Episode 14: Meet BoCo Open Space Ranger, Kevin Grady, & his "Miracle Dog" Dottie

Welcome to the Carousel of Happiness Podcast. On today's show, you'll meet Boulder County Open Space Ranger, Kevin Grady, and his "Miracle Dog," Dottie. You'll learn about how they started working together, and how a mysterious accident caused them to deepen their bond and connection to one another. Take a listen for your daily dose of miracles, and for a story about the healing power of unconditional love.

Don't forget to vote for Mayor of the Carousel – voting ends May 26!

• Learn more about the Mayor Election and the perks of voting! (https://carouselofhappiness.org/mayor-of-the-carousel/) 
• Ready to cast your vote? Here's the link to the ballot. (https://carouselofhappiness.org/mayor-ballot/)

Check out Dottie's healing journey with Walking Paws here. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QADGkiuRdw)

• Learn more about Walking Paws Rehab here. (https://www.walkingpawsrehab.com/)

Learn more about Search and Rescue Dogs of Colorado here. (https://sardoc.org/cms/)

The Carousel of Happiness is a nonprofit arts & culture organization dedicated to inspiring happiness, well-being, and service to others through stories and experiences.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider visiting the Carousel of Happiness online (https://carouselofhappiness.org/), on social media (https://www.facebook.com/carouselofhappiness), or in real life; or consider donating (https://carouselofhappiness.app.neoncrm.com/forms/general-donation) to keep the carousel and its message alive and spinning 'round and 'round.

If you have a story to share, please reach out to Allie Wagner at outreach@carouselofhappiness.org

Special thanks to songwriter, performer, and friend of the carousel, Darryl Purpose (https://darrylpurpose.com/), for sharing his song, "Next Time Around," as our theme song.

Transcript

Welcome to the Carousel of Happiness Podcast. I’m your host, Allie Wagner. 

We are in the throes of election season here at the carousel. As many of you know, Mayor Giraffe is stepping down this May, and we’ve got three puuurfect candidates – lion, pig, and dragon – who have lifted their paws, hooves, and claws, asking for your bear-y generous support.

Yes, in fact, the puns are getting worse on the podcast, and will likely continue to do so as the election progresses. My a-paw-logies.

Ugh. Don’t let the wordplay deter you, we’ve got a great episode for you today.

Before we get to that, a quick reminder on how you can participate in this year’s election. 

Each vote for mayor is $1 and all of the money we raise between now and May 26th, is 100% tax deductible and goes directly back into the carousel to keep us spinning. There are so many ways to participate. You can vote – either online or in-person. You can become a Wonder Scout and rally others to vote. If you get 10 people to vote for the candidate of your choice, you get a free ride on the carousel. If you get 20 people to vote, you get a free t-shirt.

Perhaps, you’d like to become a campaign partner. If you donate $100 or more to the candidate of your choice, you get a free 15th anniversary t-shirt and a mention on our website and this podcast. If you donate $250 or more, you get all of that stuff, plus a free copy of Scott Harrison’s new coffee table book, Carousel Soul. In it, he explains the story behind each and every carving in the carousel – the riding animals, the hitchhikers, the Somewhere Else Wall, all of it. If you’ve ever wondered why the rooster has a pearl necklace or why the cow has horns, you can find all of those answers, and more, in that book. Plus, Scott reveals some of his secrets for how he carved each and every animal and why.

Big shoutout to Lisa Culver who joined the lion’s pride and became a Campaign Partner for Lion at the $250 level. I’d be lion, if I said we weren’t grateful for your support. Thank you, thank you, thank you. 

Also, big thank you to Lily Morse who is on fire for dragon, becoming a Campaign Partner at the $100 level after hearing our dragon-sponsored episode of the podcast last week. Thank you. You are o- fish - ally the best.

Yeah, I know. It’s getting bad. 

