Lizzy at her new home

Lizzy - In large animal shelters, a designated row of kennels are dedicated to sick and mangy animals. One day, we were walking by these "treatment kennels" when we saw a small, white bundle of a dog curled tightly lying on the cracked cement floor in kennel 166. The bundle was skinny and fragile, mostly white, with black spotted ears. We spoke kindly to her, whispering to wake her in a gentle manner, but she didn't budge. The noise in the shelter was deafening, with the sound of frightened barking, whimpering puppies, grackles cackling for dog kibble and a loud speaker blaring kennel numbers of lucky animals going home. This young dog was oblivious to it all.

The white pup was either so sick that she wasn't responding to the shelter distress, or we guessed that due to her color and being a pitbull, that she might be deaf. We touched her and she woke with a faint look of hope and an apprehensive tail wag. We clapped our hands abruptly above her head, but she didn't respond. Indeed, her only sickness was a history of irresponsible breeding and being discarded. She was scheduled to be euthanized the next day for 'unsocial behavior and illness.' 

Within a half hour, from the waiting room, we heard the intercom announce that the white dog in 'treatment kennel 166' would be going home. Removed from her silent world, we carried her to our car and named her Lizzy. She never heard us call her by name, but she soon realized that she was cherished. She was adopted to a woman who wanted the responsibility of a "special needs" dog. Lizzy now works as a "therapy dog," and brings  happiness to people with disabilities.