April 22nd 2010 1:03 pm
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To me, adoption means hope.... and a second (or third..or fourth) chance at finding the home they were always meant for and becoming the dog they were meant to be.

Shayne made the leap from nearly euthanized pound puppy to being featured in her own 1/2 page national coupon for a leading dog-cookie company. She went from a dog they were concerned about adopting out to a dog who was the face of a national brand (if ever so briefly).

Shayne was an abuse/neglect case for the Humane Society--she had been tied to a tree for at least several months and was starved/neglected (and we have reason to believe she had been abused). She was skinny and scared when I convinced the HS to allow me to adopt her (she had food aggression issues that they noted and other aggression issues popped up as she became healthier). It took a lot of work to get her to trust me but she did... she wanted so badly to interact with me but was very scared. Yet this scared dog has also been able to reach out to inner city youth and share the love with them.

She has volunteered her time at a special summer camp for inner city youth (many of whom are like Shayne was, abandoned, neglected, abused, forgotten) (see the photo). She quickly became a camp favorite with these youth because of her willingness to spread the love even if she isn't 100% sure all the time... when the kids learn some massage techniques and just watch as her body relaxes through their soft words and kind touches, they really feel the connection with her and understand what something so small as soft words can do for a timid dog. The girl in the pink shirt in the photo (shayne's head is on her lap) was not 100% comfortable with dogs... she was a little afraid, but that's the girl shayne was so drawn to and felt comfortable enough to lay down on (even thought three other youth were also loving on her)... they were really meant for each other.

To me adoption is about THAT moment... when shayne's head hit the lap of that young woman... a girl who was a little afraid of dogs and the dog who was REALLY afraid of humans are able to connect in a quiet and peaceful moment and really become connected with out words ...just the sound of the creek in the background and the gentle and loving touch between girl and dog...this moment would not have been possible without adoption.