A few months ago my dad and I drove to the local shelter in search of a new puppy.
When we arrived the a volunteer greeted us.
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"Y'all are in luck, a bunch of puppies just got dropped off," she said.
My dad and I went to pick out the cutest one with the best personality, when another family walked in. They were Hispanic, a younger couple, and were holding hands with their little girl. To my surprise, they walked by the puppies and looked around until they found a much older dog. A dog, that had a gray hair and only three legs.
I walked over to the family as they were waiting on their adoption papers, I asked why they had decided on this dog rather than all the others. What the man said was one of the most touching things I have ever heard.
"Well," he said, "I spent most of my life being unwanted when I came into the states. I felt so misunderstood. I did not speak English well and my mother had to work two jobs to make ends meet. So, she was not able to be around much."
He continued on, "But there was this one boy in class who was my friend even though I was different. He was my friend even though I did not speak English and I am sure sometimes it was hard. I want my daughter to be the same way, including and loving others because it is the right thing to do, not because it is easy. This dog will be just that to her. A lesson to love no matter how different something is, three legs or four."
I sat and watched the girl play with her new three legged dog. She looked ecstatic. I wondered how much this lesson would impact everyone around her for years to come. There she would be, on the first day of kindergarten making sure everyone had a friend to play with. Fast forward to high school and there she would be, sitting with the kids who had no one to sit with. All because of a dad who was instilling life-long values in his daughter and a dog who would teach her that loving things and people that are different from you is very much worthwhile.
People say dogs aren't important. However, I think it is possible that dogs may be some of the best teachers this world will ever have. While this girl's dog taught her the importance of loving others, the dog my dad and I picked out taught us a few things too. Whenever I arrived home, whether it be that I was gone 10 minutes or 10 days, my dog was always so happy to see me. But, more than that, he was happy at all the little things: a treat, a small dog bed, a pat on the head. The dog reminded me how important it is to value the little things in life. Dogs sometimes view a world in a way I wish we all could. Maybe one day, we all can be as good of teachers as our dogs are to us.
