As the end of the 2013 tourist season approached in Glacier National Park, park rangers were concerned about some stray dogs being left in the park during the winter.

One dog in particular, a handsome blue heeler, had avoided all attempts to coax him into captivity. 

That is, until the final weekend of the season. 

A ranger near St. Mary Lodge called for a white German shepherd named Caden that had followed the steps of bar-goers (and had gotten herself spray-painted pink for her trouble) for weeks.

The heeler came along and was taken in Sept. 27, 2013.

Lori Heatherington, executive director of the Humane Society of Northwest Montana, said the heeler — now named Troy — wasn’t an easy adoption.

“He was here for I think 16 months,” she said. “He wasn’t socialized and just wasn’t comfortable. People want dogs who will come to you when you call and he’s still wary of strangers.”

That’s where Jake Tarver comes in.

Troy had been sitting in his kennel, barking at anybody who came near for well over a year, when Tarver saw something special in him.

“Something about his pictures drew me to him,” he said. “I’ve had heelers before and just knew he was for me.”

Tarver, along with Scarlett Easton and Naylynn Valencia, moved up from Colorado a few months ago to fix up a cabin in Essex for a friend. They brought up a little poof-ball of a Maltese and papillon mix named Kahlua but wanted more dogs to keep them company in the isolated cabin during the winter.

“We were looking a while for puppies to adopt,” Tarver said. “Troy’s definitely not a puppy. He’s about five years old.”

Troy remains skittish around people. His several months as a stray in Glacier Park trained him to be wary. Now he, Kahlua and a puppy named Bailey adopted at the same time are the resident guard dogs for the Essex cabin. Tarver, Valencia and Easton will be in the Flathead at least until mid-summer, they guess.

For Heatherington, it’s dog lovers like Tarver who are the saving grace for dogs who spend a year or longer in the Charlotte Edkins Animal Adoption Center at the Humane Society of Northwest Montana.

“They are a blessing,” she said. “A lot of people don’t want a challenge. Jake [Tarver] knew going in this wouldn’t be an easy relationship.”

And it hasn’t been easy. Troy, adopted a month ago, still bolts if let off his leash. When Tarver, Troy, Valencia and Easton meet at the Humane Society to talk, the dog looked anxiously toward the door of his old kennel.

Where Troy shines is with other dogs. 

He plays with Bailey, a 3-month old husky/Burmese mountain dog mix, even though the puppy is nearly as big as him. Kahlua tags along when the snowdrifts aren’t taller than her.

“He’s run away twice,” Easton said. “But he comes back again in 15 minutes. He’s a dog’s dog.”

Despite his independent nature, Troy defies expectations of his breed, Tarver said.

“He has zero heeler traits,” he said. “Nothing about him is like other heelers. They tend to be very dominant and know what they want and how to get it. Troy knows what he wants but isn’t sure how to get it. Heelers like to lead from the back. Troy likes being chased.”

A sweet dog when his skittishness goes away, Troy likes chewing leather and wrestling with other dogs. 

He has taken to sleeping in Easton’s bed at night when he doesn’t have a job to do.

Something about his wild days in the park, where Troy followed his trusted shepherd friend, has remained with the heeler. He finds comfort in a pack and prefers quiet, wild areas.

“He likes to see the curvature of the earth,” Tarver jokes. 

After Caden, the shepherd who was the unfortunate victim of the spray-painting incident, was adopted, the workers at the Humane Society were worried how Troy would do with socialization.

He quickly worked his way to the “Humane Society’s Dog Greeter and Pet Park Ambassador,” who would show other dogs how to go play in the open space behind the shelter. 

With his adoption into his forever home with Tarver, Valencia and Easton, the Humane Society will have to find a new dog greeter. 

But Heatherington is just fine with that.

The Humane Society of Northwest Montana is a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organization that operates the Charlotte Edkins Animal Adoption Center at 100 Adopt A Pet Way north of Kalispell.  

For more information or to make an online donation, visit www.humanesocietypets.com.

The society will host its annual “Shake Your Tail” gala fundraiser on Saturday, March 7. For more information, call 752-7297 or visit www.shakeyourtailgala.com.

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.