Over the years, I have learned some important lessons from the dogs I have met at the Aiken County Animal Shelter.
Number one: Forgiveness.
Take Tug, for example. He was surrendered with several other dogs. Tug had an old fracture that had healed incorrectly and was causing him pain. We amputated his leg, and the very next day he was walking, kissing us and had completely moved on from the painful experience.
Wouldn’t it be great if we lived each day like it was the best new day? What if we could let go of what happened in the past and simply move forward with positivity?
Dogs seem to know how to do that.
Number two: It’s not always about us.
Dogs give love so completely that sometimes it seems as though their happiness comes from making us happy.
Bruno is a fluffy red dog who was surrendered to us with barely any fur and clearly hadn’t had the best life before coming to the shelter. Yet all he wants is to sit on your lap!
He will wiggle over, barely making eye contact, and sit as close to you—or directly on you—as possible, seemingly just hoping to give you comfort and love. It is the sweetest thing ever.
Most of our dogs simply want to make us happy, and that is part of what brings our volunteers back every day. It is incredibly rewarding—and maybe even a little selfish sometimes—because of how much love we receive from animals who have so much love left to give.
Number three: Get over it!
Dogs don’t care if we drive the best cars. They don’t care if we are a little heavier than we used to be. They don’t care if they get steak for dinner.
Dogs just want love.
They don’t need top-of-the-line everything. There are so many ads right now telling us that dogs need refrigerated food, orthopedic beds, supplements and all sorts of other things. Those things are wonderful, and I’m sure dogs appreciate them.
But our shelter dogs are living in kennels.
What they really want is someone to hug them, feed them—kibble is just fine!—and give them a soft place to lie down. A blanket, sofa, bed or your lap are all perfectly acceptable options.
Maybe we humans could stand to simplify things a little, too.
Number four: Don’t judge.
Dogs don’t care if we smell after a run. They don’t care if we’ve had a bad day and don’t feel like talking. They don’t care what we look like, what we own or what kind of day we’re having.
They just love us for who we are.
We can learn a lot from dogs.
If you haven’t experienced the nonjudgmental, unconditional, joyful and endearing love of a dog, you are missing out.
Come volunteer with us. Email info@fotasaiken.org.
Adopt from us at the Aiken County Animal Shelter, 333 Wire Rd., Aiken, SC.
Whatever you do, get some of that dog love.
You won’t regret it.
Their lives are in our hands.
By Kathy Cagle, FOTAS Programs Coordinator