Last year I held many paws like these two and most were from rescues needing homes. There is something about holding onto a paw or paws like this that makes me realize that dogs are so ever trusting and loving no matter the hardships or cruelty they have endured.
Dogs hearts are always pure. Dogs don’t hold grudges. Dogs don’t hold hate. They can hold onto aggression or fearfulness, but that is often something that can be overcome with love and patience.
I remember this babe sat in my lap for a long time enjoying the comfort of being held and watching the quick world go by during an adoption event at PetSmart. I remember Kerri and Melanie saying she needed to go home with me. Thankfully, Paisley did find a forever home. I hope she has all the love she needs for her trusting heart. Seeing the rescue dogs of Animal Rescue of Crosby County was the unexpected highlight of this day.
Why?
I vividly recall this day because I purposely made it a point to go by PetSmart to check on a puppy who suffered cruelly at the hands of my next-door neighbor. My friends and I saved the crippled pup but the lawyer in charge of making sure the law was enforced let the puppy down. What is the point of Texas animal cruelty laws if the people in charge of enforcing those laws don’t want to be bothered by just it being a dog? What is the point of a police officer doing their job only to be let down by those higher up than them? What is the point of being a concerned citizen when in the end everyone fails the dog(s) except for you? I’ve been involved in many animal cruelty cases in Texas and it fucking sucks when the law fails the dogs. To this day that crippled pup’s mom is still confined to the backyard in a small pen and only sees her owner when she gets fed. She might as well be dead because that is not a life.
In the end, it’s not the dog’s fault regarding their circumstances. It is humans that let the dogs down. Dogs are intended to be our companions, our safety net, or our working dogs. They are not meant to be discarded to the backyard ignored only when you need to feed them or breed them. They are not meant to be thrown to a country road because you don’t want them anymore. Animal shelters should not be a dumping ground for unwanted dogs. Animal shelters should be for those dogs whose owners have died unexpectedly or who have fallen on unfortunate times. And on the latter, that’s when a rescue can help greatly with needed vet care or dog food.
In the end, every dog needs the trust of a human’s hands to rest their paws on, be allowed on the furniture, and maybe sleep in your bed. It is those paws of trust that give unconditional love. In the end, it is a big part of humanity that fails the hearts of dogs.
Forgotten Winds 