“My relationship with Alison was once in a lifetime, but so was his with her.”
When Alison first arrived at the Humane Rescue Alliance in Washington, D.C., all that was known about her past was that she’d had a hard life. Her family surrendered her after 10 years. She’d once been shot in the shoulder. She was terrified of other dogs. She’d been through a lot of chaos, and her rescuers were hoping to find her a home where she could live out her golden years in peace.
Around the same time, Cole Reifsnider was debating adopting a dog. She thought she wanted a puppy, but then she started thinking a senior dog could be the right option, and that’s how she found Alison.
“[My sister] jumped in to help, sending me every adoptable dog within the tri-state area,” Reifsnider told The Dodo. “She sent me this one senior dog, Alison. I vividly remember sending back, ‘Should I adopt a senior dog lol,’ followed by, ‘Wait no — seriously, I think I love her.’”
Reifsnider applied to meet Alison, and it was love at first sight. She adopted Alison on her eleventh birthday, and the pair began their journey together. Reifsnider always knew Alison was special, and everyone who met her seemed to agree. Despite everything she’d been through, she was the happiest dog, who just wanted to spread joy and make people’s lives better, especially her mom’s.
“I had no idea I was capable of loving something with my whole being until I got her,” Reifsnider said.
Even though Alison was a senior pup, she still loved taking short walks outside. So, her mom used an app called Rover to find a local dog walker to take Alison out when she couldn’t.
That’s how they met Seth. He was hired to take Alison on short walks and hang out with her for 30 minutes at a time.
And it didn’t take long for Seth to fall in love with Alison, too.
“Seth would spend anywhere from two to five hours with Alison,” Reifsnider said. “Not only did he just take her out, but he would go to the roof and hang out with her up there to make sure she got some sun. He would lay on the floor with her to pet her, and some days, he would share his lunch with her too! It made her day and his day.”
Seth loved Alison just as much as her mom did — and when it came time to say goodbye, Reifsnider knew Seth would want to be there.
“Seth’s last walk with Alison was on Thursday,” Reifsnider said. “However, on Thursday night when I started to worry about Alison, I immediately told Seth and I kept him updated while at the vet on Friday. When I told Seth that we would be putting Alison down at 4:30 p.m,. he told me he had an exam at 2 p.m., but he would be there, and he was. He finished his exam and rushed over to meet me outside of the vet and say his final goodbye to Alison.”
After two years in her forever home, Alison passed away peacefully surrounded by the people she loved. Afterward, full of grief, Seth wrote Alison’s final review on Rover — and it was the sweetest, most touching tribute ever written.
“It is with a heavy heart, but great honor, that I get to write the last review for Alison,” Seth wrote. “To know Al was a privilege. The happiest old lady who had every reason to be miserable. When I took the job walking Alison, I intended for it to just be a job. That did not last long. Her infectious personality quickly melted my heart and the hearts of anyone who got to know her. We formed a bond I will forever be grateful for. There was one thing I could always count on, and that would be countless tail wags the second she saw me open the door. She was there with me during some of the most stressful times, using her calming personality to be therapeutic. A truly once-in-a-lifetime dog, she will be missed in the hearts of everyone who knew her. I loved Al and every second I got to spend with her.”
Reifsnider sobbed when she read Seth’s review. Alison was gone, but all the people she’d touched would help to keep her memory alive forever.
“He absolutely adored Alison, and she adored him back,” Reifsnider said. “He captured her soooo perfectly in his short paragraphs. My relationship with Alison was once in a lifetime, but so was his with her.”
Alison’s superpower was loving fiercely and unconditionally, and she’ll never be forgotten.
