Allandale Veterinary Clinic

Featured Pet: Harley

Greater Swiss Mountain / Border Collie mix

Harley is gone but he will always remain a special part of our lives. For this reason we have chosen him as our featured pet. This is a letter we received from Harley's owners.

January 2007

Dear Allandale Vet Clinic,

We want to thank everyone for such a positive experience over the past few months. We all loved Harley very much and it was special to share that with each and every one of you.

Harley came into our lives in May of 2004; he was a gift to Jenny for our first wedding anniversary. We went to the Humane Society on Lamar and walked past him because he was so mellow when all the other dogs were jumping up and down, but luckily the second time around, we noticed Harley. He had just gotten fixed so we thought maybe he was still a little sleepy from the drugs. We came back the next day to see what his demeanor was after the drugs wore off and he was still the same mellow dog. Well, we of course took him home, and he was very happy about that decision, and so were we to say the least!

Harley relaxing with AVC staff

Before we brought him home, we found out that Harley was dropped off at the Humane Society, secured to the front steps, and left for adoption. For such a good dog, we figured it must have been a college student who was going home from school for the summer and couldn't keep him. He was estimated by Dr. Lee to be 5 months based on his teeth, 30 pounds and a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog/Border Collie mix. We were so happy to find such a great dog!

Our house had a huge backyard with 4 pecan trees. It was a pretty cool place for a dog to chase squirrels, hang out on top of his dog house and chill in the front yard which he had a special fondness for doing. He was the cool dude on the street because he would never leave the property, even for a squirrel or another dog. We could leave him out front and he would just wait for the next dog to come along to play. We'd just have to make sure the mailman had already walked by or we had an ear out to the squeaky brakes of the UPS driver. They were especially on his list. Other than with the postal people, he was very popular!

Harley's big passion was to be trained. He loved when we would give his commands. We were very fortunate with his obedience given his unknown background. He would look up with his eyes just affixed on yours waiting for "what's next."

Harley's life was very special; short, but very sweet. We feel so proud for everything that we all did to help make his life the very best. He touched so many of us, each a little differently. But to have gone through the process that we did, and to feel so positive afterwards, we owe you a very sincere thank you for all the love and care. There are some things about a job that really make you feel like you've made a difference, and clearly you make an impact not only on animals but their owner's lives too!

Thank you for everything!
Cary and Jenny Laudadio

Laudadio family with their new puppy, Motley