He’s ‘The Best Boy Ever,’ and it started with a little kiss.

I mentioned recently in a little video I did on my Instagram page that last Sunday was the one year anniversary of the passing of our dog Gibbs. Gibbs was truly one of the happiest dogs I’ve ever met. But he didn’t start out that way. At some point in his life, Gibbs was either lost or just dumped. He was found around an abandoned house along with another dog and her pups…presumably his pups too. And he had been living wild for over a year before someone was able to catch him. From what they told us, they were able to catch him because the mother of the pups had died and he wouldn’t leave them alone, so didn’t run away when someone approached to get a leash around him. He was a very scared dog at the time and clearly didn’t trust anyone. After being with a foster family for several months and treated for heartworm, they deemed him ready for adoption. That’s when we chose him…or he chose us.
When we first brought our boy home, he was very shy. He was used to living on his own, and then at his foster home where he was usually outside with other dogs and not around many people, so he still wasn’t comfortable around them, especially men. But, in the car after we picked him up, my hubby crawled in to the back with him and just started petting him. And he tentatively gave the hubby a kiss. When we got home, he curled up in a ‘dog ball’ in the bathroom and he slept. For days. It was if he knew. He knew that this was his final place. He was safe. This was home. (I wasn’t full on communicating with animals at the time, or I would have asked him to verify…but really, you could tell.) And when he woke up, he became happy.
The other day I was having a discussion with a dear friend about our boy and how he had every right to feel unloved, unworthy, undeserving of a safe place, and completely untrusting. And to reject us. And how, if it were us, it would take us months or even years to change our minds about that. To trust someone again. I know I’ve struggled with this in my life. I always say that I forgive someone when they ‘do me wrong.’ But I realize that I may forgive them, but I rarely forget. I mean, how can you? I get that by holding a grudge you’re not hurting the person that hurt you, you’re in fact hurting yourself, but… It’s pretty darn hard to just let it go and trust again. It’s like you build up scar tissue and pull back a little bit each time someone disses you.
But this dog didn’t. Gibby…aka ‘Best Boy Ever’…let go of whatever happened to him before he got to us, and became the happiest dog I’ve ever met.
And it started with that little kiss.
Live and learn in Munay.