A Modern-Day "Collie-Anna"

Several weeks after the Navratil family brought Ranger home from Washington’s SpokAnimal care and control facility, they realized this special canine with one brown eye and one blue was a people magnet. “While walking by a chartered tour bus,” says Steve, the Navratils’ father, “a woman asked to pet Ranger. Soon, several people had gotten off the bus just to be with him. We knew Ranger was special and that we had to share him.”

In September 2006, the Navratils registered Ranger as a Delta Society Pet Partner and began to visit St. Joseph Care Center and the Spokane Public Libraries where Ranger has developed a following—literally.

“Some of the residents of St. Joseph’s get so excited for Ranger’s visit,” Steve says, “that they track us down in the building when we don’t get to their room quickly enough.” The pooch gets a similar response at the Spokane Public Libraries’ Summer Reading Program, where he acts as a petting dog for the kids. “We were invited back for a second year,” says Steve, “and we discovered that numerous children were following us from one library to another.”

The Navratils can’t say enough about the collie’s good humor. “A big part of his personality is his ears,” Steve points out. “You can tell by their position when he’s happy and when he’s worried, but one of the most endearing things is the way he asks for love. He’ll nudge me with his nose, then flip my hand onto the top of his head. And sometimes, while he’s soaking up love, he’ll nibble my clothing with his front teeth so gently I don’t even realize he’s doing it.”

P.S.: Watch out for Ranger’s screen debut in the upcoming movie The Golden Door, during which the talented pooch gets walked by actress Rachel Leigh Cook!