Friends with Big Warm Hearts

I have friends with great big wonderfully warm loving hearts. And.... then there's me. I've apparently got an ice cube beating in my chest. I'm not even upset by that, see how cold and harsh I am!

Recently, three of my friends have rescued dogs. As each one did this kind-hearted deed, I thought to myself, "No way would I have done that!" Kids, yes, I go all mama bear and am fiercely protective to all kids: mine, theirs, strangers... but dogs, no, they are not human children. My maternal instinct does not kick in for them.

We do have a pet dog and I do love her, but when it comes to other dogs I do not feel the same way. I am especially not warm-hearted when it comes to people rescuing dogs. Our dog has gotten away a few times, bolted out of the garage door when I got home with my arms full. Rather than chase her down while she's running 40 mph down the street, I just let her go while I take in my children, groceries and things and then I go back out and call her home. She enjoys a wee bit of freedom when she escapes, but only for a few minutes. On occasion, she is "rescued" by friendly neighbors just a block away, or less. Those are the times when she doesn't come back right away and I think, oh great, someone saved my stupid dog. ugh. It's the same routine, a few minutes pass and then we get a phone call from the Home Again people from which a code number was found on her tag. Yup, I'll go get her, where? Oh gee, that's just a few houses away and she's been gone for almost 5 whole minutes. Then I walk over, reclaim my lost and endangered dog from her rescuers who express all sorts of worry and distress on their part and we walk back home. These are not rescues, these are people who want to rescue but their big emotional hearts can't tell the difference between a dog who needs help and a dog who is just out for a joyful bolt in the sunshine. Rescue or kidnapping? You be the judge.

One of my husband's coworkers found a little dog and added it to her brood. She already owns three little dogs and after this lost dog wasn't claimed by anyone, she gave him a name and a personalized food dish. If that had been me, I would have not even noticed the little lost dog. And if I had, I certainly would have never entertained any thoughts of bringing it home and keeping it. No way! My ice cold heart wouldn't even have melted a little bit by just leaving the lost dog to fend for  himself in the big world. My friend, she would never think of leaving a lost little dog out on the street. He's a happy little mutt now!

Another friend found two black labs out wandering together in the street. So, she pulled over and put them in her mini-van and took them home. Her heart is big and loving and she just knew those dogs needed her help. She stuffed those big dogs in her van with her little children strapped into their carseats and took the dogs home. No freaking way would I put strange dogs, who incidentally, have big teeth, in my vehicle with my defenseless confined children. Me? Never. Ever. She called Animal Control and they came to her home and scanned the dogs for microchips, found the owners and all was well. Turned out that the dogs didn't eat her children and they were close to their home when she picked them up. Frosty ol' me says that's because they weren't lost and in need of rescue, they were just a short distance from home and probably would have returned home when the owner yelled for them. If I had seen them and felt any inclination to be of any help (let's face it, that feeling wouldn't have come over me anyway), I would have just called Animal Control and reported loose dogs. No way would I have risked life and limb to "save" them. She said she couldn't live with herself if they had gotten hurt. I say, they are dogs.

The other day, another friend of mine rescued a dog too. Once again, I totally wouldn't have done it. My thoughts, "Eh, dog in the street. He'll move."  My wonderful friend, "Oh no! A dog in the street! I'll save him!"  We were having coffee at a cute little coffee shop downtown and sat near the front door. From where I was, I couldn't see the street, but she could. A couple tied up their little dog to a chair on the patio and came in for coffee. Their little ankle-biter ran, knocking the chair over and my friend bolted out the door so fast I had no idea what happened. I heard the chair fall and could see it on it's side, all I could think was that someone fell over and proceeded to fall off the patio. Did that happen? See, I only think of helping people, not dogs. But even that thought did not prompt me to get off my tush and go be helpful in any way. I knew my friend was on the case, so there was no need for me to feign thoughtfulness. She ended up running after (or chasing?) the dog into the street and to catch him, she stepped on his leash. That act of kindness flattened her and she hurt her ankle. It looked like an Easter egg. But, she saved the dog from certain doom. I'm thinking, as fast as that little furball was going, he was not going to get hit by any cars. Plus,  his owners could have chased him down or hollared for him or something. At best, my effort to help in this instance would have been to stay in my chair with coffee in hand and just say out loud to the owners, "Hey, your dog ran off."  See, I'm not all icy inside.

No matter who I compare myself to, I am the cold one. I have ice running in my veins. I do not care about dogs on the loose unless they are about ready to attack me or my children. No way would I grab hold of a strange dog. They don't know that they need to be rescued. They don't know that they shouldn't bite. They might have ringworm or lice or who knows what kind of dog ickiness. I don't want that! My strong sense of caution overpowers any generosity, charity, friendliness or compassion. My friends, wonderfully loving people, they are all admirable women who have enormous hearts. I think they're all nuts.