On Sunday a group of dog lovers gathered to mourn the loss of four Greyhounds who suffered and died due to the cruelty of humans. Thankfully their last few days on earth were spent with those who saved and loved them, and now miss them with all their heart. I told the story of the 29 dogs that were seized by Fort Worth Animal Care and Control in my blog last week. For those who didn’t read it, it is sufficient to say that these dogs had suffered neglect so bad that four of the 29 could not be saved. It was the worse neglect that many seasoned dog rescuers had ever seen. In a touching article written by Jeffrey Weiss for The Dallas Morning News he said “A criminal investigation is still ongoing, but it was clear that the surviving greyhounds had already forgiven humanity. Four were brought to the service. Nate, who had been covered by 2,000 ticks when rescued, wagged his tail and licked the hand of a friendly stranger.” His statement about how these abused dogs had “forgiven humanity” struck a powerful chord for me. As rescuers we get a chance to witness this forgiveness often and for me it never ceases to amaze me. That forgiveness is one of the things that helps rejuvenate us. Nothing gives me more hope and joy than the unconditional love of a dog. There have been so many fosters come through my home who have been given no reason in the world to love or trust me, but they do. The somehow forget the abuse and neglect they have suffered at the hands of humans. There is no anger, no revenge, no passive aggressiveness, no cold shoulder, no ultimatum, just wagging tails and kisses. If only we humans were as good at this as dogs are.
I saw a quote the other day. I don’t know who it was by but it was perfect:
“To err is human,
To forgive, Canine”
Tiny Giraffe Kisses To Everyone! And some wonderful dog kisses too!
You are so very right! As a woman with 30 years in social services and dog rescue, your observations ring true. At times, it can get overwhelming. Then we move forward... one dog, one person at a time. We do what we can for our own little corner of the world and hope it spreads from there.
ReplyDeleteThere are also two EXCELLENT short videos that demonstrate this. They're both about a dog named Stanley. Paraphrasing, but as they say, 'it all started with just one person, doing just one thing, for just one dog...' and it snowballed from there.
Thank you for your insightful blog. You've just won over another fan :)
Emily Danskin and the 4 Hounds
Emily thank you so much! I am so glad to meet another social services worker and dog rescuer.
ReplyDelete