The Lucky Ones
by Jenny Yarborough
photography by Allison Potter
We see it on television
commercials — slideshows of
neglected dogs and cats often
accompanied by the sad, slow
words of singers and song-writers
Sarah McLachlan,
even Willie Nelson; but in
the arms of angels, the lucky
ones do find homes.
31
9th Annual People & Their Pets
Emma moved to Wrightsville Beach in 2008 with
her former owner but was often found meandering
around her West Greensboro Street neighborhood. As
long as there were plenty of people, a sandy place to
squat and a tennis ball to play with, Emma was content.
Bryan Hapeman became Emma’s buddy.
Rumors circulated when Emma’s owner moved to Goldsboro
that Emma wasn’t happy away from the beach and away from
her friends.
Six months later, Emma returned with her former owner who
dropped her off at Hapeman’s house.
“I said I’d watch her,” he says, and her owner never came back.
With Hapeman, a surfer and head coach for the University
of North Carolina Wilmington’s Club Ice Hockey team, Emma
gets the best of the two worlds. When Hapeman travels to games
throughout the United States, Emma spends extra time with her
friends.
When he is home, Emma’s friends drop by to take her on runs
around the John Nesbitt Loop. Emma is also a regular at The
Palm Room, where she is served all of the free rounds of water
she can lap up.
Hapeman says, “Emma’s a star.”
Editor’s note: all dogs must be leashed in Wrightsville Beach.
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
Bryan Hapeman
& Emma