Merlin’s Journey

We adopted Merlin, formerly named Monty, a four-year-old beagle mix from the Orcas Island Shelter last year. He came from the Bellingham Humane Society Shelter. We wanted a dog who liked cats. Blue, our Himalayan cat, is the primary reason Merlin got to stay. When we first brought Merlin home to meet him, they seemed to have already met. Blue just looked up at him, they sniffed noses, and Blue fell back to sleep. We had a winner! So Merlin joined our family.

We renamed him Merlin because, in the Native American Way, a name you are given is what you grow into. We felt that his journey was to discover himself in all of his strength and confidence and joy in living.

At first he was very shy and afraid of loud noises, men carrying large objects, and people moving too quickly. There were times in the first few months when he would lie down, apparently depressed because of earlier traumas—a state from which we were unable to rouse him. We also were unable to leave him alone, for his separation anxiety was so great he would become destructive of our home and frighten Blue.

Now, Merlin loves to meet other dogs and has lost his shyness with people. We take him everywhere with us. He is a precious example of the emotional healing that can take place when a Being feels safe, loved, respected, and cared for. We have watched him blossom from a shy, timid guy into a fully flowering personality, all on his own. We love him and are immensely thankful to everyone at the shelter for rescuing him and bringing him to his Forever Home!  - Spirit Eagle and Domenic Verbano