By Heidi Dahms Foster (Photos courtesy Marnie Uhl)
Newly retired Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Marnie Uhl has always been a soft touch for a cute cat or dog. Now that she has a little more time on her hands, she plans to enjoy a lot of it with her two little rescues – a Cairn Terrier-Chihuahua mix named Gracie and a Shih Tzu-Terrier Mix named Bailey.
Marnie’s always had pets during her childhood and teen years, including cats, multiple poodles, labs and even a cattle dog. “I always had animals growing up,” she said. “Somehow, animals always managed to find me.”
One of her and her son Josh’s favorites was a lab named Boomer, who wandered into their yard as a stray pup. “Boomer turned out to be the best darn dog. He’d sleep with Josh and everything. We loved him.”
Boomer passed away at the ripe old age of 12, and the difficulties of keeping pets in rented homes kept the two from having pets for some years.
“Then Josh wanted a cat,” Marnie said, “So he gets a cat, and then he goes to college. Now I have a cat! I’m more of a dog person than a cat person. I like cats, but I’m a dog person. I moved here my cat Sneaks.”
Sneaks lived with Marnie in Prescott Valley until her sister came to visit. “She loves cats. Sneaks would sit in her lap, and she says, ‘can I have Sneaks?’ So I said yes, and she took Sneaks home. She just loved her.”
Sneaks lived a long and happy life with Marnie’s sister, and Marnie later adopted a sable Sheltie named Scarlett from a friend in Prescott Valley. “She was a beautiful dog,” Marnie said, “but she was a herding dog!” After she knocked down the gate a couple times trying to “herd” cars that came down the street, Marnie knew she wasn’t the home for the little dog, and her former owner was able to place her in a more active home.
“I cried buckets, and I told myself, ‘here you are all alone in your house again,” Marnie said. Her home was empty for some years as she navigated the hectic life of a Chamber CEO, along with volunteer work, acting in, and directing community theater productions.
In 2017 Marnie was ready for another dog, but she knew it had to be a smaller, indoor pet. She asked a friend at the Humane Society to keep a lookout, but was told that little dogs were quickly adopted. Then Maricopa County brought some small dogs up for an adoption event.
Marnie and fellow Chamber colleague Gloria Grose went to the event, where they brought out a little white male dog. “I didn’t want a male, and I didn’t want a white dog,” she said, “but sometimes you don’t choose them, they choose you. We were out in the play area and he came and he was in my arms. I fell in love with his personality. I said right away I would call him Bailey.”
Marnie came home that day with Bailey, and Gloria was smitten with and adopted a little terrier named Dolly. Not only did Marnie fall in love with Bailey, but she found she met all her neighbors because she was out walking him. “Walking by yourself is kind of boring, but if you walk a dog, they have to sniff everything, and you meet everybody and make friends. You can walk by somebody and say hi, but if you have a dog, they’ll ask your dog’s name, and you’ll stop and talk.”
Bailey was spoiled as soon as he walked in Marnie’s door, and every visit home at lunchtime was a joy for both of them.
A year later, Marnie was thinking about getting a companion for Bailey. “I knew I just wanted a little female that would get along with him. I happened to be sitting reading the newspaper, saw a little Yorkshire mix for rehoming, and thought, ‘Oh, that’s the cutest little face!” The owner was rehoming the Yorkie mix because the other dogs in her home were picking on her.
Knowing that cute smaller dogs are usually quickly adopted, Marnie called, thinking she’d be gone. “I thought, ‘what do I have to lose?’ But she still hadn’t gone yet.”
The owner had an appointment with someone else to meet “Gracie,’ but it wasn’t a fit, so she called Marnie back. She wanted to visit Marnie’s home, see her yard and see if the dog would get along with Bailey.
“She came over and we sat in the backyard, and Gracie kind of wanders over and grabs one of Bailey’s toys. And he didn’t do anything about it. He didn’t really pay much attention to her. The lady liked the yard and the house, and said, ‘Well, I really think this would be a good home for her.’”
Bailey and Gracie have filled Marnie’s home with fun and companionship. They sleep in her bed, and provide a lot of company and entertainment.
“Gracie loves to play fetch. I buy the little balls, and bounce them off the wall for her to bring back. She and Bailey are really smart, but she’s really shy around other dogs,” Marnie said.
Marnie’s friends have joined her on walks, especially on the walking paths at Mountain Valley Park, a favorite of many Prescott Valley residents. The friends that walk with her and don’t have dogs enjoy taking Gracie along.
Bailey and Gracie, both now eight, were Marnie’s companions and comfort through her diagnosis, treatment and recovery from breast cancer, and now, they’ll be her companions through her transition into retirement. “They’ve been perfect.”
