Unconditional Love

Today was my day to work at a local animal shelter. It's been 9 years since I first walked into those doors to find myself a feline companion. And each day I walk into the shelter, I am always amazed by the unconditional love that those animals have for us, the humans, who oftentimes, mistreat them horribly.

People ask me if volunteering there makes me sad. "Sad?", I ask. "Not at all", for I know they are going to go to good homes. What makes me sad, however, are some of the "back stories" of these animals. And those kill me.

Take, for example, the two cats who were left at the front door of the shelter (illegal, so you know) in a sealed plastic box in the Winter. No food, no water, no air and temperatures in the 20's. By the time we arrived to open the shelter in the morning- the two were near death, sweaty from trying to breathe and covered in urine. But most of all, they were scared. Great human thinking there.

Or how about the family dog that was gotten as a puppy and now that the couple had divorced, neither side wanted the 12 year old animal? Through no fault of the dog- he was homeless and at 12, the likelihood of that dog getting adopted in his later years were slim. Again. Great human thinking.

Or how about the animals that are given up because people are moving? I don't know about you- but I don't think there is a state in the US that doesn't allow for dogs or cats, but "moving" is the number one reason people give up their pets. Sure, I'm being facetious- I know moving means into a non pet friendly environment. But if pets were truly a part of a family- people wouldn't move to places that don't allow them.

Want to know what does make me sad? Walking through the kennels. I am saddened by the looks on the animal's faces. You can see hopefulness and expectation in their eyes. Their tails wag, their ears perk up, for they are all looking for a familiar smell, a touch or a look, as these animals have no idea why they are here or what they did to get there. All they want is to go home, to sleep in their own bed, or to crawl into the one that they were sometimes allowed into. Yet each time the door is opened, the expectation is replaced by the realization of the home they once knew is gone forever. And the longer the animal has been there, the less interested they are when the door opens, to the point that some don't even rise to their feet any more.

So why volunteer? The real joy is when an animal gets to go to its new, forever home. When kids and adults alike have that glow in their eyes of a perfect match. When tails are wagging, hands are petting and each is imagining just what life might be like together. It's a magical moment and it happens day after day in shelters around the country. Once abandoned pets are adopted by people who have the time and the intelligence to be good owners. Ones who lavish their pets with love and who in return receive that perfect, unconditional love that only a pet can bring.

And as the door closes behind them to start their new life together, the kennel is readied, for the next abandoned or stray animal is about to arrive. And so, it all begins all over again.