Rescue Dogs:  Worth loving and saving.


This past week has been tough.  I'll start with a thought I had this morning watching our three dogs play outside.  We are dog sitting for two dogs who were rescued from a cement prison.  They lived in this prison for two years and were recently adopted by a great family.  This family has been working overtime in the love and attention arena for these precious pups. They brought a trainer into their home to work with the dogs and have given them a safe place to live.  Will this be enough in the long run?  Only time will tell. They were going on vacation and didn't want to place them in a kennel.  So we took them in for two weeks and are loving and enjoying Piper and Leo's company everyday.  They are good dogs and have a lot of love to give; they are needy dogs who crave attention constantly.  Cooper, my daughter's dog, was pulled out of a garbage dumpster when he was about 5 weeks old and she adopted him at 6 weeks.  He is now 11 months old and I love having my grand puppy in our home.  I used to think he was so needy until Leo and Piper arrived.  Now I look at Cooper differently and wonder how he changed so much?  Well, in actuality he didn't change as much as my perception of him changed.
So, the dogs were playing a rousing game of keep away, running as fast as they could.  My "Aha" moment thought was " We are all like rescue dogs".  We come into this world helpless, weak and hungry for love and affection.  Hopefully, those charged with caring for us are kind and loving, seeing to our immediate needs and more.  Sometimes, we are not that fortunate and our lot in life is different.  We exist in the prison's we are living in, trying to find love and affection from where ever we can.  Sometimes, we get super lucky and our care is given to others who try to make up for the lost time with extra love and affection. Sometimes, it is too late to make a difference.

Last week, a human being, who was loved growing up and given a warm place to thrive and grow, turned into a demon and disrespected and ended lives that didn't belong to him.  He had family who loved him, education, friends, and yet something went terribly wrong.  Unlike rescue dogs, he will never be given a second chance.
Somehow, his world/life was a cement prison that he spent all of his life trying to escape.  When he finally figured out how to do it, he took all the lives with him that he could, as if this would make his world a better place.  My world is not a better place because of his actions.  I cannot grieve enough or mourn enough to make any of this better.
I watch Cooper, Leo and Piper running free and living in the moment and I realize this has been taken away from me, temporarily I hope.  My personal safety and security bubble has been burst.  I thought it was strong enough and big enough to handle anything the world could throw at me and I was wrong.  I take solace in the fact that I do not mourn and grieve alone.  My grief and loss floats up to the heavens where is joined with your sorrow and grief.  What I realize is that my strength and love are attached to my grief and loss.  As all of our emotions mingle and join, I pray that the positive strength we are all born with, overtake the sorrow and grief and bring hope to us all once again.

For most of us rescue dogs, life is still worth living.