It was 2009. Emily Gear was living in New York. Eight years had passed since two planes flew into the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center, causing the two tallest buildings on the globe to implode, killing nearly 3,000 people, and sending a ripple of fear, anxiety, hatred across borders.

When something like that happens in your home town, you are in an instant changed. For Emily, PTSD had seeped into her soul. Her world was a heavy place. Her heart was missing a piece.

Emily wasn’t much into dogs back then but she was asked to babysit a basset hound and she said yes. That one little word was what pulled her out of a dark abyss. It became the start of a journey that has ultimately saved more than 22,000 animals by finding them forever homes that are filled with love.

It all started with Louie

There he was. On the 13^th page she looked at on Pet Finder. He was a basset/husky mix with red fur and multi-colored eyes. Something about him just spoke to Emily, called for her to drive to Connecticut to meet him in person. He was heartworm positive which was fatal if not treated with very expensive medical treatment. She really was not expecting to bring him home, but she did.

Louie was just what Emily needed at the time.

I was shut down. He made friends with people easily. He was funny. He looked so weird with his short legs on a huge body and a head that didn’t quite fit. He looked like he was pieced together from different toys, she told me.

But also, he knew what she needed every moment. They were in each other’s heads all the time. I don’t think a human being could have done that, she said.

Louie, it turned out, came from a shelter that euthanized more than 99% of its dogs. It blew Emily away that her soul mate, her companion, could have easily been one of that statistic.

Saving dogs. Giving love. This became her life mission.

Moving back to Cincinnati, Emily began volunteering for rescue organizations while making medical and transport arrangements for animals. Soon she realized she needed to start her own rescue.

Sadly, it was one of her foster dogs that opened the gate to her back yard, through which Louie ran out and into the street. His life ended when he was hit by a passing SUV.

He had a specific job to do and when he did it, he left, she told me.

He didn’t get to see the day Louie’s Legacy was incorporated but truly, it is his legacy, that thousands of animals have been saved to do their job with their humans, to bring and receive joy through every day moments.

Louie’s Legacy, now operating out of New York and Cincinnati, is one of the largest shelters in the U.S. Almost all of the dogs they bring in have come from kill shelters.

Today Emily shares her home with four dogs, ages 11 to 15. Joe is a basset/Carolina mix who was a friend to Louie. Sirus Jones is a jack russell mix. Sandusky is a basset/husky mix who she found on Pet Finder just 13 days after losing Louie. And Louie Jr. is a fox hound mix, part of the first litter of puppies she fostered.

They keep me honest about the flow of life. That things begin and end and we need to be okay with that. You can’t waist the now moment worrying about that, she said.

By the way, Emily has also become an animal communicator and healer. You can learn more at www.IamEmilyGear.com.

My Furry Valentine

You can see animals from Louie’s Legacy and many other rescue organizations at My Furry Valentine, the region’s largest adoption event.  Thousands of animals will be looking for their forever homes. This year it is February 15 and 16 at the Sharonville Convention Center (11355 Chester Road; Cincinnati, OH 45246). General admission is $5 and early bird admission is $25.