Steven Sanchez, Jr.

I’ve been living in Fresno for four years now. I’ve been in southeast Fresno as I’ve been  a student at Fresno Pacific. There I’ve lived on campus and have become quite familiar with the area. I often take Butler Avenue to get to Peach Avenue. It is on Butler Avenue, just east of Winery that I often see an older man walking his dog.

Now this man, I don’t know his name. However I have seen him many times. He wears his windbreaker coat and beanie and walks his golden retriever. I assume they do this on a daily basis, for I have seen them countless times. Now this dog, I was able to see he was getting old. My freshman year, the dog walked at a slow pace. My sophomore year – at an even slower pace. My junior year, with a limp. And then, this morning. This morning was the first time I had seen them in a while. I was driving back to my place after church, and when I saw the man and his dog, my heart just sunk.

Today I saw the man walking, but this time his dog was not walking along side of him. Instead, the man was pulling his dog in a red wagon.

Seeing that today made me so sad, but so happy at the same time. I was able to see that lasting relationship between man and his dog.  That no matter what, the man and his dog would still go on their daily walk. That today was really a highlight and it has been on my mind a lot.

Now, there was one of those large medical-liners that was hanging over the edges of the wagon that the dog was sitting on. I don’t know if he had surgery, or simply can’t walk much at all any more. But yeah. Was just really heart-warming and I immediately knew that I wanted to share this story with you guys today.