Be the One Who Cares

After a brief reprieve… I’m baaaack.

Where have I been? Well, on a road trip to civilization, swimming mental laps through a lake called Uncertainty, and saving a dog named 27220.

I enjoyed civilization, drowned in Uncertainty, and am most moved by 27220.

27220. She’s the color of saucy caramel and her lowered eyes match her fur. Her ears are pointy flaps, but you can’t make that out in the photo of her because they are flat to her head, from fear, the same as her tail that is tucked between her legs. She’s scared and she should be. She’s overlooked and she shouldn’t be. She is a lost dog, found only by the Athens Animal Control Shelter. They have taken her and assigned a number to her and given her a countdown. They graciously post a photograph and write a blip on her brilliant, submissive personality. They state that she deserves a second chance at life, to be happy and bring happiness to whomever may adopt her. Yet, she has two weeks or so to win someone’s affection from her cage at the shelter, lest she be ‘put down’. That’s a sweet way to say killed. To her disadvantage, she is a Pit Bull Terrier Mixed Breed. She is not fluffy and smiling for her photograph. She’s sad and scared… so, she’s overlooked. And just like that, another one bites the dust.

Except… I saw her picture. Her tender eyes dripped with soulfulness and unlike some, I respond to the words Pit Bull Mix with elation. I have one. I have a Selma Lu Mela. She’s a Pit Bull Terrier Mixed Breed that makes my day everyday. I know the truth of what this breed of dog offers when loved and not abused. I’m not the only one of course, but we’re in the minority, unfortunately. Man has done a superb job of a negative marketing campaign against this creature with no voice to dispute its bad reputation. The easiest dog I’ve ever raised is a Pit Bull Mix. I immediately saw similarities between Selma Lu Mela and 27220. And the more I thought of her, the more upset I got. Her eyes were emblazoned in my mind and ignoring a situation like this is not in my nature. This is not just a problem. This is not a thing someone else should deal with. I saw her; I became aware of her and her undeserved death sentence. I am helping.

I was once told in a dream by someone very wise, “Be the one who cares.”

Those are good words. The one who cares is the one who acts like they care. The one who cares is the one who does something about it. The one who cares doesn’t ever say “Somebody should really do something about that. That’s a shame.” Being the one who cares hurts like hell sometimes. I cried like a hungry baby for two hours on my way to civilization (that’s what I’m calling Atlanta) thinking of this abandoned dog and how the shelter wasn’t willing to let me pick her up quickly while I was close by to where she is located. It was a difficult process and it put pressure on the amount of time I had to find her a warm, fuzzy home in which to belong. Serving as foster parent was fine by me, but not the shelter for some insane reason. I needed a certification number in order to do that. So, my last resort remained and I took it. I prayed and prayed and cried and prayed. I needed someone to be qualified to get the dog out of the shelter and to the vet in order to receive healthcare. In the meantime, I would find her a home.

Who says miracles don’t happen? Not me.

A certified person from New York belonging to a rescue foundation sponsored 27220. This individual has no plan for her but has used their credentials to simply arrange for the dog’s transfer and care. Never ever say New Yorkers are cold hearted, reader. This one New Yorker reached down into a random Georgia animal shelter and took the initiative to save the life of a sweet creature that they had never met. I don’t even know how they found out about 27220. Was it possibly a trickle effect from all my frantic calls to numerous animal organizations? I don't know. It could have just been purely coincidental and there was a New York dog lover just as panicked as I was. But now, I'm calling everybody I know to keep my end of the prayer… I will find her a home where she can be loved and share her small but mighty miracle. She’s a piece of grace now.

So, all in all, I’m vowing to always remember the words ‘Be the one who cares’. It hurts, because caring hurts, but it makes a life when it works out. I'll care about the world- dogs and all. Man has domesticated dogs, they depend on us- caring isn’t an option now. 27220, last I heard, is waiting on her new arrangements, playing with the other cats and dogs at the vet, and very happy somebody somewhere cared. One difference in the world is made. By caring and following through and lots of prayers that anonymous certified New Yorkers might help out.