I saved a dog today.

[hamsterjill]

I'm sure some of you are aware that I have a cat sanctuary in South Texas. "Sanctuary" because we have a finite number of residents who are here to live out their lives. We no longer do intake because I'm getting older, and I need to (hopefully) outlive these kiddos. The vast majority of the cats are quite elderly, and I lose one regularly. But it never gets easy.

In that vein, I currently have a 15-year old kitty who is reaching the end. So, I've been quite sad.

Today, I was taking a Christmas present to drop off at a friend's house, and saw a small black dog in the middle of a busy road. The dog was trying to eat something that was in the middle of the road. I panicked. I parked on one side of the road, and the dog ran to the opposite side - safely, at least. I quickly drove over to the other side and parked. The dog was back out (again) in the middle of the road at the object in the middle. I waited until there was a clear path of cars and called her. She immediately ran to me and jumped in my arms. I was so relieved when I had her.

Luckily, she had tags and I called the first number and got an answer. I was able to easily return her to her family. She'd gotten out of the back yard that backs up to the busy highway. I didn't give them the usual lecture of "you need to make sure she doesn't get out" because I could tell that they were horrified that she'd been in danger. And hey, it is Christmas, after all.

So, it felt really good to save this precious little soul and to return her to where she is loved. I'm grateful that I was in the right place at the right time. That sort of thing seems to happen to me (and other animal lovers) a lot.

Then I got home...

I sure do wish that just ONCE, someone could save one of mine. Sorry to be a downer. I know that they all - just like us - have a limited number of years. But it is, after all, Christmas.

Hug your kiddos for me tonight and be grateful that you have another day with them. They are such a precious part of our lives.