Lois and Lucy confirmed our sense of community

A very familiar Wolfville duo went missing from Main St. over a month ago. An elderly woman, Lois Harris, and her aged black Labrador retriever were seen regularly a couple of times a day strolling sedately, whatever the weather.

The gregarious Lois, who used to work at the post office in downtown Halifax, had time to chat to university students and residents alike. Anyone who talked to her knew how much her dog Lucy meant to her.

One Saturday in July at the farm market another dog lover, Linda Lusby, asked me if I had seen Lois lately. We had been away a week, so I hadn't.

After checking with Fred Chipman, whose father lives in the same apartment block, I found out the daily walks were over. Lois had fallen and suffered a stroke. She was in the hospital. Meanwhile, "Lucy had sadly gone to the great doggie playland where there are no end of treats, lots of faces to kiss, and arthritic joints don’t hurt anymore," as Linda phrased it.

A professor living on the same street recalled, "mid- to late every afternoon they would head along Main Street, sometimes stopping for a sit on the bench in front of U. Hall, visit the grocery store, stroll back along Acadia Street or via the path by the tracks – sometimes stopping for another sit and a rest on the grass. Mornings and evenings they could be seen heading for the Wolfville Quiet Park. For me, and also for many of my students and friends, Lois and Lucy have been a treasured part of the Wolfville Community. They will be missed."

Blown away by the response

Linda was sure others at Acadia or in town would have consciously or unconsciously noticed Lois and Lucy were gone, so she sent out a message on the university list serve. A couple of days later she wrote, "I have been simply blown away by the response to my message to the Acadia community re: Lois and Lucy. Yesterday I had over 70 e-mails, phone calls and visits at my office. All were people thanking me for filling in the gap - many had been missing the duo and almost all had some little Lois/Lucy story to share. People from every sector on campus, newcomers and 'lifers' as well."

A staff member at Acadia wrote, "so many times I have commented what a wonderful sight it was to see them together – sometimes she would have her bright red hat on, and bright red lipstick! I would say to myself – 'I must take a photo because this will not always be so.' Of course I never did take the photo, but I sure hope that somebody did. Another thing I say to myself is,'it’s the little things in life that make the difference' and the old lady and her dog was certainly one of them. So many times it gladdened my heart!"

Another said, "I did want to know. I love that we are in a place where we know people, and we know that others do and that it matters.... May we all be so fortunate – to have spots to rest, people who notice our presence and absence and people who know that others will want to know what happens to us…and our dogs! We are fortunate to be part of a community, and I think particularly of the university community, where such things are far and away the most important things.”

Someone else acknowledged, "I too noticed this sweet lady walking her dog as I drove into Wolfville daily. All too often these people seem to disappear without us ever putting a name to their faces. Thank you for sharing her story and thanks to Lois for making me smile every time I saw her and Lucy enjoying the simpler pleasures in life."

People loved her attitude toward life

People saw the patient dog and her rather feisty owner as a team. They loved Lois's attitude toward life. One man admitted the news made him shed a tear.

Despite the sad message, one professor noted, "it reminds me of why I am so grateful that I accepted the appointment to Acadia University and that my family and I moved to Wolfville."

A graduate student recalled, "during my darkest times and grief I would see them out for their daily walk. Somehow this gave me peace, a feeling that there was a 'constant' in my life amid the whirling chaos of change. Even in the moments when I felt the most alone seeing this constant revealed a momentary truth for me. A realization that we are never really alone and invisible. We are in fact connected to one and other, strung together by moments in time - often without recognizing it."

Wolfville merchants missed Lois and Lucy too. Carl Oldham at the Save-Easy viewed Lucy as a kind of seeing-eye dog. She was as welcome in the store as Lois. When I touched base with him, his wife Tracy had been up to the hospital to visit Lois and they were not the only merchants who treated the pair with affection.

A Harris family member says people might like to know that Lois has recovered very well from her fall and also from her stroke, although she is not well enough to resume a lifestyle of living alone with assistance. She needs more consistent residential care. Hopefully a place will turn up before too long.

When it does, Lois would probably like to have dog owners visit with their companions. Meanwhile, we all hope Lois can sense how much she's missed and loved and how we feel for her trying to move on without Lucy. All of the reactions to their loss reconfirmed that in a small town, we and our pets really are part of one great community.