BELIEVE
It’s Your Turn!
A true story of despair and rejection turned into happiness and love! By Ashley Owen Hill, Founder/President of Lucky Dog Rescue
I see a dog, and my heart breaks into a million tiny pieces that fall at my feet as teardrops. The dog is skin and bones, and his spirit is completely shattered. The dog has been beaten, tortured, and starved. The dog has been subjected to the bone-chilling cold, the scorching heat. The dog knows all too well the feeling of hunger, pain, and suffering. This dog has lived his entire existence on a 3-foot chain, never having heard the words “good boy” nor been touched by a caring hand. He was never free to run or play nor able to escape the abuse. This dog has been beaten every single day, for as long as he can remember. This dog has lived his entire life in a state of sheer terror—never knowing when the next blow would come or what would trigger the next beating. This dog watched as his family packed up all of their belongings and moved away without him. This dog waited for weeks on a chain for them to return for
him. They would never return for him. This dog waited, with hopes, dreams, and love, he waited. This dog ends up at the pound, where he is immediately placed on death row. He is again restricted from running and playing, this time by a cage. He is again terrified for his life, as he should be—he doesn’t have much time. This dog waits as, day after day, no one stops at his cage. He sees the children run to the cages containing cute little puppies, and then watches as the pups leave with their new families. He sees a family pass him by, to visit the dog in the next cage. At first, he thinks they will stop for him, and he goes to greet them, tail wagging. As the people play with the neighboring dog, this dog sits, watching, waiting, longing for his turn. And then, he watches as the other dog joyfully prances past him, on her way to a new home. For days, this boy gets up to greet every family that comes past his cage.
74 Summer 2011 | The American Dog Magazine
He waits eagerly by the gate for his turn to show that he’s special. But no one ever stops for him. Eventually, he stops getting up. Day after day, this dog waits. He sees the others, one by one, heading out the door, but it’s never his turn. He watches each person pass him by, but he doesn’t understand. He doesn’t know that his emaciated frame makes others look away. He doesn’t know that his eyes don’t shine due to the years of torture. He doesn’t know that his coat is dull from improper care or that he smells because he’s never had a bath. He doesn’t know he is of a breed that doesn’t stand a chance and he is of a color that is all too common. He just knows that he wants to go home, and he is beginning to understand that it will never happen for him. And so he waits with shattered hopes, dreams, and love. He waits to die. On the day his time runs out, I arrive for him. As I approach his cage, he doesn’t