One-eyed Billy now has a future. Innocent and trusting, he will adapt to his eventual permanent home unscarred by cruel, unloving hands. Ironically he truly is the fortunate one. I was thinking about him last night and the countless others out there suffering in silence. You see, as I lay me down to sleep I look around at the crush of warm little dog-bodies snuggled in for the night wherever there is a tiny space left on my bed. They sleep peacefully for a time then the dreams start. Shaking, whimpering, limbs twitching and jerking, past experiences in puppy mills and backyard breeder homes sneaking in on dreams of biscuits, green grass and loving hands.

My thoughts turn to my most recent addition. Has it only been two weeks since you arrived? Snarling, biting, snapping, eyes rolling in fear, little ribs protruding above a malnourished belly, hair filthy and matted. When finally able to touch you we discover massive mammary tumours carried no doubt while countless nursing puppies tugged at your milk. Were your babies luckier…did they find someone to take them home from the cute little window in the pet store? Left behind to breed another cash crop, someone played target practice on you. X-rays show a pellet lodged in your back just under the spine. I wonder; would the SPCA CAMP assessors think of your experiences before they sentenced you to death for being so fearful? Would you be given a chance to learn to love? You appear to be six or seven years old, what horrors you have been through in that time!

Just two weeks have passed…as you snuggle with your teddy bear clamped firmly in your mouth, tummy full and satiated. Biting replaced by kisses and body hugs, eyes shining, pleading for another ear scrunch and just one more cookie. You run to the door, greeting visitors with enthusiasm, body wagging from your nose to your tail. Oh joy, the crows are in the backyard. Time to run and bark, clearing the area of these large black intruders. Ah, now at last you can roll in the long grass and the fallen October leaves, worry free of any distractions. One operation behind you another on the way…someone asked me the other day: “Is it fair to put her through all that?” I replied “Is it fair not to?”

"Faith"....