Follow the Dog Home
Seventy years after their journey with dogs started, the Walshes came full circle, returning to the place where it began, Atwood Street in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
In the top photo, Bob Walsh (in the newspaper boy hat) is sitting in the exact spot where he was photographed as an infant in 1941 (shown below), with his first dog, Dee Dee, looking on.
The front door of the house remains virtually the same.
So much has changed since little Bobby Walsh posed with his mother, twin brother, sister and family dog that summer day. What hasn't changed at all is his love of family and dogs, and his dedication to raising them together.
Dogs are among the few constants in a changing world--a bridge between generations, linking grandparents, parents, sons, and daughters like nothing else can, and nothing else ever will.
The story behind these two photos is stunning.
Seven decades after that grainy black-and-white photo was made, Bob’s son Kevin had moved to Wellesley, not knowing the immediate family’s prior history of having lived there. While walking his German Shepherd, Beverly, Kevin noticed that she hit around a particular property. It turned out to be the same home where Kevin’s father had lived years before, leading to an unusual and warm homecoming on an impossibly cold day.
In between those decades, the Walsh family collectively raised seventeen dogs. Follow the Dog Home includes stories about a dog who could read, a dog who thought he could fly, one who dug her own grave, and another who found the “other Kevin Walsh” on a college campus 750 miles away from home. The dog stories are golden, and so too is the family bonding because of their pets.
Seventy years, seventeen dogs, and three generations later, Bob Walsh returned to where it all started--with his new dog, Annie, and the dog of fellow authors Kevin and Samantha Walsh who made it possible--Beverly. Indeed, it is here, at his childhood home that Bob realizes one of the greatest gifts his own father had given him was a love for dogs: a gift he passed on to his children, and they to theirs, ensuring that a bridge between generations will always be there, just like the dog who waits for all of us at the door each time we come home.
Seventy years after their journey with dogs started, the Walshes came full circle, returning to the place where it began, Atwood Street in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
In the top photo, Bob Walsh (in the newspaper boy hat) is sitting in the exact spot where he was photographed as an infant in 1941 (shown below), with his first dog, Dee Dee, looking on. The front door of the house remains virtually the same.
So much has changed since little Bobby Walsh posed with his mother, twin brother, sister and family dog that summer day. What hasn't changed at all is his love of family and dogs, and his dedication to raising them together.Dogs are among the few constants in a changing world--a bridge between generations, linking grandparents, parents, sons, and daughters like nothing else can, and nothing else ever will.
The story behind these two photos is stunning.
Seven decades after that grainy black-and-white photo was made, Bob’s son Kevin had moved to Wellesley, not knowing the immediate family’s prior history of having lived there. While walking his German Shepherd, Beverly, Kevin noticed that she hit around a particular property. It turned out to be the same home where Kevin’s father had lived years before, leading to an unusual and warm homecoming on an impossibly cold day.
In between those decades, the Walsh family collectively raised seventeen dogs. Follow the Dog Home includes stories about a dog who could read, a dog who thought he could fly, one who dug her own grave, and another who found the “other Kevin Walsh” on a college campus 750 miles away from home. The dog stories are golden, and so too is the family bonding because of their pets.
Seventy years, seventeen dogs, and three generations later, Bob Walsh returned to where it all started--with his new dog, Annie, and the dog of fellow authors Kevin and Samantha Walsh who made it possible--Beverly. Indeed, it is here, at his childhood home that Bob realizes one of the greatest gifts his own father had given him was a love for dogs: a gift he passed on to his children, and they to theirs, ensuring that a bridge between generations will always be there, just like the dog who waits for all of us at the door each time we come home.
Left to Right: Kevin, Samantha, and Bob Walsh,
and in front, Beverly and Annie
Bob Walsh worked for almost 40 years in the pharmaceutical industry before retiring to live the good life in his early 60s. That means spending time with his second wife, Mary. Bob married Mary in 1995. She too was widowed; she lost her spouse right around the time that Bob lost his. Their extended Brady Bunch Family includes nine adult children and twenty grandchildren. Regularly by Bob’s side is his ever faithful dog, a Corgi named Annie. Whether it’s building a fly rod from scratch, tying flies, or four-wheeling into a fishing hole filled with trout, Annie is often with him.
Samantha Walsh is ten-years-old and a lover of animals; especially dogs. Her favorite activities include walking her German Shepherd, Beverly, and reading books. Since teaching herself how to read at age three, Samantha has been writing short stories on her own for the past couple of years. When the chance came to join her dad and grandfather in writing a book, she was all in. When she’s not typing on the computer, she’s often hanging out with her sister, Amanda, enjoying time together at the neighborhood playground. Samantha hopes to one day become a veterinarian.
This is Kevin Walsh’s second published book. His previous one, The Marrow in Me, details his courageous journey to donate bone marrow to a 16-year-old boy he’d never met. The Marrow in Me drew comparisons to such classics as Tuesdays with Morrie. Kevin is married to Jean and is a seasoned sports and news broadcaster with Comcast SportsNet New England and New England Cable News. Turn on the tube; you might see Kevin looking right back at you.
