Harley is the April 14 2019 Pup of the Week

After being shattered by the deaths of many beloved friends in the past few weeks, and having to watch their parents grieve, we here at rainbow bridge District four got a much-needed reprieve this week.  There were no new angels and no newly broken hearted parents.

And now I can do something I haven't Been able to do in a hound’s age.  I can celebrate a hero who still walks among you.

I present for your approval Harley from Round Rock Texas.  Harley is a pitbull mix. If we were not domesticated and living in the wild, the Pitbull would be, with his strength and intelligence the leader of the dog world.  But we have allowed humans to rule us by serving them. Instead of ruling pit bulls live on the edge of the dog world. Some communities shun them altogether.

I got to know Harley through his prayers.  He was born feral. His mom was a pittie disowned upon pregnancy.

Harley was born in an alley on a cold and rainy day.  His mom found a place behind a dumpster to nourish him and his siblings.  When they got old enough, and the animal control visits became more frequent, she told her puppies to run and never to get caught.  She knew what happened to homeless pit bull puppies.

Despite being born on the streets, Harley did not have much Street Sense.  He tried befriending a stranger. This got him a trip to the Williamson county regional animal shelter.

Luckily the staff took to Harley.  He could chase down and sniff out tennis balls for hours.  Shortly after he arrived at the shelter, he was adopted. In even a shorter time he was brought back.  He was far too rambunctious for a family. They didn't have time to provide him the strict discipline he needed.

Harley was in the shelter six months before I heard his first prayer for freedom.  I entered his information into the prayer database. There was a Possible match. It was a long shot but so was Harley's entire life.

Round Rock police officer Noah Moncivais had been praying for a canine partner.  I slipped into his dreams to plant an absurd idea. Instead of getting a dog bred and trained purposefully for police work why not go to the local shelter find a sweet Pitbull and adopt him as a partner?

Harley took right to the life of a police dog.  He had found what he always needed — a task to do where he could all his energy.
For five years Harley and Moncivias were inseparable.  They performed rescue missions together, acted as ambassadors to their community protected them, and served honorably.  

At six years of age, Harley was retired from the police force. It was an involuntary retirement.  Every morning Holly jumps in the back of Moncivias’ patrol car ready to go to work.

But Moncivais brings Harley back inside and reminds him that he has new duties. First Is to be retrained as a house dog.  The years of living on the street, and then the high energy life of a police dog do not translate to long days sitting in the sun and being a lap dog.  But Moncivais and Harley are making strides every day.

Harley still has a purpose.  To be a pack leader to the three other dogs in the house and to serve and protect Moncivias’ family and most importantly his three-year-old son.

Moncivias knows he doesn't trust anybody with this task more than his old partner.


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