“Who, being loved, is poor?” –Oscar Wilde

It was love at first sight with this rather unsightly creature – a dog who signifies so much of why we exist and the things we do for love.

In this one dog we have…

Neglect: He’s emaciated, skin and bones. He stands on 3 legs. His back paw is broken, bleeding, and infected. He has a cut above his eye and many old wounds He even has that neglected dog stench.

Overpopulation: He’s a pitbull in a community where there are more than we can find homes for.

Abandonment: He was found running loose in a troubled neighborhood, one with an abundance of stray and forsaken dogs.

But he knows none of this and surely hasn’t seen himself in a mirror lately. He has no idea why we funny humans are looking at him with such worried faces or why the rescue guy is taking his picture.

I think it was 13 degrees outside the day he was picked up. Can you imagine living outside amidst freezing temperatures, bony and injured, and still able to maintain a cheery disposition?

But he looks back at us with pure joy in his heart. He smiles. He wags his tail. He goes crazy for pets from our intake staff, practically falling in Jess’s and then Kaia’s lap. I am astounded by his resilience and trust. Despite his appearance and smell our incredible staff lavishes him with love and praise as if he were an Adonis.

He is moved to our isolation area so he can heal. I secretly visit him daily to give him treats and belly rubs. He’s always happy. Patty, our Animal Care Coordinator, has fattened him up quickly. (One thing we witness all too frequently is the speed at which a starved animal gains weight while in our care.)

But when I went to visit him yesterday he was gone. Well, not really gone. Just missing.

I found him in our Veterinary Clinic having his infected paw delicately and deftly cleaned out by one of our great vets, Dr. Allen. He’d also been neutered… so he can go up for adoption!

That is what is so amazing about HSHV. This dog, of a maligned and overpopulated breed, emaciated, broken, bloody, and infected, is headed for adoption…

…simply because we love and he loves back.

So I give him the name Valentino, after the approaching holiday because, while a walking emblem of human apathy, he is also a celebration of love.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Deb and Figaro

The coolest thing about HSHV is that we have all of these wonderfully smart and talented people–but they are also people with real heart, and Deb is no exception. She is dedicated, hard working, super talented and full of love and passion for what we do.

Sadly, Deb lost her much beloved cat Figaro suddenly last week. She was understandably devastated. He was her baby. But working here Deb knows that the cats can’t afford for us to linger too long in our grief. There are just too many who need us now. So within a few days she found a cat that came here as a sickly itty bitty kitten and has been passed by for so long that he’s now an adult. No matter the great care we give, it’s always sad when an animal stays so long that they grow up here.

She picked him largely because he needed her. But it turns out Murphy is the perfect cat. A playful and delightfully happy guy, he lies in her arms like a baby and stretches out for big belly rubs. Why he was passed by for so long is a mystery. But Deb, in her willingness to open her injured heart to another cat so quickly, found herself a hidden gem. She knows he won’t ever replace her Figaro, but he will help repair her heart.

Deb and Murphy