Pooch, a former North Shore neighborhood stray, spent years on the run, too skittish for anyone to catch, before 79-year-old Dot Boucher was finally able to coax him into her life.
“We were not, at our age, going to get another dog,” she said of her and husband Tom Boucher, 80. Then, Pooch was diagnosed with asymptomatic heartworm disease, and he found his forever home.
“We figured nobody else would take him with his health condition, you know, and now he’d be the greatest loss,” Dot Boucher said. “He’s just been a joy, just a sheer joy. He makes me happy all the time.”
It took Pooch longer to warm up to Tom Boucher, but that doesn’t stop them from taking four good walks a day.
“With Pooch, he gives me a good exercise, so I think it’s keeping me healthy,” he said.