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There are those rare moments of clarity when you can almost grasp the sentience behind those bright canine eyes. I’m sure the more receptive of dog parents sense it too, like passing a sleeve over a dusty window and glimpsing that other world just on the other side. One of the great lessons a dog shows us continually, is how to live in the moment. For them, there is no self-pity, no remorse, no matter their past trials. Dogs just get on with the time they have. Every morrow brings the promise of a good day. This capacity rings especially true when I think of the rescues that find their way to my classroom. The first rescue entered my life when I was just a teen. His name was Laddie. At least that was the name we gave him after my father found him in a field, making his home under a giant skunk cabbace leaf. A Shelti mix of unknown origin, who would spend the rest of his long life with us, just ove 18 years. There were very few rescue groups back then, beyond the local animal shelters. In much more recent times these organization have grown into global networks, transferring animals at risk, to waiting homes, freeing dogs from the darkest of living conditions, some of whom find their way to my door to learn now to live and get along in a human household: Puppy mill dogs with bodies worn out from over breeding, Basenji mixes rescued from the meat markets of West Africa, dogs with their ears sliced away, from the streets of Cairo, Anatolian Shepherds from the dark forests of Turkey, Catahoula Leopard crosses from the Southern states, Potcakes from the Caribbean Archipelago… the list goes on and the need for help and support both for the kind souls that adopt them and the dogs themselves. That’s where I come in.

Meet Patricia Helping dogs & Their Families Succeed

© Patricia Gallinger-Giao