The worst thing I ever did for a dog was to do nothing. This was in the last trip to Nicaragua. The dog was totally starving and he came over. I petted him and cried, but did not feed it. I felt like it was useless as it would probably just prolong his death. To this day I regret not having given a meal.
We went to a river a few days ago. A thin and very frightened dog came by our area and watched at a distance, ready to run. I offered him bread from afar, letting him have time to smell my offering and speaking in a gentle voice. Then I threw it to the side of him and he went to get it. I threw him half the loaf and he ate hungrily. Then i followed with our last three boiled eggs and threw those too. He ate while he watched us.
I went back to sit and opened the cream cheese. I set it closer to us. He hesitated, but the smell was too tempting and came closer always ready to run. I opened our second tub and left it in the same spot. He ate again.
My little friend and I struck up a conversation about this frightened dog.
I said, “I used to think that feeding a dog for a day was cruel. Like getting him used to something, then taking it away. But now I believe that while we may be feeding his stomach for a day, he will remember some people were kind and he then may approach others who might offer him food. His entire life might change because of this small act. It might take time, but now he believes in the possibility of someone being kind and that´s the beginning.”
I sincerely believe this. Partly because I have seen it work many times. Our street dogs always arrive with problems. At the beginning nobody wants them. Then, once they have basked in our love and the love of all those who get to know them, they believe they are lovable and they become beautiful from the inside out and people see that beauty and are attracted to it and the chances of them getting adopted increase tremendously.
This is one of the reasons why I believe that foster care works much better than shelters, where the physical conditions might improve, but where the soul and psyche does not have the sufficient love and attention to heal.
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