You gave up on him. Turned him away like he was nothing.
They tell me he was covered in urine and fleas when you did it. You drove up in the middle of the night and put him in that outside kennel. You apparently didn’t care how cold it was that night.
I have a feeling you didn’t even look back.
The people at the animal shelter told me his hair was matted and they had to groom him and clean him up. He was a mess when you left him.
He was also so scared. He’s just a little guy, a tiny poodle mix. I can’t imagine what it was like in that outside kennel overnight for him until the shelter people found him the next day.
They said he was shaking, whether from cold or fear, they couldn’t really tell.
I’m guessing it was a bit of both.
It took him a while to trust after that. He huddled in his blankets and didn’t seem to want to go up to many people. He let the shelter staff work with him and clean him up and give him medications, but he was never all that outgoing.
Once he knew he could trust the people at the animal shelter, he started to warm up a bit and come out of his shell. He would sit on their laps and give them kisses, but he was so wary of strangers.
By the time I met him, the staff told me he was doing a lot better than when he had first come into the shelter, but I still couldn’t believe how shy he was. I sat in the bonding room with him for at least a half an hour before he would venture out from under the bench to sniff my hand.
When I had heard his story – what you had done to him – I gave him all the time he needed.
I sat on the floor next to the bench and just waited. Eventually, he crawled into my lap and when he kissed my nose, somehow my heart simultaneously broke and expanded, all at the same time.
To think that after being left alone in that kennel overnight that he would be brave enough to trust me, only after just one afternoon humbled me in ways that even now I can’t really express.
I knew that we were meant to be together.
I’ll never forget the first night he came home with me – it was as though he had no idea what to do in a house. It made me wonder just how rough his life really was with you.
I had read a lot of articles about providing a dog with their own space, a bed or a crate, but when I looked into his brown eyes as he stared up at me from the floor of my living room, I knew it wasn’t going to happen.
Sure, he had a crate and a bed of his own should he ever want it, but at night, he slept next to me.
He did have a pillow of his own, so I figured that maybe counted for something.
Again, I gave him time and a routine and a whole lot of love.
I am both proud and happy to say he is my love, my life, my absolute best friend. I rarely go anywhere without him and he has now become what a dog should be – tail wags, happy face and excited at new toys and presents.
I wouldn’t wish what he experienced on any living thing, but because you gave up on him, I was able to find him. We were able to find each other – and he will never, ever be abandoned again. He will never, ever be left in his own mess, to be covered in urine. His coat will always be well-groomed and he’ll be everything a best four-legged friend should be.
You gave up on him and there is a part of me that will always be grateful that you did.
You gave up on him and that allowed me to show him what love really means – and that’s been the greatest joy of my life.
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Jennifer Vanderau is the Publications and Promotions Consultant for the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter and can be reached at [email protected]. The shelter accepts both monetary and pet supply donations. For more information, call the shelter at 263-5791 or visit the website www.cvas-pets.org. CVAS also operates a thrift store in Chambersburg. Help support the animals at the shelter by donating to or shopping at the store.
