The greatest love of my life was bitten in the face by the first dog that I ever owned. He gave her a homemade meatball that he had made in a desperate attempt to make a peaceful offering but she chose to take a bite out of him instead of that meatball. I wound up marrying that man and that dog, well: she turned out to be the most incredible creature I have ever laid eyes on.
“Rosebud” gave me twelve years of love, laughter, and of course, sometimes frustration and stress but the greatest love stories usually do. That’s the thing about loving an animal, I suppose. You have to embrace the really good stuff and brace for the really bad.
I loved that dog so much. I loved her one-eyed face, her stinky skin, her endless loyalty, her psychotic behavior with nail trims, and her barging in to the shower to strip us of any and all privacy. I still have the husband and I carry thousands of memories in my head and my heart where they are constant reminders of how lucky I was to be loved by my Rosie.
It’s easy for us to fall into an abyss of negativity and despair. People who follow our Facebook page often shower us with kind messages of support when they see us dealing with inhumane or difficult situations regarding animals. But the truth is that even in the worst of situations, somewhere, at some point in time, someone did something out of LOVE.
When we got the call about the “Franklin 20” dogs, that vital person who made the initial call to me made it with LOVE and COMPASSION in his heart. When we facilitated the rescue and safe capture of “Roman” the dog running amok in Oneonta for 11 months, the volunteers who spent countless days and nights attempting to capture him did so out of LOVE and CONCERN. When we get a stray dog in and it’s riddled with fear and despondency, and the owner calls us providing its name, that dogs demeanor changes immediately because we know his name and that recognition reminds him that he is loved and missed. Fear turns to HOPE and HOPE is LOVE. When a cat is discarded like yesterdays trash and someone brings her in, makes sure she’s warm and fed, and calls a shelter for help, that is LOVE. The people who help keep shelter doors open and communities in which we all serve are perfect examples of how we stay ahead of the negativity. We feel your LOVE. We cry out of love, we feel anger and sadness out of love.
Adoption is love.
Volunteering is love.
Supporting is love.
Advocating is love.
Love is everywhere; it is found even within the darkest of places.
Erin Insigna, Delaware Valley Humane Society Manager, Sidney
