3 Dogs

Our family loves dogs. I’m happy that we live on a farm, because it has allowed us to give homes to quite a few dogs who were down on their luck and really needed our help. All of them have repaid us with their grateful, affectionate and intelligent companionship.

One of my favorite rescue stories is about Sasha, a mostly German Shepherd dog I spotted at the corner of two rural roads in Texas. She was obviously waiting for whoever had abandoned her there to return. She would not approach me or anyone else who tried to coax her, and would run into the road if approached, but always returned to the same spot. All I could do was put food out for her. This went on for several days, and I had concluded that I would never be able to gain this dog’s trust. I decided to take a photo of her and send it to the local newspaper, hoping they would publish it and her owner would come back for her. When I arrived at the crossroads, she was sitting with her ears pricked, looking at me intently. As I crouched to take the picture, Sasha got up, as if she had already made up her mind, and hesitantly walked toward me. I stretched out my arm, talking in a soothing voice as she came closer. Shyly, she approached and eventually leaned against my arm and licked my nose! She looked overwhelmed by her decision to trust me and a little unsure, but happy as she jumped into my car. I rode home with her front feet in my lap. Over the past seven years, Sasha has proved to be a wonderful dog. She has nine canine companions—two dalmatians, a white shepherd, two hounds and several mixed breed dogs—all with their own rescue stories to tell. As my husband Tim says, “We just can’t resist a fuzzy face!”