An old dog has a new home. Kai, a 12-year-old chow mix seized by Animal Control officers in October from a Taylortown pen, is being worked into a new family after a lot of work from human helpers.

Two workers at FirstHealth, Jeanne Orlando and nurse Suzanne Jasuta, came to Kai's rescue originally. They took him first to animal behaviorist Brenda Bailey at Watch-My-Wag.

"Kai came to me for the first part of his behavioral assessment," Bailey said. "Two nurses took him in, paid the fee, pulled him out and became totally involved in his care while he was here. They took him for walks, they enlisted another person into their efforts. They really invested a lot in this dog, made sure he had proper medical care.

"Is it too old for a dog to learn new tricks or soften his edges or make a change? It's not true that 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks.' You can't change the core fiber of a dog, but you can always soften the edges," Bailey said. "You can always find a way to improve the dog-owner relationship.

"Kai is being worked into a family right now, and I think it is going to be a real good solution for him. For Kai, he was in a very specific type of human interaction for most of his life - but I think he is going to work himself into a really great home."

At one point Kai's elderly former owner had stopped by Watch-My-Wag to visit him. Bailey and her staff were fascinated seeing the two play together.

"Kai's owner was one of the most energetic 90-year-olds that I've ever seen," Bailey said. "That dog was energetic, had some age on him. When she came in to visit Kai, she was really a blessing to me and to the whole facility."

From there, Kai went out to 5 Points Kennel, where rescuers Jasuta, Orlando and their friend Jackie Britcher boarded him while they searched for a foster home or somebody to adopt him.

Contact John Chappell at (910) 783-5841 or jfchappell @gmail.com.