Touched

Today, something happened that I would never have believed. You may remember that I am a strict cat person. I love dogs, but without a huge farm for them to run around and herd things on, I would never actually want to have one.

Until today.

This beautiful golden retriever came in today for vaccinations. She was extremely sweet and craved attention. However, due to some behavior problems, her owners didn't really seem to want her, or even like her very much. But those problems are all very manageable: she jumps up and pulls at her leash and is generally very excited about life. She's also had some accidents in the house, but this appears to be a health issue, not a behavior issue. Over and over again, the owners talked about what a bad dog she was and how much they would like to just get a "better" dog.

I spent some time with her today, getting her nails trimmed, taking her out to go potty, etc. She was so responsive to correction, and was just in general a very loving, eager to please dog. Every time I so much as glanced in her direction, she was looking me right into my eyes with that "Love me! Please love me!" look in her eyes. That look really tore at my heart, and is something that I have never really experienced with a dog before. Not to that extent anyway. I just felt so.... sad!

We talked to the owners, recommended trainers and some other ways to correct her issues. They took the numbers, but didn't really seem very interested. Again, the comment was made that they might just get rid of her.

So, with the encouragement of some co-workers, I let them know that if they really decided she was too big of a problem, to let us know before just dumping her off at the humane society. Because I, dedicated cat person that I am, could probably provide her with a good home.

We'll see what happens.