Down the road…

behind all the construction materials…

…is my boy.

I know him by heart…and he knows me.

He barks & whines when I walk past – jumping up & down to get my attention.

But I can’t stop during the day…the construction workers are there…and presumably his owner.

So I whisper to him, ‘I’ll come back tonight – I promise’ as Maggie & I walk past.

I’ve kept that promise for 28 days.

28 days of secretly returning every night after the workers are gone to give him a full day’s worth of dog chow…to make sure there’s water in his bowl.

I wonder if they care about him. I wonder if they even notice the change in him.

I wonder when the day will come when I walk down the road & he’s no longer there…moved to the next construction site.

This was taken the day we met. Thin, frail, lost & lonely.

[catch up on the day we met & our dilemma]

28 days later & he’s a different dog altogether.

His coat is thick & full. His ribs are no longer showing. His eyes are bright & happy to see me.

28 days & half a 20-pound bag of dog food. That’s all it took.

The first week was spent watching him wolf down his daily allotment of 6 cups in a flash.

The next week was spent splitting his time between eating then licking my hands or face.

And now?…Now we’re working on manners.

He’s so excited to see me every night. He desperately wants to play…wants to run.

He jumps & jumps & jumps up on me – I’ve got the muddy jeans & coat to prove it.

And a time or two I’ve come home with a muddy face from his kisses.

So now we’re working on ’sit’…which lasts all of a split-second because he just can’t hold back his excitement.

But we’ll get there.