Personal Narrative: Changing The World Of One Dog

I knew that saving one dog wouldn’t change the world, but I could change the world of one dog forever. I had heard stories of rescued dogs being withdrawn, aggressive, and poorly behaved, but with one lick I decided to forget it all and give my new four-legged friend a fresh start. This little dog didn’t know me and I didn’t know anything about her, but we both were both willing to open our hearts. I had owned pit bulls before but never a rescued one. Thanks to the share of a Facebook post and a few messages back and forth, right before bed on a cool spring night, a stranger brought me the most precious white, female pit-bull I’d ever seen. This dog was terrified. I could tell she hadn’t felt love before; her bones were prominent from malnutrition and she had scabs all over. No one knew how long she had been living on the streets. After this little dog decided I wasn’t a threat, she slowly crawled up next to me, gave me a lick, and laid down in my lap. I think that was the first time she had felt safe in her life. She wasn’t much to look at when we first met, but it didn’t take long for me to realize my home had found what it was missing. It seemed my biggest problem with the dog would be naming her. She wasn’t a ‘Precious’, ’Diamond’, or ‘Chloe’, and definitely not a ‘Daisy’; then it hit me, ‘Jelly’. As I laid on
the kitchen floor admiring my new friend, I turned to my boyfriend and said, “Jelly, her name is Jelly”. With a stunned look on his face, and a kind of shock in his voice, Joe said sternly, “I’m not going to call out, ‘Jelly come inside!’ every day for the next 10 years.” I chuckled and said, “Yeah okay” because I knew in my heart, that we now had a Jelly in the family. My boyfriend and I made her a soft warm bed on the floor next to us; when she realized that she had a special place to lie down, she closed her eyes and slept like she hadn’t slept in weeks. Before I knew it, everything I owned was covered in dog hair. To most people this would be aggravating, and for a moment I agreed, but that quickly faded into smiles. I was now the proud mother of a rescued pit-bull and I wore my ‘pit-bull glitter’ proudly. I once heard someone say that our dogs may be a small part of our world, but we are their entire world; that isn’t so true for me. If I had a bad day at work, the one thing that always got me smiling again is the thought of coming home to Jelly’s wagging butt. And she always brings me her favorite bone clenched in her drooling mouth while barking at the same time. I know that no matter what, Jelly is happily waiting for my return all day, every day, rain or shine. Despite what my day had done to me to get me down, I greeted Jelly with the same excitement that she showed me. I was extremely lucky when Jelly walked into my life.
I’ve been tripped, had my shoes destroyed, and received my fair share of scratches, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. The memories I’ve shared with Jelly are priceless. With plenty of love and food, over the past four years, Jelly has grown to 80lbs and still acts like a big fat teddy bear. The unconditional love and appreciation from Jelly has forever changed my life. Not only is she a perfect beach buddy, she has taught me to not judge an animal based on stories or breed; every dog deserves a chance. I truly believe that pets are life’s way of apologizing for every bad day I will ever
have.