St. Mark's Episcopal Church Rector, Charlie Holt, Enriches the Lives of People....and Pooches
For St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Rector, Charlie Holt’s morning drives from home are typically – and understandably – focused on spreading the word of God. Little over a year ago, though, that focus unexpectedly shifted to spreading the word of….a dog.
“While on my way to the church one day, I saw this husky wandering loose in and around the street,” Holt said. “I pulled my truck over, which resulted in a spontaneous move from the dog.”
When Charlie opened his truck door, the seemingly lost dog wasted no time jumping up into Holt’s vehicle.
“I looked the dog over, which didn’t have on a collar,” he said. “She had clearly been on the street for a while. Because I didn’t know who it belonged to, I turned around and took her home to our fenced-in yard.”
Later that day, Holt took the female husky to the vet to see if she happened to have a chip.
No luck.
“While on my way to the church one day, I saw this husky wandering loose in and around the street,” Holt said. “I pulled my truck over, which resulted in a spontaneous move from the dog.”
When Charlie opened his truck door, the seemingly lost dog wasted no time jumping up into Holt’s vehicle.
“I looked the dog over, which didn’t have on a collar,” he said. “She had clearly been on the street for a while. Because I didn’t know who it belonged to, I turned around and took her home to our fenced-in yard.”
Later that day, Holt took the female husky to the vet to see if she happened to have a chip.
No luck.
“So, I took pictures of her and put them Facebook, as well as other sites that seemed to make sense,” he said. “I found it fascinating how many people have a vested interest in helping lost dogs find their homes. So, the post got a lot of traction, because those that saw it forwarded it on to a lot of other sites.”
No luck.
“The husky was emaciated, probably 30-40 pounds underweight,” Holt said. “She had bad teeth and, on top of it all, she was in heat.”
Once Charlie and his wife, Brooke, decided to keep the dog, he took her to the vet again, got her spayed and had nine teeth removed, as well as a rather ominous looking cyst on her stomach.
No luck.
“The husky was emaciated, probably 30-40 pounds underweight,” Holt said. “She had bad teeth and, on top of it all, she was in heat.”
Once Charlie and his wife, Brooke, decided to keep the dog, he took her to the vet again, got her spayed and had nine teeth removed, as well as a rather ominous looking cyst on her stomach.
Based on the 1980 classic rock song, “Roxanne,” by The Police, Charlie and Brooke named the streetwalker, “Roxy.”
“She was an in-heat, loose lady walking the street who jumped into my truck,” Charlie laughed. “I couldn’t think of a more fitting name. Now, she doesn’t have to walk the streets. She can put away her make-up and not deal with any red lights, as the song lyrics go.”
For Roxy, luck.
“We basically nursed her back to health. She’s a terrific dog and, as huskies tend to do, she likes to talk a lot,” he laughed. “She’s so sweet. She loves to sit up on the couch with us. Really, she’s a companion dog that likes to be near us, wherever we go.”
Since the Holt’s adoption of Roxy, they’ve had to have another 10 teeth removed, taking the total to 19. That certainly sounds like a lot, but according to Charlie, normally, Huskys have over 40 teeth.
“Dogs are just so great,” he said. “For starters, they only know of unconditional love. In addition to Roxy, we also have “Walter,” another dog we rescued.”
The Holt’s first dog, a yellow lab named Abby, passed away after the family had moved from Florida to Texas.
“After she died, I was walking and saw a yellow lab out with it’s owner,” Charlie recalled. “I asked the owner if I could pet the dog, because it reminded me of ours. I told the dog owner about Abby recently dying.”
That dog owner then armed Charlie with a piece of advice he took to heart.
“She was an in-heat, loose lady walking the street who jumped into my truck,” Charlie laughed. “I couldn’t think of a more fitting name. Now, she doesn’t have to walk the streets. She can put away her make-up and not deal with any red lights, as the song lyrics go.”
For Roxy, luck.
“We basically nursed her back to health. She’s a terrific dog and, as huskies tend to do, she likes to talk a lot,” he laughed. “She’s so sweet. She loves to sit up on the couch with us. Really, she’s a companion dog that likes to be near us, wherever we go.”
Since the Holt’s adoption of Roxy, they’ve had to have another 10 teeth removed, taking the total to 19. That certainly sounds like a lot, but according to Charlie, normally, Huskys have over 40 teeth.
“Dogs are just so great,” he said. “For starters, they only know of unconditional love. In addition to Roxy, we also have “Walter,” another dog we rescued.”
The Holt’s first dog, a yellow lab named Abby, passed away after the family had moved from Florida to Texas.
“After she died, I was walking and saw a yellow lab out with it’s owner,” Charlie recalled. “I asked the owner if I could pet the dog, because it reminded me of ours. I told the dog owner about Abby recently dying.”
That dog owner then armed Charlie with a piece of advice he took to heart.
“He told me that a lot of people will say I’m not ready for another dog and that I need to wait a year…or more,” Charlie started. “But, he then told me to not wait, because a new dog would instantly fill that place of love, get your love and that it would give you what you’re wanting and needing. So, don’t torture yourself by waiting. That was really good advice.”
A short time later, Brooke was at a farmers market, where she happened upon a box of white puppies up for adoption. When they all came back later to get a look, it was then and there that they all decided to adopt Walter.
Another positive impact the Holt’s find dogs making is that they get owners out of the house and walking around the neighborhood.
“Because of them getting out to walk their pets, we’ve met people I don’t think we otherwise would have,” Charlie explained. “We have a neighbor who got a puppy which got him out of the house. We never saw him or had a chance to visit with him before he had a puppy. Now, we get to see and visit with him often when he takes the dog out.”
According to Charlie, the Holt’s have found him to be a great guy and someone they’ve gotten to know well. Best of all, it’s credited to…a dog.
“Dogs are just so full of love,” Charlie said, fronted by an ear-to-ear grin. “After all, what do you get when you spell DOG backwards.”
Another positive impact the Holt’s find dogs making is that they get owners out of the house and walking around the neighborhood.
“Because of them getting out to walk their pets, we’ve met people I don’t think we otherwise would have,” Charlie explained. “We have a neighbor who got a puppy which got him out of the house. We never saw him or had a chance to visit with him before he had a puppy. Now, we get to see and visit with him often when he takes the dog out.”
According to Charlie, the Holt’s have found him to be a great guy and someone they’ve gotten to know well. Best of all, it’s credited to…a dog.
“Dogs are just so full of love,” Charlie said, fronted by an ear-to-ear grin. “After all, what do you get when you spell DOG backwards.”
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