10/16/2025
I woke up with Margaret Pulsipher on my mind, so I wanted to take a moment to remember her. I'm only sharing this because it's public information.
I met Margaret in August 2012 and, honestly, thought she was a crazy lady at first. She wanted to adopt, and got our home phone number somehow and was calling frantically. I was at work, and my husband was taking the calls, and convinced me to work with her, saying, “She just wants a dog to love.” I called her, and she sent in an application—by mail, not email, because she wasn’t that great with technology yet. She didn’t even have a dog in mind yet, but I did.
Earlier that month, we decided to rescue two male Aussies from a shelter in Alabama, because they offered volunteer transport to Memphis, TN, and Mark and I loved Memphis and made a mini-vacation out of it. They were huge, 65+ pound, ugly boys, having had a hack shave job done on them before we got them. Mark laughed about how, when he walked them at night on the streets of Memphis, people would cross the street when they saw them coming. Once we found out Margaret was originally from Alabama, that sealed the deal. Mark ordered ROLL TIDE bandanas for the boys to wear when Margaret met Gus and Woody, it was love at first sight, and she adopted both. She got the hang of email, and through the next 3 years, I got many great updates from Margaret and her Bama boys, as she called them.
Margaret was a horse lady who lived on a ranch outside of Gladewater, and often took her boys and her horse on camping trips. When she lost her other dog, Luke, in 2013, she was ready to add another dog to her family. We had just recued Lucy, who was being given away on Craigslist. Lucy to this day holds the title of Best Smile in An Aussie. Lucy’s smile was terrifying yet hilarious at the same time. Margaret adopted Lucy, and Lucy became Margaret’s baby girl. She slept with Margaret, in her doggy pajamas. Margaret laughed at how, when EMT had to pay her a visit once, they were hesitant to approach her and Lucy in the bed with Lucy showing her toothy smile at them.
Margaret had an unusual relationship with her ex-husband. She always told me to never mention the adoption fees when I brought dogs over, so he didn’t get in her business. They were divorced, but he still mowed her property, visited often, and kept her on his health insurance. In 2015, I received the horrible news that Margaret had passed, in the worst way. She and her ex got into an altercation, and after shooting and missing him, he shot and killed her. Nobody knows what happened to prompt her to do this, but we all think it must have been to do with her dogs, because they were everything to her. Of course, I agreed to go get the dogs. They were all confused, because the boys were witness to all of the emergency vehicles at the house, and didn’t know where their mom was. It was heartbreaking for all of us, and I clearly remember driving in the pouring rain in the fall of 2015 to go get the dogs, because that’s what Margaret would have wanted.
Margaret was more than an adopter. She was a friend. Whenever we went to her house to take a dog, she would make lunch for us and demand we sat and visited for a while, which we happily did. I would in turn take her things I canned. She would call and email often. She really felt like part of the family. So, I wanted to do my best with the dogs, in her honor. They were all senior dogs by now, but Woody and Lucy were adopted quickly. Gus, on the other hand, did not adapt well. Gus had a bite history while in Margaret’s care, but she was able to manage him. When he showed questionable behavior with me, we had to make the decision to humanely euthanize, which I think Margaret would have agreed with. Lucy lived the next couple of years with a great family until she died of a sudden heart attack, and then they later adopted another dog from us. As far as I know, Woody is still living with the family from Eustace that adopted him, as he was their baby.
I have no doubt that if Margaret were here today, we would still be friends. Probably more so now that Mark is gone. She would have made me come over for a visit after he passed. I just want the world to know that Margaret was an outstanding person, one like I’ve never known. She volunteered at the animal shelter and at a local hospital as well. She had a passion for life, and left a mark on every person who ever met her. I personally grew from our friendship, and I am grateful for it. Thank you, Margaret, for what you did for animals, and for the world. You are not forgotten.
News story. 🥲 https://www.kltv.com/story/30400493/sheriff-names-released-in-fatal-smith-county-shooting/
