whither thou goest

I went for a run Saturday morning. Nothing unusual about that, except that I got a “late” start. Late for me is anything past 6:30am. I wasn’t into it half a mile, when Karma took a turn, and I came upon these two little guys. Karma knows an animal lover when she sees one.

They were panicked. He-Dog stood at the side of the road while She-Dog paced here and there, ears perked and straining for a familiar voice. Up and down the middle of the street She ran, then up to meet me when she saw me coming. Both little faces look up in that beseeching way little dogs have.

Are you her? Where are we? Will you help us?

A truck had already passed. A mother and daughter stopped; I must’ve looked as distraught as the dogs. The Daughter told me she’d never seen them before. No collars. I’d managed to get closer, and I see that their coats are matted and unkempt.  I think they’ve been dumped. A third car. Nope, they’d never seen these dogs either.

After the fourth car sped by, I didn’t think about it any longer. The dogs trusted me by then. I picked up He-Dog. He was heavier than I expected so, rather than pick up the other, I started walking, and She followed. Led, really. No way was She going to let her mate leave her side. That half mile to home was a long, odd procession.

I fed them, gave them water, enclosed them in my garage in Jasmine’s old crate, and called for someone to take them to the shelter. They huddled together, grooming each other, and shook with fear until I talked to them and told them it would be OK.

You’ll be warm. You’ll be fed. This shelter has a good adoption rate. You won’t have to run the streets anymore. I promise.

When the Officer came, I picked up He-Dog, and She-Dog, of course, followed us out to the waiting van. But what amazed both the Officer and I was when I placed He in the back of the van. She, as short as she is, nearly managed to crawl into the back of the van all by herself.

Not without me, you don’t.

They refused to be separated. Never mind they are hopping into a van with a tall guy in a uniform who they’ve never seen, going to who knows where. It’s all unknown, but they don’t care. They’re together.

I’ve always thought we as humans were meant to travel through life in pairs. The Dogs demonstrated that today.  If you’re lost, hungry, have no idea where you are or what to do next and the future is completely uncertain, you still have each other, and that means everything. Each of you gives the other strength to face whatever happens next, and it’s true...love is all you need.

If two dogs can be that committed to each other, can’t we?