As I mentioned, last week on the podcast, we took a trip down to Longmont to hear about the Warrior Storyfield and its work with veterans building a 16 ft dragon and an 18 ft phoenix out of metal. Over 100 veterans, civilians, and their families have contributed to the project, finding inner peace and healing along the way, including yours truly. If you missed it, be sure to check it out.

Today’s episode is sponsored by the lion king himself, and, I’ve got to say, he made an interesting choice. Today, I’m going to share a story about Boulder County Open Space Ranger, Kevin Grady, and his K9 partner, Ms. Dottie.

Now wait, I know what you’re thinking. The Feral Feline Federation to Elect Lion chose to sponsor an episode about a dog, what’s up with that?

When I talked to folks in lion’s camp, they wanted to emphasize how he’s a little bit different than most carousel lions. Traditionally, turn of the century carousels would feature lions as riding animals. But many of them were carved in wild poses, with big, scary open mouths full of teeth. And what many operators noticed was that these animals weren’t ridden as much, particularly by younger riders, who found them to be a bit too intimidating. So when Scott carved our lion, he intentionally put him in a gentle pose with a soft expression, and a closed mouth.

Lion is aware of this, and wanted to highlight to voters how he’s different. In fact, rumor has it, he’s considering dog as his running mate and candidate for Vice-Mayor or Deputy Mayor or Assistant to the Regional Mayor…whatever you want to call it.

So, in a demonstration of interspecies bipartisan support, lion is reaching across the aisle and bringing you this episode about Boulder County Open Space Ranger, Kevin Grady, and his K9 partner, Ms. Dottie. You’ll hear about how they’ve been working together, and how after a crazy accident, the bond between them has grown stronger than ever.  

Let us begin with today’s story.

GONG

About 11 miles north of Boulder you’ll find Heil Valley Ranch, a 5,000 acre wildlife area with beautiful valleys, picturesque vistas, and forest meadows as far as the eye can see. It is home to 100 types of birds and 50 species of mammals representing 70% of all of the mammals found in Boulder County. These mammals include elk, black bear, mule deer, coyote, mountain lions, and two very special mammals. Resident Ranger, Kevin Grady, and his golden retriever partner, Dottie.

Kevin has been the resident ranger at Heil Valley Ranch for 23 years now, where he lives on site with his wife Christy, their Jack Russell terrier, Jojo, and, their most recent addition, Dottie.

Kevin is a New Jersey native who fled the smog and congestion as soon as he could to attend CSU in Fort Collins. There, he studied parks protection management, and shortly after graduating, joined the Boulder County trail crew. He was supporting the then caretaker at Heil Valley one summer when his boss decided to leave the position. Since Kevin was already doing most of the work at the time, he was offered the job. You can say, he was in the right place at the right time.

And life was great for Kevin and his wife Christy for a while. He lived in a spectacular place close to nature. And for Kevin, nature and the outdoors were, and still are, his church.

But things changed during COVID. With mask mandates and distancing requirements, many Boulder County residents fled to wild spaces like Heil Valley Ranch. Pretty soon, the park was jam packed. And, the truth is, people weren’t being well-behaved. They weren’t being polite. They weren’t following the rules. And Kevin’s job suddenly wasn’t as peaceful or as fun as it used to be. He was seeing people behaving at their worst.

One day, after repeatedly issuing ticket after ticket to folks not abiding by trail closures, Kevin was at his wit’s end. He had a couple of panic attacks. He was struggling to cope, and spiraling downward.

One of the hardest things about a job like this is that it’s difficult not to take work home with you. You live at work. So even on his days off, Kevin had to drive by two trailheads to leave his house, where he’d often see people parking illegally or throwing their trash on the ground. It was incredibly frustrating.

And 2022 was a particularly challenging year for Kevin and Christy. They, like all of us, were coming out of COVID. And personally, that year, they lost family members and their beloved dog, 13 year old Cooper.

Kevin knew something needed to change. He started meditating, he went to therapy. He even considered changing careers. Perhaps going back to school. Regardless, he knew, if he stayed at Heil Valley, he needed to make his job fun again.

