Mark,
First of all, thank you for providing the opportunity to share pet stories with you and others.

About 10 years ago, I worked the night shift at a local grocer. At the time, overtime was not allowed, so I had to leave ear;y one night. It turned out to be one of the best things that could have happened to me. While driving down a dark, curvy road near my home, I came around a sharp curve and had to stop short because of a young pup walking down the center of the lane. He did not try to run away or even get out of the road, he just kept looking back at me as he walked. I pulled my car onto the shoulder and got out, he stopped and kept just looking at me as if to say “and what do YOU want?”. I simply said “come here, boy” and he trotted right over to me. I opened the door to my car, and without any hesitation at all, he jumped right in. This poor dog was in such bad shape, I was not sure what to do. He was covered in fleas, emaciated, and I wasn’t sure if he would make it. The next day, I took him to my vet to see what could be done to help this poor animal.

Turned out he had mites in both his ears, infecton in both ears, and TWO different kinds of intestinal parasites. He only weighed about 22 pounds, and should have been about 50 at the time. I had originally intended to try to find the owner, but when my vet told me there were signs of abuse, I said “well he’s my dog now”. Over the next few months, I nursed him back to health, and we forged an absolutely incredible bond. For the first year or so, nobody but me could touch him, and if anyone else tried to, he would immediately run behind my legs and peek out. Over time, he has warmed up to my family and friends, and has been one of the best friends I could have ever wished for. This dog is really too smart for his own good, it only took about 6 months to teach him every trick he knows, and he was outside trained in the first 3 weeks I had him. I decided to name him ‘Henry’ after Thoreau because I found him at the edge of the woods, it seemed to fit.
Henry is the most loyal, loving, and gentle animal I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and he proves that you are absolutely right when you say “In the long run, it is we, the humans, who are the lucky ones.”. Thank you once again for sharing your story, and for the chance to share mine.

Michael from NC