And happy?

For cat people, Sarah and Ash McGinley have quite the dog.

The Wright State University couple last July adopted Marco, a blind and battered pit bull who was s itting on death row in Virginia. Today, the handsome, affectionate 4-year-old animal is discoveringtheworldwithrestored eyesi ghtandbringingjoyto the McGinleys.

“Marco has changed my life so much,” said Sarah McGinley. “He’s made me more happy and outgoing. I’m kind of an introvert, but if you’ve got a dog with you, people want to talk to you.”

The McGinleys are still try- ing to help Marco get used to the big, wide world outside of a dog shelter.

“He’s agoraphobic,” said Ash McGinley, adding that Marco has had to be slowly coaxed out of the couple’s Dayton home. And the dog is terrified of thunderstorms, taking refuge in the dark recesses of the basement until they pass.

In addition to their love for Marco, the McGinl eyssharea passion for writing.

Sarah grew up in Dorset, E ngland, moved to Detroit at age 22 for family reasons, and then to Dayton, where she enrolled at Wright State in 1992 to study creative writing.

After earning her master’s degree in English in 1994, she worked for a small publish- ing house and the University of Dayton. She later returned to Wright State, where she is a senior lecturer in the Depart- ment of English Language and Literatures and primarily teaching composition for nursing students.

Ash grew up in McLean,

As dog stories NEW YORK — go, this one about a scruffy little stray named Gobi has legs for miles.

The sand-colored pooch with big, soulful eyes has a book out and movie deal after she happened on ultra-runner Dion Leonard last year during a 155-mile race across desert dunes, over mountains and through yurt villages in the remote autonomous region of Xinjiang in northwest China.

On short but powerful legs, Gobi kept pace with Leonard for nearly 80 miles in 100-plus degree heat, securing a spot in his heart forever. But their dog chooses man, man saves dog story doesn’t end there.

While the Australian human living in Scotland returned home to Edinburgh to figure out exactly how one adopts a stray dog from China and gets her into the United Kingdom, Gobi went missing from the home of a person in the race community Leonard had met during the multistage, sevenday race. The acquaintance was kind enough to tempo- rarily shelter the dog as Leon- ard untangle dtheredtape.

Gobi’s disappearance led Leonard to hustle back to China and join a search for the dog in the densely pop- ulated city of Urumqi, where street cleaners disposed of their reward posters about as fast as they could plaster them on lampposts, cars and shop windows.

Looming over the search was fear that nearly $50,000 raised for Gobi’s cause through crowdfunding, attracting media attention in the UK

MEMORIALIZE YOUR PET

Doyouhaveabelovedpet that has passed away? You can honor a pet with Pet Memorial to be printed in the newspaper on our Pet Virginia, and spent his early working years doing preventive maintenance on computer disks and later hanging dry- wall. In 1989 he enrolled at Wright State at age 38.

While taking a Great Books English course, he was told he had a talent for writing. He obtaine d his bach elor’s degree in education in 1992 and became a technical writer and editor, writing weapons and armaments proposals for a defense contractor.

After retiring, he returned to Wright State, where he takessixhourseverys emes- ter towards a bachelor’s degree in creative wri ting. He a lso works at the Writing Center, helping fellow students with their papers.

The McGinleys met in 1993 at Wright State, where they were taking classes together andhadofficesn ext to each other. They married in 1996.

“We had 11 cats at one stage,” said Sarah. “That’s what hap- pens when two cat people get married.”

But the cat people have since become dog people.

In 2013, Georgia Obenaus, CEO and founder of Go Rescue Pet Adoption Center in Virginia Beach, came across Marco at a shelter. It was clear and China, might have cre- ated a “dognapping” scenario. About 10 days after Gobi disappeared, she was found and the two were reunited, though the dog had suffered a hip injury and a deep head gash.

Together, they waited out 90 days of quarantine in a dank Beijing apartment before making it home to Scotland in January. So what made Gobi, named so by Leonard for the desert where they met, choose the 42-year-old Aussie in the first place?

