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A thunderstorm threatened but did not follow through. Instead, just half an hour of heavy rain. Thinning clouds shift. Sun comes through in pencil beams. The sky holds onto remnants of grey in the eastern horizon. In the west are lighter hues.

Simone avoids the pools on the sidewalk, veers from wet protruding branches of unkempt hedges. She jumps and barks, indignant, at cars that speed too quickly through puddles, splashing the sidewalk, almost splashing her. The rain has washed away most of the scents so there is little reason for her to stop. Our walk is brisk.

I take my jacket off. I never seem to get it right. The weather confounds me. Too many layers. Not enough. These little things confound me. Every action requires a decision to be made. Should I tie the jacket around my waist? Should I carry it in my arms? I'll carry it in my arms.

Simone is sniffing around a large hosta. She is studious in her sniffing. It is almost ritualistic. A blue eyed husky comes up from behind and lifts its nose at Simone. Simone glances back at it. Two years ago, she would've kicked her feet in fright to get away. A year ago, she would've turned and barked, hackles up. Now, she goes back to sniffing.

The trees have captured the earlier downpour. The wind blows and leaves shed their water so along the road it rains under each tall tree and each drop is lit by the warm sun of the soon-to-be dusk such that the drops look like cascades of gold.

We walk around the perimeter of the dog park. Simone watches the dogs at play. They are formed into pairs and trios. Two dogs, each with dark, longish hair are facing off, barking at each other - to what end? For the joy of it, I suppose. Two other dogs are wrestling in the wet sand. One on top, then the other. Simone looks at them then looks away. She is leery about roughhousing. Two smaller dogs, Beagle mixes perhaps, are chasing a third, a mixed Husky pup rescued from the north, who is not yet much bigger. "Doesn't that look like fun?" I ask Simone who is grazing the tips off new grass. Last thing in the world, I am sure she would say.

The sky is painted in newborn colours - clouds blue, pink and white. There are still large patches of brown in the park. No worries. The rain will bring everything back to life because life follows water. There is no choice in this regard. The breeze carries along a rising, moist, earthy scent. The breeze is just cool enough. My jacket is ready just in case. It's been a long long winter but spring always follows. There is no choice in this regard and this expectant season has finally arrived.



8 Comments to “Where there is rain”

  1. Anonymous says:

    Simone is a beautiful dog. May she find happiness and love with the right family or person.

  2. Fred says:

    Already has. She's mine :)

  3. Anonymous says:

    You are a beautiful writer. I love this.

  4. Anonymous says:

    Love your comment Fred.... "Already has. She's mine" sounds like the title to a ballad or a poem. I know Simone would tell us that she did indeed find happiness and love with the right person if only she could type!!!!

  5. deva says:

    So nice to see some text posted again. Beautiful photograph - of course, having a lovely model helps.

  6. Anonymous says:

    Beautiful dog and beautiful capture - picture and text. Love reading your writing.

  7. Dianne says:

    Simone is such a lovely girl.

  8. Good to hear that Simone has grown more confident and calmer with the world, well, except for the wet bits. If you ever bottle your magic formula, I'll order one for Jimmers, who is still nervous as a nun at a penguin shoot....

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A request

The reason for this blog is to help get specific dogs adopted from TAS but equally important is to try to normalize the idea of shelter dogs being just as good and just as desirable as any other dogs including those which are regularly merchandised by backyard breeders, puppy millers and those few remaining pet store owners who still feel a need to sell live animals. The single greatest stigma shelter animals still face is the belief that shelter animals are substandard animals. Anyone who has had enough experience with shelter animals knows this is untrue but the general public hasn't had the same experiences you've had. They see a nice dog photo in a glossy magazine and too many of them would never think of associating that dog with a dog from a shelter. After all, no one abandons perfectly good dogs, right? Unfortunately, as we all know, perfectly good dogs are abandoned all the time.

The public still too often associates shelter dogs with images of beat up, sick, dirty, severely traumatized animals and while we definitely sometimes see victims such as these, they are certainly not the majority and, regardless, even the most abused animals can very often be saved and made whole again.

Pound Dogs sometimes discusses the sad histories some of the dogs have suffered. For the most part, though, it tries to present the dogs not as victims but as great potential family members. The goal is to raise the profiles of animals in adoption centers so that a potential pet owner sees them as the best choice, not just as the charity choice.

So, here's the favour I'm asking. Whenever you see a dog picture on these pages you think is decent enough, I'd like you to consider sharing it on Facebook or any other social media sites you're using (I know many of you do this already and thank you for that). And when you share it, please mention that the dog in the photo is a shelter dog like so many other shelter dogs waiting for a home. If we can get even five percent of the pet buying public to see shelter dogs differently, to see how beautiful they are and how wonderful they are, and to consider shelter dogs as their first choice for a new family member, we can end the suffering of homeless pets in this country.
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