Story by Carolyn Arkison
It’s a cold winter’s day outside, snowing, wet and frigid. Inside the Tulsa Animal Welfare Shelter there’s an eerie silence.
The quiet is very strange considering the kennels are at 90% capacity. We know, you know. We know that eight in ten of us will not survive much longer. It is a mixed blessing, this shelter. It’s so wonderful to come in out of the cold, to receive some food to eat, to be treated with a measure of respect. Yet it quickly becomes apparent that most of the inmates here have lost all hope. Thus, we sit, we stare, some sleep … we are numbed by the brutal reality we face.
I’m known as inmate number 7811 but I used to be called “Red.” An animal control officer picked me up last night during a sleet storm. My humans moved but left me behind, alone in the backyard. I hadn’t eaten in several days. I lay next to the foundation of the house for shelter. The cold was brutal. I was very afraid. When the officer approached me, I was so weak I didn’t offer the slightest resistance. I felt hope when I heard his voice.
The kennel right next door to mine contains inmate numbers 7672 and 7673. These guys are Dachshund mix pups. Their three litter mates found homes. They are said to have been quite cute as tiny puppies but now that they are a few months old, their family didn’t think them cute enough to keep … they brought them here. At least they have each other to offer a bit of comfort. The air hangs heavy with the prospect of euthanasia.
The kennel next to them has inmate 4305. He’s a black, white and tan mix breed dog. Probably has some Jack Russell terrier in his background. He’s a small dog but very smart. He learns tricks easy. He’s one of the few that hasn’t completely lost hope. He greets visitors that approach his pen. His eyes are sad but he’s trying very hard to maintain the Shelter-inmate morale.
Inmate 3511 on the end contains a beautiful Bull-Mastiff mix female. She is wearing a red nylon collar (which is usually a good sign that she has a human) but she has no tags. She’s very thin. She just sits there in the corner. She will not look at visitors, she always looks away. I think she’s completely resigned herself to being among the many who take the long walk to the injection room. She’s just waiting.
The other inmates here at the Shelter comprise all shapes, sizes and temperaments. Some are beautiful and some give “scrounge” a whole new meaning. Some have so much energy they literally bounce off the walls while others are lethargic as if they can hardly move. There really is someone for everyone here. Rescued pets, in particular, return the favor in ways intrinsic … there’s a depth and a gratitude beyond description.
The one thing we all have in common here at this Shelter is our heart’s desire to be granted the incredible privilege of loving a human being unconditionally. We made that pact with human beings 
several millennia back, to work in cooperation for the improved conditions of both species. Both the human population and the canine population have exploded since those early times. Humans don’t need our assistance as they did a mere century ago. We can’t keep pace with the humans’ rapidly expanding rate of evolution. We feel we’re being left behind.
We have so much to share with humans. We want to teach the simple lessons of appreciation and delight. We want to learn to cooperate with our given human partner, to perform the jobs of greeting your guests, loving your family and protecting your property. Yes, we will occasionally chew up your favorite slipper, tinkle on your tile and dig a hole in the yard. We want to lead you daily to that place where ordinary meets extraordinary and heaven touches earth. We remember the sacred pact of ages past.
Our reality is very bleak, our days are fading fast. We need only receive your gift of love and acceptance to lead you to that place where extraordinary life-experience is camouflaged within the mundane processes of day-to-day living. Many priceless gifts await us both there … but we cannot travel the path alone. We each need the other.
This earth-plane existence is all about encounter. Every second of every day contains lessons that can only be acquired in the living of the moments, both magical and ordinary. As we work to understand the other, we each gain so much …
we discover the tapestry of Divine woven within the fabric of everyday existence. It’s all right there in front of us!
Won’t you extend your heart so that together we may tread the path of priceless memories, share the joy of learning inter-species communication, and savor the blessed moments of life’s great secret? The best things in life cannot be seen and cannot be purchased they can only be felt and experienced from the heart. We need each other. We have much to learn, much to teach and more to share.
We know that we can try your patience. We know that we can charm your heart. We know that we can amaze you and we know that we can love you like no one else can. We know, you know, that we cannot survive without you … we know.
