. And food.

As Sharon walked through the shelter corridors, scanning the adoptable dogs, she paused when she saw the female mastiff mix. The dog was almost a year old, and had been abandoned near Joe Pool Lake. Their eyes met. “You know I’m the one,” she seemed to be saying.

“I can’t take you,” Sharon remembers thinking, looking through the glass. “You’re going to be humongous.” She kept on walking—and kept circling back. She couldn’t stop thinking about her. Finally, Sharon talked to the shelter staff. They said she could take the dog home for a few days, just to see how things went. Sharon started calling her Maggie May.

At home, she introduced Maggie May to Biscuit, who immediately launched into a barking fit. She laid down and rested her head on her paws. Biscuit stopped barking. “That was the moment I knew,” Sharon said. “She had chosen me.” Maggie May became part of the family, running through the back yard with Biscuit, and curling up each night beside Sharon.

A few years later, Sharon was diagnosed with an advanced stage of cancer. She underwent months of treatment, 16 rounds of chemo that would leave her ill and sapped of energy. At times, she didn’t even have the strength to answer her phone. But as Sharon rested to get her strength back, Maggie May would crawl into her lap and put her head on Sharon’s shoulder. “I could not have gotten through it without her,” Sharon said.

Maggie May lived for 10 years—long for a big dog, Sharon said, “but not nearly long enough for me. In October of last year, with Maggie’s hips and body failing, Sharon tearfully had to say goodbye. When she thinks about how she almost didn’t adopt Maggie May, “I realize I came so close to missing out. What was the chance of me being able to walk in there and find her? I kept giving her all the excuses of why it wouldn’t work out, she proved me wrong.”