At that time, Boulder County was looking to add another search and rescue dog to its team. They already had a bloodhound and a german shepard, and had asked Kevin multiple times if he wanted to train a dog.

Kevin had always loved dogs, but his dad was afraid of them, and he wasn’t allowed to have them growing up. He had two dogs already, Cooper and Jojo, but was initially resistant to having a working dog. You see, dogs aren’t allowed at Heil Valley Ranch due to wildlife concerns, and he felt a little awkward about the potential of approaching a visitor who had a dog and explaining the rule, all while he himself had one with him. It didn’t feel right.

Plus, he already had his two dogs already, which seemed like a lot. But when Cooper passed, and the agency asked him again, this time he said yes.

He thought this might be just what he needed to fall back in love with his job again.

At the end of 2023, Dottie joined Kevin’s family and the search and rescue dog team of Boulder County. She was an adorable orange ball of curiosity and cuteness. She immediately took to training, and was really, really good.

Not to mention, she breathed life back into Kevin’s work. She gave him purpose. She insisted he always be present. When those naughty humans parked where they shouldn’t parl, and Kevin found himself getting upset, he need only look at Dottie. She wasn’t upset, why should he be?

Their bond was strong, but it was about to get even stronger. Around this time last year, April 10th to be exact, Kevin was inside his home cooking dinner when he heard a loud cry in the backyard. Jojo and Dottie had been outside playing, and Kevin’s first fear was a large animal had hopped the fence and taken one of the dogs.

He rushed out to the backyard to find Dottie on her side crying. She wouldn’t get up. She wouldn’t move. And anytime he touched her, she would cry out in pain. 

Kevin and his wife took Dottie to the emergency vet. She had gone into shock and things didn’t look good. The vet discovered that Dottie had broken her C2 vertebrae in three places. No one had ever seen anything like it, and no one knew how she did it.

Even to this day.

When Kevin took Dottie to the ER he had decided, working dog or not, he was all in for Dottie. He knew there was a possibility she might not ever be able to work or walk again. 

She was only 5 ½ months old. 

The surgeon explained to Kevin that they had never done a procedure like this before. They asked what Kevin wanted to do. Go through with the surgery or put her down.

There was no doubt in Kevin’s mind. He said, “do the surgery.”

The surgery was successful, but very, very expensive. Since she was technically Kevin’s dog and didn’t belong to Boulder Country, he would have to cover the cost.

Then, there was the rehabilitation. Dottie would need a lot of it. Her spine had been stabilized by the surgery, but she was still paralyzed and could not walk. After covering the cost of the expensive surgery, Kevin walked into the office of Walking Paws Rehab in Boulder and told them he could afford two weeks worth of rehab. That’s it. He promised to do exercises with her at home, but that’s all he could pay for. Dr. Wynn and the Walking Paws team fell in love with Dottie and her story. They wanted to see what they could do for this puppy with a big job ahead of her. So they donated months worth of therapy to Kevin and Dottie.

Against all odds, Dottie learned how to move again. Pretty soon, she could walk. And then, even run. As soon as her cast came off, she got back to SAR training without skipping a beat. Eventually, she experienced a 100%, full range of motion, recovery.

Kevin calls 2024 “the year of Dottie.” Everything in his life was about her and her recovery. They were together constantly, he thought of nothing else but her.

Kevin credits Dr. Wynn and her team at Walking Paws for Dottie’s full recovery. Not only the healing treatments she received, but the overwhelming unconditional love that each and every team member showered upon her at every appointment.

Kevin isn’t what you’d describe as a “woo woo” sort of guy. He’s got that slightly gruff, direct way about him that you’d expect from a guy from New Jersey. But when he shows me pictures of Dottie’s recovery, and I see him pulling her in a wheelbarrow on walks before she could walk, he instantly softens. There’s a tenderness about him. He shows me picture after picture of him lying next to her, him holding her, him cheering her on. Over and over.

