Bob and Cherie Simpson
& The Pack
32
WBM february 2012
“The
beauty of
a rescue
is they know
they’ve been
rescued …
I think they
have a greater
appreciation
for love and
affection and
care …”
—Wrightsville Beach Town
Manager Bob Simpson
Feeding time in the Simpson household is an assem-bly
line process. Nighttimes are never spent alone
with The Pack, as Bob Simpson refers to his six res-cued
dogs — Jake, Tanna, Jessie, Maybelle, Pistol
and Wilson. Every dog has a designated bed on or around the
couple’s king sized one.
Every pet has a special place in the Simpson’s hearts, but
life for The Pack wasn’t always so sweet.
The Simpsons’ first rescue was a miniature dachshund
named Heiney, left with the newlyweds during the time that
Bob, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, was stationed in Japan
in 1988.
“It was about 9 o’clock on a Sunday night,” Bob recalls,
“and a Japanese man rode up on his bicycle with this dachs-hund
in a bag and he said, ‘Please take this dog because we
don’t have any home for it.’”
After hearing the man’s story of a broken family, Bob and
Cherie acquiesced. While Bob was on temporary duty for six
weeks in Thailand, Cherie adopted another dog rescued from
a puppy mill. They named the yellow lab H.P., which was
short for Heiney’s Pal. Later, the Simpson household wel-comed
Michelob, Frank, Hilde and Nibbles.
Just like the first, each successive pup uniquely found its
way to the Simpsons — from the roadside, via the Internet or
castaway by their owners at Forest Hills Veterinary Hospital
where Cherie works. One even came from the midst of a
Bicentennial parade found tied with a string attached to a
purple balloon. Many were injured; others were neglected or
abused.
One of Maybelle’s rear legs was shattered, her face scarred.
Her prognosis was dismal, but Bob says she runs with the rest
of them now.
Pistol’s skull was punctured in two places from an encoun-ter
with another pit bull. His diagnosis was also grim.
“Everybody’s got their thing,” Bob explains. “I guess mine
is taking care of my friends.”
Some of his four-legged friends get the chance to go to
work with him at Wrightsville Beach Town Hall. When
they don’t, Bob admits to consoling himself with a photo of
Michelob, his best friend.
“I’m convinced that over the years, hadn’t I had them to
go home to sometimes, life would have been very much more
difficult. I heard somebody say one day, ‘Dogs can’t show
love,’ and I would challenge that.”
Bob and Cherie
Simpson with
Maybelle, Jessie
and Pistol