Buckner Retirement Village couple loves dogs, each other

By Analiz González

When Roger and Betty Moore left their work training and breeding dogs to move to Buckner Retirement Village, there was one thing they refused to give up—their Golden Retrievers.

And they didn’t have to.

Several residents at the Village have pets, including four Golden Retrievers, a Corgi and a Chihuahua mix, Betty said, adding that another woman is looking into getting a guide dog. And that’s fortunate for the Moores, because if they hadn’t been allowed to keep dogs they never would have moved in.

Even though the Moores have only two dogs, their house is filled with Retrievers. They have them on paintings, pictures, videos and books. They even have an elongated couch to accommodate the canines on movie nights. And they agree that the Village is perfect for dogs, because the neighborhood is spacious enough for walks.

The Moores said their days are filled with activities. But not the type they were used to before they retired.

Before coming to the Village, they had worked seven-day weeks since their marriage in 1975. Roger said they bred 15 perfect litters, meaning all the puppies could be bred or trained as guide dogs.

Betty was the first person to breed, train and donate a service dog in the state of Oklahoma. And Roger was the founding father of the Humane Society in Duncan, Oklahoma. He specialized in dog psychology.

The Moores love sharing stories about how one of their dogs saved someone from a fire and how they helped train a dog to pull a woman in a wheelchair so she could go to college. They’ve also seen their dogs give blind people back their independence. And their puppy litters have been taken as far as Holland, Japan, Australia and across the United States.

The work they did was rewarding, Roger said, calling the thank-yous they received from people with their dogs, “nourishment to the soul.” But after Roger turned 77, the Moores decided it was time to start taking it easy –at least easier. There’s still a lot to do at the Village.

“I hardly have time to go grocery shopping,” Betty said.

A typical day might include a visit to the post office, card games and classes such as bead stringing or greenery planting, she said. The Village also has welcomes for newcomers and birthday celebrations as well as weekly shopping excursions. Roger likes to exercise in the clubroom and they sometimes attend Saturday movie nights on campus.

But the Moores are still the same people they were before moving in. They still enjoy walks with their Retrievers, Ida Clare and Indiana Jones. And of course, they’re still in love.

When they talk, words flow from one mouth and then the other, to form a single, complete sentence.

“We’re more in love today than we ever were,” Roger said. “I tell her that every day with her is an anniversary. Every day is a blessing.”

Some things never change.