Just for Today

Nellie is here this week, an adorable miniature poodle rescued from a Pennsylvania puppy mill four short months ago. She weighs just ten pounds and has separation anxiety, so she goes pretty much everywhere with me. But yesterday she needed to stay home. I gated the kitchen so any anxiety damage, likely peeing, would be contained. I left the dog door open, thinking she might find being outside settling on a balmy November day. This proved a horrible decision. She dug and squished her way under the fence with all her anxious energy and went off looking for me.
When we arrived home at 4:00, she was no where to be found. Controlled hysteria ensued, the neighborhood was cased, the local list serve was notified and I started down the list of important numbers to be called when a dog is lost all the while making a Lost Dog Flyer to post in the neighborhood. The SPCA was particularly helpful in providing the number on her micro chip as well as a tatoo number.
Long story short, I finally got to the local vet around 5:45 and they had her, safe and sound! I can't even describe the relief we felt!
This next part is why I'm writing this. As it turns out, a man passing by our home in a truck saw her and stopped to help her at about 3pm. He went door to door looking for her home for an hour! Nellie tried to communicate to him she lived here with her behavior, but when he checked with a neighbor, he was told we didn't have a dog :(
Eventually he was directed to the Village Vet, about 4pm, just minutes before we arrived home! The vet was able to read the micro chip & tattoo and identify her owner, who was contacted. It was a happy ending for all involved!
I spoke to Matt, Nellie's knight in shining armor, later in the evening, when Nellie was sound asleep on my tummy. As it turns out, he has a dog and was just doing what he hoped someone would have done for his dog. A good man with a big heart, present enough to set aside his own schedule to help an animal in need. A person not in a rush.
We rush too much. We find ways to justify not helping others. We live on a schedule and plan. Just for today, consider being present in your life every moment and making thoughtful decisions that have nothing to do with time . Just for today....