What Puppy Love Can Teach us

We are smitten.  There is no going back from here.  This little guy entered our hearts and we are now in very, very deep.  So deep, in fact, that this little bundle who will probably someday reach a potential weight of one hundred to one hundred and forty pounds now sleeps on our bed in between us.  Sometimes burying his soft puppy neck into mine, draping his body over my heart.  Sometimes curling up on Mark's pillow, right up against his head.  Sometimes waking up from a bad dream only to look around to make sure that we are still next to him and then going securely back to sleep.  And sometimes getting the hiccups which makes me giggle in my sleep.  Micah entered our lives less than two weeks ago, but we already know that he will be a part of our hearts forever.
We were not looking for a puppy.  We were looking for a companion dog for our older pup, Becca, and also for me but somehow, after a long search through many of the animal rescue organizations we found our way to Micah, a nine week old puppy.  Micah and his four other siblings were found locked in a shed with their poor, emaciated, starving to death, mother.  I guess that the family who owned Pantera, the mother dog, moved from California to Hawaii and decided to abandon their three dogs.  They left two chained up in the backyard, and Pantera was locked up inside of a shed without any food or water.  About a week after these sick individuals moved, they finally contacted an animal rescue organization to say that they had left their dogs behind.  As far as I am concerned, there is a special place in hell for anyone who neglects or abuses animals.  When the rescuers got to the property, they only found two dogs which they took.  A day or two later, they decided to go back to see if the third dog could be located.  As they were getting ready to leave, they heard some whimpering coming from a locked shed in the backyard.  Inside, they found Pantera, a full-blooded Rottweiler nursing five puppies.  Nobody had even bothered to mention to the rescue organization that one of the dogs on the property was pregnant, nor had they said that she was locked up inside of a shed.  Obviously, she had given birth after their departure.  The litter contained two females and three males, one of which was Micah.  The rescuers decided to separate the females and the males, placing them in different foster homes.  The puppies were weaned and luckily, Pantera, was adopted immediately.  I am sure that she was placed in a very loving home with wonderful people, as the rescue organization is extremely diligent about where they will place their animals.  

Micah and his much larger brothers were placed temporarily with a very loving couple who lived in a small apartment.  They already had one dog, so they could not keep any of the puppies, but they fell in love with Micah.  He was the smallest of the litter and was considered the runt but he was active and loving and cuddly.  His foster mom cried when Mark and Angel Daughter Number Four went to pick him up.  Thank God for big-hearted people.

Becca, our ten year old dog, has not yet adjusted to the idea that Micah is staying.  Truth be told, he drives her crazy.  It has always taken Becca a while to warm up to new situations, but hopefully, as Micah grows and matures, Becca will accept him as she reluctantly did our kittens.  Disliking them intently, at first, but allowing them into her pack after a while.
This is a difficult concept for little Micah to grasp because he has never met another dog, cat, or human that he does not love.  Angel Daughter Number Four takes him on walks and then carries him when his wobbly puppy legs get too tired.  To Micah, it's all about love.  It's all about who to cuddle up with next.  It's all about pure joy.
And at the end of the day, shouldn't that be what it is all about.  Making it through the rough times, by hanging on and believing in love?  Knowing that no matter what adversities we might face, trust is what will eventually get us through.  Trust and faith and belief in kindness.  Believing that we can survive and eventually, thrive.  Believing that love is always stronger than hate.  Believing that if we continue to demonstrate love, even when others are not being as generous, that we will ultimately find a way to better days.
Micah's story reminds me that even with rough beginnings, we can still find happy endings.  He teaches me that sometimes, by rescuing someone else, we can end up rescuing a part of ourselves.  A part which still believes in the power of love and goodness and of a big hug.  A part which understands that, in the end, kindness matters.

So, at the end of the day, what is that you still believe in?