(Found this beautiful story on the internet: Sounds like a true occurrence: Author not known)
She watched him from a distance. He definitely looked lost, a lone brown figure guarding a sewer pipe. He stood out in the green field because of his color.
He would move forward a little, try to talk to passersby and then retreat back to his comfort zone, in front of the sewer pipe. She was drawn to him and watched every move of his with keen interest.
Those around him were reluctant to approach him as they did not know what to expect from him? what he was trying to say? what he wanted? who he was and where he had come from? He looked too young to be wandering around on his own though.
She wondered whether he was asking for help. She knew that his behavior could become unpredictable but while all spectators watched, she felt an impulse to run down the field to comfort him.
She heard a commotion nearby as an animal control van screeched to a stop right next to where she was parked. Out jumped a pleasant young sheriff holding a neck collar. It was clear that this young man had been called to rescue this lost creature.
She was expecting some sort of a reaction from her focus of attention but to her surprise, the creature displayed no agitation or fear but patiently waited for the young sheriff to approach him.
The sheriff sat down on grass, right next to the lost soul, and appeared to be uttering calming words to gain his trust. The sheriff made several patient attempts to place the collar around this dog’s neck but the dog took this as a game and playfully jumped up and down for a bit. She wondered at this rare spectacle for this Pitt, was not being aggressive or combative at all. After several failed attempts, the sheriff was finally able to get the collar and leash around this dog’s neck.
When the sheriff tugged at the leash, encouraging the dog to follow him, it was clear that the dog didn’t want to budge from his favorite spot. She wondered if he was trying to tell them something about his owner and felt a pang.
The sheriff finally succeeded in nudging him to a small dog cage in his van. As the main character passed right close to her car, she saw him at close quarters. He wasn’t angry, he wasn't barking, he just looked defeated and melancholic with tears filling his eyes & his head hanging low.
She had been afraid of dogs while growing up and for a good reason too. Her experience with strays back home had not exactly been favorable. But this was one dog that made her heart melt. As he passed at arm’s length from her, she wanted to reach out and pat his sad and remorseful head.
She offered to help the sheriff look for anything that was bothering this sad creature. However, even after a thorough search of the sewer pipe and the surrounding field, the officer found nothing that could be holding this dog back. She felt saddened as she sensed there was something amiss but was unable to do anything about it.
The young sheriff assessed the dog to be about a year old as he was drooling and looked nervous. This dog was one of the mildest and gentlest creatures she had ever set eyes on. She felt so moved by this incident and the personality of the dog that she wanted to bring the dog home.
She surprised herself with this irrational thinking. Was she really physically and mentally able to take this responsibility? Wouldn’t there be religious connotations of having a dog? No one in her family liked dogs, particularly her mother who had been bitten by a stray once.
For some reason, this trapped, doleful animal reminded her of herself. Of late, she had been asking people to help her with the care of her mother when in the past she had been able to handle most of such challenges herself. Now, some unavoidable circumstances had rendered her helpless.
She was informed that the dog would be taken to the animal shelter where an attempt to find a chip on him (and thereby his owner) would be made. If no owner was found for 15 days, he would be given up for adoption. She wished that he would either find his owner or another loving home.
She noted that during this time, all worries and stressors had left her and she had felt as light as a cloud. In those few moments, she had felt united with a kindred spirit.
She promised herself to find this lost creature home. If she couldn’t care for him herself, she would beg her friends to do so. This was indeed love at first sight and her restless soul wished to see this kindred spirit again. Their connection was unexplainable and all she could gather from this incident was that her destiny had brought this dog into her life to fill the chasm left by those who she had once held dear and those who were soon to leave her...
