I spend last night on the couch sobbing over this beautiful new show on PBS called Shelter Me. It is going to be on every week and is basically a who about shelter animals and how they too can contribute, and want to!
This episode in particular focused on dogs. Two were traced as they were rescued from the streets of LA, then placed in a shelter, taken care of and fed, checked for behavioral problems and then adopted. It was just beautiful to watch and hear these dogs not only as they were placed in unfamiliar situations that they just had to cope with and hope, but then as they found their humans and their joy. Other dogs shown were rescued from shelters, trained by prison inmates to help the disabled or even veterans with PTSD, removed from the prisons to find their new homes and then matched with people who had special needs.
Dogs are amazing. As a communicator it was fun, heartwarming and sometimes sad to watch and see the thoughts going through these dogs’ heads as each new situation was handed to them. Here is a link to a youtube video on the show.
As I was writing this I received an email with this link form Marc Bekoff who also cried over this show. He notes:
We all need someone we can lean on, and so do they (other animals). I was moved to tears of joy as I watched the bond develop between the humans and their new found companions. I think you will also be incredibly moved by this most-welcomed documentary that spills over with hope for those beings, nonhuman and human, who need help in a demanding world. While some might question the scientific data about such relationships, these stories show clearly that dogs and humans form incredibly strong and reciprocal social bonds. Each becomes the life-line, the much-needed oxygen, for the other.
I can’t add much to that!
