August 16, 2017

University President John Garvey’s August column for Catholic News Service reflected on walking dogs, and walking with Christ.

We used to have a proper dog, Shiva, a large German shepherd mix with broad shoulders and golden eyes. She was as bright as some 5-year-old children. 

She came when she was called and would lie respectfully by my chair in her spare time. A year before Shiva's demise, we got a small utility backup dog named Gus. 

In some ways Gus is a better animal for a president of a university. He doesn't bark. He's comfortable around people and looks approachable. 

He resembles Little Orphan Annie's dog Sandy. My wife, who acquired him from the animal rescue league at Eastern Market, imagines that he had, like Sandy, a traumatic early life. 

That might explain his pathetic devotion to her. And why not? She buys him duck feet for treats, takes him for walks, lets him sit on her lap to watch TV. Compared to chasing squirrels for dinner and sleeping in the snow (the life she imagines he once led), he has fallen into a tub of butter.

Continue reading in the Boston Pilot