On patience, belonging, and the quiet ways animals let us close
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There’s nothing quite like the quiet trust of an animal. It’s a two-way current, and when it’s there, it’s palpable. A soft, steady gaze, a body at ease.Our rescue bird-dog mix, Millie, came from West Virginia. She had reason not to trust. She and her sisters, still puppies, were found tied to a post in the snow with no food, water, or shelter for an unknown number of days. A kind person found them, and they were brought north for adoption.I’d been perusing Petfinder looking to adopt an older dog, possibly another pit or pit mix (my best dog ever was a pit mix), when I saw Millie’s photo. Millie was none of those things, but I kept coming back to her photo.
Millie was in foster care and recovering from a widespread skin infection. There was sadness and caution in her eyes, and a little bit of hope. When I met Millie, she spent most of the visit either under a chair peering at me or curled in her foster dad’s arms. Her trust in me came gradually over time. She met my gaze more and more and leaned into my hand as I petted her. She grew to rely on gentle attention and my steady presence. She’s quite at home now and comfortable with a handful of people and places. Millie is still wary of strangers and people she hasn’t seen in a while. She takes her time. I get it—I would too if I’d gone through what she had. With each new person she meets, Millie seems a little quicker to trust. She starts out assuming the worst, but if she deems someone safe, she stretches toward them, keeping her paws planted, and gives their fingers a gentle lick. Recently, though, she took issue with a man who stopped by and would not warm to him. Perhaps she sensed something I didn’t. I don’t need to understand her hesitation to respect it.Juni, our rescue tabby cat, settles against me without hesitation and sleeps with me most nights. I awoke last night with her small body curled against me—warm, so warm. As I shifted slightly, she woke up, chirped, and purred. I placed my palm on her, and we slept.
Compassion in Action:
Considering adoption? Petfinder.com lets you search for adoptable animals by location and narrows the results by age, size, and other characteristics to help you find a potential match.
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