Murphy Walton

01/09/2007 - 07/14/2021

Murphy came to me at a dark time in my life. I was in my mid 30's and just split up from my partner of 5 years. I was very depressed and my friend suggested I get a dog. I said no, that I couldn't afford it and had no love left to give. A few months later she convinced me to ‘just go and take a look’ and I finally agreed.

We drove to a place just outside of Toronto and on a cold winter day ….and I came home with Murphy zipped up in my winter coat.

Murphy helped me to heal and on our regular dog park visits we met Michael and Oscar. Not too long after we met, Michael asked me on a date and we never looked back. Murphy and Oscar became dog brothers and were our ring bearers at our wedding in 2014.

My relationship with Murphy is one of deep connection and I don't know that I have ever had this kind of a connection even with a human - we were meant for each other. I tell people all the time that it was Murphy who saved (or rescued) me.

Murphy spent many years sharing his love as a St John Ambulance therapy dog, visiting homeless shelters and participating in mental health support days at various locations. We were ALL so lucky to have him in our lives. We miss him every day and still get signs from him regularly.

We spent time over the summer building a tribute bench and while we were sanding the boards, a chickadee flew right in the garage and landed on one of them, he stayed for a long time very close to us. We decided that was Murphy letting us know he was still around.

Murphy is loved and incredibly missed by Tara, Michael and Oscar plus the many others that he helped and visited regularly.