If the year was 1961, Aideen would have had people competing to adopt her. Then, the story of two Redbone Coonhounds, all-American dogs like quiet, spayed, one-year-old Aideen, was read by American adults and children. In “Where the Red Fern Grows”, the beloved, normally easy-going Coonhounds sacrificed their lives to save their ten-year-old owner.

No one who’d read the book would have allowed Aideen to languish in a kennel. They would have come to meet her. Once they met her, they couldn’t help but love her. The long, lanky girl approaches people with perfect manners and subdued affection.

Maybe that was Aideen’s problem. She’s a housedog through and through. Maybe Aideen’s person was hoping for a baying hunter. Instead, Aideen’s a seldom-barking, dedicated best friend.