Harold came to Casey at about a year and a half old. He was trained by Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, Inc. in Smithtown, NY on Long Island, about an hour east of New York City. He was awarded to Casey by America’s VetDogs, the sister organization of The Guide Dog Foundation.

He is an English Labrador. This means that his face is a bit more square and his body is a bit stockier than the ‘American’ labs you might be used to seeing.

He loves water, as do most Labs, and whether at the dog park, in our pool or in the tub getting the dog park washed off of him, he is never far from it.

Harold turned 10 years old on April 21st, 2020. He and Casey were constant companions for 3 1/2 years. You have only to look at the pictures on this site to see how special their relationship was.

We initially thought that, as a service animal with extensive training, he should be returned to the foundation so that he could assist another deserving veteran. A dear friend of Casey’s in Aspen flew with him to Long Island to return him as we could not bear to put him in a crate in the belly of an airliner. We always left open the possibility that if the retraining didn’t work that we would adopt him. For a while, it appeared that the program was working. But, in the final analysis, he was not going to be able to be placed with another veteran.

That was all we needed to hear! Casey’s mom was on the next plane to New York and had Harold back in Texas to his Forever Home in less than 24 hours!  Having Harold at home is like having part of Casey with us.