He said he never believed in miracles until Dottie. And he never quite understood the power of unconditional love until that accident. How can you not? When he talks about Dottie he lights up from the inside. She is his “miracle dog.”

The accident caused Kevin and Dottie to bond in a way that might not have happened otherwise. She absolutely adores him, and he, her. 

When I met Dottie yesterday, she was a happy, floppy, silly almost-18 month old golden retriever. She was not on duty, so she was readily available for belly rubs and smiles. Had Kevin not told me about the accident, I wouldn’t have known what she had been through. There was no way of telling by looking at her. She was a wiggly ball of happiness and joy.

And, did I mention, she’s really, really good at her job too. Last Sunday, she passed her Type 3 Scent Trailing and Tracking test. In it, she followed a human scent 2 hours old over a distance of 1 mile. She has two more certifications left, and Kevin hopes she might be cleared by May. Her last test requires her to follow a human scent 24 hours old over the span of 1 mile. She’ll need to complete that test in both a wilderness and urban setting before she’s allowed to go out on call outs.

Kevin showed me the map of their most recent test. On it, you could see the trail made by the human subject, and the trail made by Dottie. He pointed to one section of the map in particular. He said that was the location where he found himself losing confidence. He was getting in his head. He thought she was way off, and he was getting discouraged.

The evaluator was nearby, watching both Kevin and Dottie. Kevin turned to the evaluator and said, “I’ve got low confidence. I don’t think she’s on the trail.”

The evaluator responded, “think about how your confidence is affecting your dog.”

Kevin immediately changed his tune. He started to cheer her on, he gave her a little pep talk. “Come on Dottie, you can do it.”

The dog’s behavior immediately changed. She started displaying signs of being on the trail. Kevin shows me the location on the map. She immediately responded to him, and got back on track.

And made a beeline for the human in no time.

Kevin credits Dottie for making him more present. When they’re working together, following a scent, he needs to be completely tuned in to her. Reading her mannerisms, watching her work. He cannot be in his head, like he was when he lost confidence in her. He must be completely connected to and present with her at all times.

And that’s healing for Kevin. And it’s healing for Dottie. 

Kevin believes his miracle dog is going to go on to do great things. He thinks she has something to prove in this lifetime. Why else would she have stuck around?

Kevin tells me a story about a woman with dementia that got lost and accidentally wandered off. It was a canine team that was able to find her and bring her safely back to her family. The story struck a chord with Kevin, whose dad has been struggling with alzheimer’s and dementia for 8 years now. It is his dream that Dottie might be able to help someone like that in the future.

If her progress is any indication, Dottie will soon be part of the Boulder County Search and Rescue Dog Team, but she also has another very important role. That of trail ambassador. Kevin regularly takes her out on walks so she can help educate visitors of Boulder County parks about the importance of leash laws and picking up after your dog. It turns out, it’s sometimes easier to hear about the rules when there’s an adorable orange face nearby.

Dottie also regularly attends Boulder County programming like career fairs and visits from the girls scouts. She is a gentle canine ambassador who is able to make lasting impressions on the people she meets, like me.

Meanwhile, Kevin enjoys his job more than he has in a long time. Dottie’s accident and the perspective that came with it, not to mention her insistence on him being present has had a lasting, positive impact on his life and work.

If you’d like to see a video of Dottie’s recovery, check out the link from Walking Paws in the show notes. You can also donate to the Search and Rescue Dogs of Colorado organization, and learn more about their work in the link below.

Dottie and Kevin are hard at work today. Tuesdays are an all-day training day for them, but as soon as they get back, we’ll have some pictures of both of them on our Facebook and Instagram.

Don’t forget to cast your vote for Mayor, either online or in person. Voting continues until May 26th.

In the meantime, take care. Be well. And, as we like to say at the Carousel of Happiness, “don’t delay joy.” And we’ll see you next time around.