She stood in the corner of her cage, watching as the door to the kennel opened, and leaped with excitement when a young family approached her gently. She rocked and rolled, jumping up and down, eager to show them what a friendly and happy girl she was. “Oh”, they said, “she’s way too much dog for us” and walked on.
Sitting back down, she waited until the next family came in, she did everything she could to get their attention, rolling over, barking, whining, panting, wagging her tail. “Oh”, they said, “she’s very hyper, we really don’t want a hyper dog” and walked on.
Learning from this she planned her strategy and when the next family walked in she laid quietly in her cage, head on her paws, looking up at them with just the raise of an eyebrow, first one eye, then the other, perked her ears up a little and let her tail wag just slightly. “Oh”, they said, “she is way too quiet and shy, we need a friendly dog” and walked on.
Cocking her head she waited and watched and the next family that came in she laid quietly, just looking, waiting, afraid to be too happy or look too sad. “Oh” they said, “this one has no personality” and walked on.
Trying so hard to please everybody she ended up being criticized and left behind, sitting there wondering just what she did wrong. One moment in time defined her. One error in judgment, jumping up and down, or sitting still and quiet, ruined the perception of her worth.
I want to ask you if you have ever been guilty of being on either side of this story, have you been the one so eager to please that you have jumped through hoops just to be shot down and told no matter what it wasn’t good enough? Or have you been guilty of looking through the cage and judging a situation based on just one moment in time?
I am here to tell you that if you walked through that door and sat down with that dog and wrapped your arms around her and said “I’m here to help you,” her worth would very readily become apparent to you. Not everybody is ready to walk through that door. Not everybody has what it takes, but for those who do, the rewards are spectacular.
No, I’m not talking about a specific dog, and if you’ve seen through this story, you know I’m not talking just about dogs at all, although I have seen this scenario play out in animal shelters for 30 years. This particular story I’m also talking about life in general, and our snap judgments based on one situation. I am asking you to walk into the cage, sit down on the floor and say “I’m here to help you” because as long as you stand outside that cage, turn your head, and walk away, nobody wins. As long as you say “she’s way too quiet, way too loud, way too bold, way too ugly” whatever the reason for not giving her a chance, you are the one who loses. You lose an opportunity to say “I made a difference”. You lose an opportunity to say “I helped save a life”.