“Thatisthemil lion dollar question,” Leona rdsaidina recent interview. “I wish she could tell me because I get asked that quite a lot and I think about it quite a lot and I have no idea why, whether it was my s m ell — we don’t shower during the week in these races — or whether it was something else, whether it was a past life connection. It was definitely fate and I’m so glad that she chose me … she’s brought lots of joy to people around the globe with Spot page. The memorial will include a photo. For more information, call 937-223-1515 or email coh. classified@coxinc.com. the dog had been through hell and back. He was underweight, mangy, had open sores and his tail was just a bone sticking out.

The adoption center later discovered that Marco was also blind. So center officials launched a fundraising drive to pay for Marco’s eye surgery, collecting donations from peo- ple around the country.

At the time, Sarah was work- ing on her Ph.D. at Old Domin- ion University in Norfolk, Vir- ginia. She learned of Marco’s plight after the children of a friend set up a lemonade stand to help raise money for the $3,000 operation.

In November 2015, Marco had surgery to remove the cata- racts that had made him blind. For the first t imeever,heco uld see the world around him.

“He had become quite a lit- tle celebrity,” said Sarah.

But m onths and months went by without anyone adopt- ing him.

Then in July, Sarah sent a photo of Marco to her husband. It was a no-brainer for him.

“He said, ‘Cancel your flight home. I’m driving out to get you,’” she recalled.

When the couple arrived at the adoption center in Virginia Beach to meet Marco, it was our story.”

It was Day 2 of the race that Gobi sought out the lanky Leonard, who still seems gen- u inelyba ffled by it all. He mar- vels at Gobi ’s ease cross ingt he Tian Shan mountain range and the distance she covered during the race. He arranged fo r comfortable car transport for Gobi from checkpoint to checkpoint after her unbelievable stretch on foot. Dog safely nestled in man’s arms, the two beamed at the finish line, medals on red sashes around both their necks, after Leonardc ame in second.

“Meb eing able to help Gobi through the race and actually be the person that could step up and take her out of the situation she was in was something I was really wanting to do because those were the sort of things I needed when I was younger and no one was there for me to do that,” Leonard said, explaining his own tough start back in the Queensland country town of Warwick.

It’s a straight-laced, church- going, family focused place that didn’t take kindl ytothe crumbling of his own home life when he was 9. That’s when Garry, the man he called dad, died and his mother revealed Garry was not, in fact, his biological father.

The news, and watching his stepdad fall fatally ill, sapped his mother emotionally and turned them into outsiders. Leonard left home at 14, choosing to go it alone.

“I was living in pubs, hos- love at first sigh t.Astheyg ot out of their car, Marco’s handlers were walking him about 25 yards away.

“He saw us and he dragged them over to us and just bowled us over,” said Ash.

Today, Marco is at his new home in Dayton — along with the McGinley’s other dog, Daisy — and still exploring a world he can see for the first time.

“He ’s just so interested in everything,” said Sarah. “You can see he’s finally figuring out what are these things he’s been smelling all of t histim e.”

The McGinleys let Marco run around the lot they own next to their house. The couple has been planting an orchard t here in an effort to cre ate more green space in Dayton.

They also give back to Wright State.

Several years ago, the McGinleys decided that instead of buying a new car, they would use the money to create a scholarship fund at the university. The Lucy Johnson Jones Scholarship is for English majors and those whoareclosetogettingtheir degree and may need financial assistance. The couple also established a book fund that enables Dunbar Library to buy British fiction and short stories.

And now they’ve made Marco part of the Wright State family. They often bring him to campus, where he walks the trails of the woods.

“He’s made me outgoing; he’s got me walking around,” said Sarah. “I feel pretty grateful to have him.”

She said adopting shelter dogs can take patience and a lot of coaxing.

“But they will love you,” she said, “like nothing else.” tels, caravans,” Leonard said. “It was pretty grim. I was trying to go to school and I was trying to work as well because I didn’t have any money. I use the negative energy of my childhood and my upbring- ing, which was very volatile and depressing and an abu- sive situation, todrive meforward during a race.”

Married for more than a decade, with a great life and now Gobi, Leonard said “there’s always those demons in the basement that you think you’ve dealt with, and when I go to these races I deal with them and I don’t think about those things at any other time.”

NowthatGobihassettled into Edinburgh life, making friends with the rescue cat Leonard and his wife already had, things are popping for man and dog. They’re on a book tour for “Finding Gobi.”

