We first saw him wandering around looking for something, for someone… As it turns out, every day is “Bring Your Dog To Work Day” at our office. And the girls had taken notice of this cute skinny little black dog. They barked at him from behind the office window. He was alone and scared. He parked his caboose under my pickup truck and laid down.
We saw him and since black lives matter, we decided a rescue was in order. We opened the office door but he didn’t budge. We threw him some treats and he ate them. Then, we decided to Hansel and Gretel his butt into the office. We left a trail of treats and he walked right in. Boom! We closed the door behind him. He looked back at the door and realized there was no escape. He looked at me, pumped his little legs up and down, and jumped into my lap. He sat and ate more treats. He licked my hand. He had no human, no home, and no collar.
Since I volunteer at BARC, I decided to run him over there to see if he could get adopted. He didn’t have a chip. When asked what his name was, I thought quickly and replied, “Felipe.” They said, “He looks like a Felipe.” We laughed. I told them he was also bilingual. When asked how I knew that, I thought (not as quickly) and replied, “Because he told me so.” Their response was, “Oh, okay.”
Several weeks passed and I visited with Felipe often. He would jump up and want to be held like a baby. Yes, you may have guessed it, he’s a face licker. I was holding him when the BARC trainer walked by and said, “Isn’t he just great! And one of the kennel techs told me he speaks Spanish.” Felipe and I looked at one another and oh, how we laughed! I wanted to be honest so I told her that I personally started the rumor. Just as Felipe and I, she was amused.
And that same week, three people wanted to adopt this cute little boy. They almost fought over him. But one lucky lady walked out with him, carrying him like a little baby. I felt like a proud parent sending his child off to college. Of course, this would be much less expensive – for me.
So, if you see a wayward dog who needs a hand, please stop, grab him or her, and rescue him. Don’t just keep driving. When you save a life – it will feel WONDERFUL! And I am a firm believer in KARMA. Are you?
In the immortal words of Arnold Governator, “Hasta la vista, baby!” Don’t worry, Felipe is bilingual, he knows what that means.
ps. photo by the incredibly talented photographer: Brian Kelly.
