Stumbling Onto Human Caring While Shopping

As I was walking into the grocery store today, I saw several people bunched around a man sitting cross-legged on the pavement with a really cute large puppy and a water conainer. He was petting it. A couple of store manager people and a couple of staff came up.

I figured, correctly, the dog had been found in a hot car with all windows up. It was only 93 today, instead of 103, but too hot for any living being inside a car with windows up for more than a very few minutes.

When I left, about 20 minutes later, I asked what the situation was, and didn't ask for details. I asked if the owner had shown up. Oh, yes, I was told, and they were waiting for the police. A police car pulled in as I left.

This puppy was seriously cute. I hope the owner retrieves, with wiser, more caring attitude, or the dog is adopted. Our shelter, as most, is over-crowded, but they are working really hard to get the animals adopted.

How many of you have opened a Facebook page without seeing shelter pets up for adoption? Not many, I bet. They are rampant on mine.

For awhile, I was posting them too, when the local shelter was campaigning for points in the Rachel Ray contest. I finally cancelled, and feel better personally. I felt responsible for very dog or cat on MY website. I can tsk-tsk about animals on my site through the auspices of others.

I shake my head.

WHY is it harder to see animals who have been abused and neglected than children? That used to be my job.

I was trained to see and help the children. I knew my society wasn't going to euthanize any of them because we didn't have enough room.

That's a copout. The key is, I was taught, trained, and investigated on a daily basis the way many people treat children. I was not always alert enough, and children paid when I missed it. (In a previous job, I was once castigated for not realizing the shade of green was one shade off the designated shade in a printing. Oh, the horror! And at the time, it was.)

I don't want any children, animals--wild or domestic--to hurt because of human greed, indifference or neglect. It happens. It happens.

Those folks in front of the grocery store cared. They were willing to spend a couple of hours on a Saturday morning to see that a puppy they had never seen before got care.

And THAT'S what I like about humans. Sometimes.