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She lead the way across the open field heading back to the parking lot when I saw a man waving at me. He asked if he could say hi to my dog and we approached a couple on a morning walk.\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cWe just said good-bye to our dog of 15 years\u201d he told me with that crack in his voice that I know all too well.\u00a0 \u201cI could see her looking at us and I just needed to say hi.\u201d<\/p>\n
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“She\u2019s not my dog. She lives at Second Chance Animal shelter,\u201d I told the older couple that wanted to introduce themselves to my little black companion.\u00a0 \u201cThey call her Socks, I call her Nelly or Nell.\u201d\u00a0 She approached the man and rose on her hind legs and gave him a hug. He smiled and laughed and hugged her back.\u00a0 \u00a0I told her down, she sat down in front of him.\u00a0 I made a click sound with my mouth and she turned and came to me.\u00a0 I gave her the hand cue to sit.\u00a0 She sat.\u00a0 I gave her the hand cue to lay down.\u00a0 She did.\u00a0 I told her to come up, she came up and got a treat.\u00a0 \u201cShe has me trained well.\u201d I smiled at them.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is such a good girl,\u201d they said.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s so smart,\u201d they noticed.\u00a0 She sat beside me as we spoke and then she approached the woman and startled her as she jumped up to give her a hug too.\u00a0 She laughed and petted her and hugged her back.\u00a0 \u201cShe is so sweet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s a hugger,\u201d I said, grinning.<\/p>\n
I told them I take her out a couple times a week.\u00a0 We discussed her life at the shelter and the training and conditioning we have been doing together.\u00a0 They told me I was a good person for doing what I was doing.\u00a0 What they did not know is that this girl has done as much for me as I have done for her.\u00a0 Nell came into my life and into the shelter at a time when I needed her and I knew that she was going to need me.\u00a0 And so, she became \u201cmy girl\u201d from that day until the day she goes to her new home.<\/p>\n
So, because of the amazing program at Second Chance called \u2018Dogs Day Out\u2019 this girl and I have spent so much time together these past few months. We have hiked a lot of miles in the summer heat, playing in the autumn leaves and walking briskly through the winter snow and wind.\u00a0 I took a week off from work at the beginning of the fall and spent it with her and we hiked almost 50 miles in 6 days at about 10 different locations.\u00a0 She is truly a great companion. She is a great friend.\u00a0 She is a great dog.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been volunteering at SCAS for years now and every pup I have met is amazing in their own way. Some I only meet once and never see them again and some stay longer so I get to know them better. I get dogs, I just get them. \u00a0And now and again I meet one that just gets me.\u00a0 And this girl gets me. You see, eventually I plan to work with dogs\/animals full time; so behavior and training are things I am constantly studying and reading about. I\u2019m always trying to develop my conditioning methods and skills so, finding a girl like Nell that is so intelligent and emotionally complex was like finding a real hidden gem.\u00a0 A true diamond in the ruff!<\/p>\n
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I started this blog with the story about the couple mourning the passing of their beloved dog and wanting to say hi to Socks\/Nell for a reason. \u00a0I tell that story because it is not the only time it happened.\u00a0 There have been several times where someone asked if they could say hi to her.\u00a0 Because she was looking at them like she wanted to say hi. And she walked over and hugged them, and they smile and laugh and embrace her and tear up and with that crack in their voice that tells me that they just lost their dog.\u00a0 \u00a0Coincidence? Maybe. Or does she just have a sense?\u00a0 I don\u2019t know but it has happened enough that it makes me wonder.<\/p>\n
If I had the home and the yard that she needs and deserves she would be my girl forever.\u00a0 There is no question about that.\u00a0 But I have made a promise to her.\u00a0 I promised her that with all my heart, the staff and I would find her the perfect people to take her home for good and give her the Second Chance that she deserves.<\/p>\n
If my girl sound like the friend you are looking for come by and say hi and maybe we can all go for a hike.\u00a0 Or maybe just stop in for a free hug.<\/p>\n