Their story has been sold to 21st Century Fox for a movie and Leonard had enough crowdfunded Gobi money left over to donate $10,000 to an animal rescue and adoption group in Beijing, the Little Adoption Shop. The founder, Christopher Barden, was instrumental in helping Leonard.

Leonard will donate a portion of book and movie proceeds, too.

“Animal welfare in China isn’t governed by anyone and they’re all desperately dying for donations,” Leo nards aid. “There are so many stray dogs. It’s really sad to see.”

Now that summer is do you have any suggestions for ways to keep my dogs cool I am on a limited budget. —Mary

I do a lot with ice during the summer , Mary. I cec ub esin water bowls, ice cubes along with water in a d esignated kiddie pool, etc. You can toss some treats or kibb leintothe pool to encourage your dogs to get in. One of my favorite things to offer both my large and smaller dogs is a previ- ously emptied plastic bottle (think e mptys oda type con- tainers), filled partially with water and froze n. I put out an umber of these at a time.

Sometimes the dogs will simply lay next to them to take advantage of the extra coolness; other time stheyw ill roll them around and chew on them. If your dog wishes to chew on it, best to put him ou tonthepatio or in a laundry room with towels to deal with the melting of the ice. Just be sure to remove and discard the bottle before your dogs are able to chew i ttobits.

I turn on the hose and move the stream of water around for my dogs to chase and catch. They get a good soaking this way, along w ithagoodamo unt of exercise. If your dog isn’t into chasing water, he’ll likely just enjoy getting drenched with the hose. Keep his head and ears dry, but wet the rest of his body and enjoy his anti csas he shakes off and dries himself.

During these hot stretches, my dogs may not get enough exercise and stimulation out- side, so I try to keep them busy inside as much as possi- ble. Any toy that has a port for stuffing treats can be stuffed and frozen for more consuming enjoyment.

While walking my dog on the sidewalk last week, we were approached by a lady pushing a stroller who also had a small dog. As we got closer to each other, both of our dogs go te xcited. No one was hurt, but both of our dogs were out of control, and my dog briefl y got her leash tangled in the stroller. Whatcanbedonetomake sure this doesn’t happen again? — Helen

I’m not going to answer your question from a dog training standpoint, but rather from a “guidelines for walking your dog in public” perspective. If dog walkers would unite andfollowagene ral code of conduct when out with their dogs, I think many mishaps would be avoided. Whether your dog is friendly with other dogs and people, well trained or not, these guidelines would be beneficial to us all.

First, yield to other pedestrians, whether they are walking a dogor not. B ydoin g so, you are preventin g yo ur dog from having contact with astr anger and/ or an unknown dog, whose behavior toward your dog may or may not be appropriate. If you are approaching one another from opposite directions on the same sidewalk, walk up ont oadriveway to allow the other person to pass on th es idewalk, keepin gyourdogatac ontrollable distance.

If needing to pass someone walkingthesame direction as you, cross the street or move into the street to pass them, making a wide arc to k eep plenty of distance between you.

Sometimes even the nicest, most friendly dog will come unglued when ou ti n public. If your dog begins to growl, bark or lung eata person or other dog, that is not the time to stop and scold or correct it. Most importantly, keep moving; as the distance increases you will be able to gain better control and aid your dog in collecting and quieting himself. Another possibility is to get your dog behind something to block his view, like a parked car or fence.

These are good options if your dog is the one being barked and lunged at,aswell. Remember, if your dog barks and lunges at other people, dogs or objects, it’s a clear sign that he’s uncomfortable. If it’s afrequ ent occurrence, consult with a professional trainer who can assist you in helping your dog over that hurdle.

If you walk your dog on a retractable leash, be sure to real him in close to y ouwhen passing others. This way you’ll maintain better control and limit his options in terms of movement. And finally, don’t wait for the other person to make the avoidance move. It’s no taboutwhowasthere first, or which party should be the one to yield.

By being polite and mannerly, you can help everybody avoid possible conflicts, as well as setting a good example. Maybe it will catch on, and your neighbors will emulate you. Borrowing from Mahatma Ghandi here, “Be the change youw ish to see in the world,” Helen!