Pet's Age
8

Pet's Story or Bio
The first year of my life I spent in a cage. I ate in my cage. I went to the bathroom in my cage. I slept in my cage. I only got water once in a blue moon if my owner was feeling nice. My family bought me from a backyard breeder because their kids thought I was cute. They thought I would grow up to be a “tough” dog. They thought people would fear me and they thought that would give them power. They never taught me how to use the bathroom. They never taught me how to sit or not to jump. They expected me to be perfect but I was only a baby and I didn’t know how. On Thanksgiving night in 2015, my owners decided they had had enough of me because I had an accident yet again. I was already one year old and I still wasn’t sure what I was doing wrong. Why didn’t they love me? I didn’t mean to. I just never learned where I was supposed to go and I couldn’t hold it anymore. My owner made a phone call, and that person made a phone call and so on and so on. My owner told them if no one could take me tonight he was going to put me on the street. He was serious. Around 10:00 that night, a lady showed up. When the door opened she spoke to me in a kind voice. I leaped into her arms (literally). This was my way of telling her I needed help, of asking her to take me with her. She did. I was covered in urine and my own feces, but she held me anyways and brought me to her home. She gave me a bath, I was scared but I let her because she was kind and talked me through it. She took me for car rides, she fed me, and she let me run free for the first time in my life. It was intoxicating, but I didn’t leave her side because I knew I was safe with her. I had never felt safe before and I liked this feeling of safe. She was still young when I met her. She didn’t have a home of her own either. We were alike. She loved me so much, but she knew she needed to do what was best for me, despite her own feelings. She knew she couldn’t give me everything, but she could certainly find someone who could. A nice family who lived in the neighborhood over had lost their pitbull recently, and they were ready to welcome a new dog into their home. They were knowledgeable about my breed and they had a nice big fenced in back yard for me to run. I went to live with them for a few days. They were nice, but I tried to run away everyday anyways. They only lived a few houses away from the lady who picked me up originally, so I could smell her from there. I tried to run to her house more than one time. My family decided I wasn’t a good fit for them. They said I was too much of a flight risk. The lady didn’t understand - because I never ever ran from her. So why was I running from them? So, that lady came back. She picked me up. She brought me home. I never left her side. I never ran away. If she moved, I moved with her. This was her sign. It broke her heart when she let me go, but she told herself if it was meant to be it would. Little did she know, I heard her say that. She knew that I was meant to be hers. She knew we were connected. She tried to do what was best for me, to give me a home who could give me everything she thought I needed. The truth is, I didn’t need a big fenced in back yard, or a family of 3. I needed her, and that was all. It’s 2022 now. I am 8 years old. I am the best thing that ever happened to my mom. She thanks god for me everyday. We have been together through some of life’s hardest obstacles. We always come out stronger, together. I am her soul dog, she is my person. I was just a cute puppy to them, but to her I am a reason to live. She may have saved me, but I think I saved her more. -D