Published in the Victoria Advocate on Feb. 18, 2022. View the story here.

VICTORIA, Texas — A two-story house sits empty on Northeast Water Street after the man who lived there died six months ago.

Although vacant, the property does still have one occupant. The home’s stalwart guardian is a sweet-tempered, light-brown, mixed-breed dog named Dee.

Dee does all the things that a good dog should do, and she does those things well. Her tail wags. Her ears perk up. She can sniff the air and throw a look that will melt hearts. And she has loved the man who used to live there, said the man’s brother, Blaine Wolfshohl.

Wolfshohl said when his brother Vernon Wolfshohl died, there wasn’t anyone with room to take Dee. Unwilling to have her put down, they let her stay in the home she knows. The brothers’ nephew makes sure the dog has food and water.

It’s a testament to Dee’s character that so many of her neighbors have gone out of their way to make sure she’s cared for.

Alex De La Garza and his wife live nearby, and they were moved by Dee’s plight.

With no room in their home for another dog — they have three and six animals in total — they did their best to make sure Dee was fed. Employees at Dierlam Feed Store next door have also looked out for their four-legged neighbor, setting up “feed bags” for her over weekends and making sure she doesn’t wander into traffic, particularly when school gets out.

But all of the dog’s caretakers agree that Dee is lonely, and she needs a new home.

And that may be happening sooner rather than later. Wolfshohl said that as soon as the family can sell the vacant house, Dee will be taken in by Blaine and Vernon’s mother. But he acknowledges that the new living situation may not be ideal, and like Dee’s neighbors, he’d be happy to see Dee safe and happy in a large, fenced yard.

“If there’s a good home, out in the country,” Wolfshohl said. “She’d be happier if she were, you know, free.”

Dawn Blackmon, of Goliad Pet Adoption, said a new home is Dee’s best bet.

“With a 10-year-old dog, you almost have to go straight to a home because in a shelter situation, a 10-year-old dog will almost never be adopted,” Blackmon said. “It’s not easy right now because all rescues, all foster homes are full. I mean like, crammed, full.”