IS IT ENOUGH?

Is it really OK to be an animal lover and not support a cause?  Is it enough that caring for my own pets is my cause?  I would like to think so.  There is always a sense of guilt that I'm not doing enough for the animal world, because it takes everything, everything I have to take care of my own pets needs.  I have sacrificed many things so that my dogs get the care they deserve and time and money are among them, leaving very little for anything else.

Brut is a full time job alone.  Sometimes I just can't do all that I want to do with my own dogs.  Some days it takes everything I have to juggle time and energy and still have some left for myself.  Can my examples of my daily living with six dogs divided into two packs be enough in showing my strengths and weaknesses of living with dogs?  Is it enough to show through our struggles and triumphs that we care about the reasons we all love living with animals in our home?

While I take the time to ponder these questions and wonder if I am doing enough, I take a look at Brut, Chance and Blaze.  Brut could have easily been beaten by another owner because of his aggressions.  He would have been an excellent candidate for dog fighting.  Or he could have put in a shelter and put to his death if he hadn't wound up in our arms.  I'm not saying that no one else could handle him, but he's here, in my home for a reason.  Yes, there are plenty of days I wish he could be the perfect dog and magically erase all of the bad things that are part of him, but there are many more days that I am grateful that he is just who he is.  Somehow he has become part of my job to watch over and protect him from himself.  I don't take that job lightly.  It may be stressful and painful, but somehow I was the one who was blessed with it.  There is a raw beauty in watching him grow and I don't take that lightly either.

Chance and Blaze are prime examples of my cause.  They both came back from our own litter beaten, neglected and abused.  Some of their behaviors still stem from that abuse and they sometimes need more care because of the damage that was done.  With their comeback they became the second pack of our family, bringing with it's own set of challenges and joys.

Each of these dogs could have fallen into the "system."  Each one of them found their way to us.  I think they are a good enough reason to be enough.