BRENTON NEWCOMB
Special to The Leader
Are you a dog person? Because after hearing about the story of Karen O’Connell and her dog, Twilight, it’s difficult not to be.
O’Connell, 59, is a Fredonia art alumna who has recently been taking pottery classes on campus. She can describe how the campus has changed a bit.
You may have seen her dog Twilight around campus — she has had Twilight for about nine years.
Twilight, 11, is an amiable Chihuahua. She is calm, engaging, sociable and has an easy charm. O’Connell and Twilight are inseparable.
Their companionship began on a rainy day.
O’Connell noticed something was seriously wrong with one of the pups in her sister’s dog’s litter.
“I remember that morning because it was pouring rain, and I was running to the vet’s to take her in,” she said.
They were at the vet’s all day. The doctor told O’Connell, “Two more hours and she would’ve been gone.”
This was just the beginning of a burgeoning friendship.
Presently, there are no signs that Twilight was ever in bad health. In fact, she looks better than she ever has even at the ripe age of 11, which is 66 in small dog years. This is partly due to her affinity to salmon which, according to O’Connell, has helped her develop a thicker coat.
A typical day for Twilight and O’Connell consists of things you wouldn’t generally expect a dog to be doing.
Twilight is a mature dog who doesn’t bark and is so well trained that O’Connell said, “People think I paid to have her trained … I could take her to church.”
This allows the two of them to go shopping in stores together, go to parks, sit in college classes and much more.
Her favorite activity when visiting CountryMax is to stare at the fish.
Another activity is at the salon, where Twilight will often hold her paws out when she knows they will be painted. It’s truly a strong companionship.