September 6, 2014 - 17:03
In a room of 20 she sat semi growling and barking behind this metal cage. Her paws swept under attempting to pat my feet. She'd pounce against the fence almost within range of my eyes. But as my gaze drew towards her moist nose and glassy brown eyes, I noticed a yellow sign in the corner. A list of characteristics describing her aggressive manners and unability to fully be trusted among other dogs or people. So here I was at the Houston ASPCA staring at this beautiful German Shepherd Lab mix staring back at me. I didn't know whether to give her chance or maybe it was the other way around, her giving me a chance to show her another life besides that cage. I couldn't blame her for growling and being upset. That seems to be a pretty reasonable reaction to being locked up all day. The volunteer reccomended another set of puppies around the corner, but there was this pause, this silence. Not the kind of moment from the "Arms of an Angel" commercial but the kind of moment that made me remember the look I'd give my best friends mom when she said I was familly. Her eyes spoke a language I could not yet grasp but really wanted to understand, so I signed a few forms and out we pranced. Hyperness and all she stopped growling and instead began to curl up next to me the entire car ride home. I kept wondering if the defensiveness she displayed earlier was her way of communicating in excitement or fear of trusting me as well. But she didn't have to be human in order for me to trust her.