09/16/2025
I see a lot of dogs all the time. They come from different places all with different stories. Today I felt compelled to go visit a dog that has been on my mind for at least a week.
Her story was the same as many, a stray on the street. A mama dog far too young to have had puppies but doing her best for them. The original picture that caught the attention of many was a photo of a single puppy of hers. Thought to have been left alone too young and abandoned many reached out to get it out. Quickly it was made clear the single puppy had a mom who was still quietly doing her best to keep it alive. Still rescues felt compelled now to save a mama and her single baby. Sadly the pup passed. A mama dog was left scared alone and now without the thing she cared about most. That’s when rescues forgot about her. She was left alone, confused, shaking. Shelter staff tried to console her by giving her little stuffed toys. She stopped wagging her tail, she sat shaking in the back of her little space. A week had gone by and I couldn’t shake that mama dog out of my mind. Thank you to Jennifer Rudkin who really advocated that we find out more.
I had a few hours to burn today so I drove down to Valencia. I didn’t intend to leave with her. I just wanted to temperament test her. It was a struggle to get her out, she was terrified. Time went by and she started to open up. The more dogs I brought out to play the more she relaxed. Some of the wonderful shelter staff who give these animals their all, came out and said it was so great to see her tail wagging. It really hit me how profound of an impact you can make by spending a small amount of time meeting a dog where they are at. How it doesn’t take much to make them feel seen again. As I brought the other dogs back in, it dwindled down to her turn. I couldn’t do it. I truly couldn’t bring myself to walk this dog back in to a shelter where her world collapsed. Where she would go back to the same shell of a shaking dog I had seen just two hours before. Instead I put her in the car and came home with her to foster.
