Today, my son and I spent time at the local animal shelter taking photos of some of the dogs in hopes that people will see them and want to adopt these sweet creatures. I've been doing this for a short time now. It's really hard to see these pets that are just waiting for a loving home to go to. Some of them have been abused and mistreated. Most come in looking like mere shadows of what a dog should be. The bones protruding from their hips and their ribs easily countable, make me wonder how someone could do that to a living thing. I don't think I'll EVER understand that. I can only hope that these adorable babies will find that home that they long to be a part of.
We spent somewhere around 3 or 4 hours trying to capture photos. With each dog, we take it out into the yard and hope that something or someone will grab its attention so that their ears perk up. I bring treats, crumble leaves, whistle, whimper, move around, or whatever I can think of in order to get a photo that I think will show others the true essence of the dog. My son patiently holds the dog, walks them around, calms them down, and aids me in any way he can. He is a HUGE help! With the time available, we were able to get good shots of 4 dogs today. We'll be going back tomorrow to take some more.
After finishing up at the shelter we decided we were hungry and stopped by Jack's to grab a burger. I called my husband and texted my daughter, to see if they wanted something. I didn't hear back from my daughter, which must have meant she was at work. My husband sounded defeated when I talked to him. Uh oh. His day wasn't going well. He asked me to pick him up something, as he was not going to be able to come home any time soon. So, my son and I ordered for three and then headed over to my husband's work place to drop his food off.
As we turned the corner and proceeded to park on the side of the street, from out of nowhere a man pops up at my son's window. He is really close to our car and knocking on the passenger window trying to get our attention. My son rolls down the window and that's when we met Mr. Drill Sargeant.
This older man tells us that he is a vet and a drill sargeant. He puts out his hand to shake mine and shows me his veterans card to establish that he was being truthful. Somehow, and I don't quite remember how, he ends up sitting partially in my car on my son's side but like facing him not sitting beside him. Mr. Drill Sargeant tells us that he served in Iran and lost his best white friend due to a grenade. Tears welled up in his eyes and I felt sorry for him. Having a retired military father, I guess I have a soft spot for those that have served. Then, almost out of nowhere, he says "watch this" and then begins using his drill sargeant tactics on my son. WHAT?? He is in my son's face just hollering. Now, I should say here, my son HATES and I mean HATES anyone in his face. Hats off to my son for taking it and being nice. I caught a whiff of alcohol and that just makes me more on edge. I was stunned that this whole conversation deal was happening. Was I in the Twilight Zone? Then my husband comes out of the building and I just look at him. You know, one of those looks that says "Help Me". He quickly turned the man's attention towards him and got the man out of our vehicle. I know this guy was a nice guy, the thing is, he very well could not have been. We were extremely fortunate. Living in a small town, I guess that I've let my defenses down a bit too much. This quickly taught me to snap those suckers back in line. Mr. Drill Sargeant ended up heading along on his merry way and we were left in bewilderment.
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