Today is National Disabled Pet Day. This is Wrigley. He doesn't know that he is disabled or differently-abled or specially-abled. He's blind, but he isn't stopped by not being able to see. He's just Wrigley.
When we were trying to adopt him, the shelter was trying to dissuade us from taking him home. They focused upon the challenges he would pose. They focused on what he couldn't or wouldn't do. It turns out that he was a scared dog who had probably never been allowed to just be a dog. It's apparent that the person who owned him before us didn't let him do anything. Then he was dumped into a kill shelter. Then he was uprooted again and placed in a no-kill shelter, but they treated him like he was a liability.
It took him some time to warm up to us and our household. We had to earn his trust. We had to show him that he wasn't going to be confined or shipped off somewhere else. We just let him be a dog. We let him run around and explore.
Occasionally he runs into something. But most of the time he is trying to get his fellow canine housemate to play with him. Or napping. Or he's begging for a treat. Or he's trying to snuggle in someone's lap. Or he's barking to let us know what he wants. Or barking because he heard the word "walk" even though he's not really going to be his best at walking unless he's off his leash.
Wrigley inspires me with the way that he lives his life, the way that he moves through the world. I'm glad to know him.
No comments:
Post a Comment