Henry George Campuzano Booth’s golden hair rustled gently in the morning breeze. It was as soft and inviting to the touch as a newborn baby’s.
Not bad for a guy retiring.
After nine years of service answering 885 crisis calls, including earthquakes, fires, floods and mass shootings, Henry, an 11-year-old, 98-pound golden retriever, is hanging up his leash as a certified therapy dog.
On Tuesday, dozens of well-wishers surprised Henry and owner Steve Booth with a retirement party outside UCI Medical Center in Orange. The gentle dog with the breed’s trademark smile was there to roam the halls and provide positive energy for the last time.
Booth, 68, retired as a sergeant from the OC Sheriff’s Department in 2015. He knows now is Henry’s time to bow out. The dog’s hips are old and in need of resting, Booth said. Over the years he’s provided therapy support at several local hospitals, as well as with crisis response teams after big emergencies.
“He absorbs all the positive and all the negative” Booth said of Henry. “It takes a toll.”
Booth’s wife, Janet, is also dealing with Parkinson’s disease and needs the team home.
Henry’s career includes about 4,000 hours of volunteering – sometimes 10-hour days, five days a week during disasters – providing comfort for people experiencing the darkest hours of life.
Henry has interacted with more than 100,000 people, by Booth’s estimate.
Working traumatic events has also provided Booth perspective on the frailties of life, he said.
In 2018, as part of the HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response team, Booth and Henry were dispatched to the deadliest fire in California history. The Camp Fire killed 85 people and devoured 153,336 acres, including more than 18,000 structures.
There, in Northern California, a man in his early 30s wearing a baseball cap sat down next to Henry and unloaded, not even acknowledging Booth. He told the dog he had managed to save his pregnant wife, but lost his house, truck and dog to the fire, Booth said.
The man finally looked at Booth when he was done and said, “Thanks, I needed that.”
Tuesday, dozens of well-wishers formed a rope line and Henry seemed to know he was the guest of honor. Politely spending time with each person before he moved on, Henry was indeed the center of attention. He would take a bow on command and give “paw-tographs,” a personalized baseball card he slapped with his paw before Booth handed it to the smiling recipient.
“Happy Retirement K-9 Henry!” read an apple-and-oat cake with peanut frosting and bacon bits.
Wally Wong observed quietly from a metal bench.
Henry and Booth had visited his wife, Sandy Chang, in the hospital last year before she died, Wong said. “Some sun shined in a fairly dreary moment. It lit her up.”
He tracked the pair down after they were featured on the Jumbotron at a Ducks game last week during UCI Health and Wellness night.
“I wanted some closure,” Wong said of his visit to the party.
Booth said Henry has been a blessing. “I’ve been lucky enough to share him with everyone.”
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