My gift for Day 22 was the gift of Water.
On this particular day, I made my daily visit to the gym to get in a good workout. I had parked my car in the back parking lot and had just grabbed my gym bag from the trunk of my car when I heard the high-pitched whining that felt like a punch in the heart. Following the noise, I found the little dog tethered in the back of the pick-up truck. My assumption is that the owner was inside the gym getting their workout, leaving their pup in the bed of the truck to wait it out.
I won't go into detail about how much this infuriated me as I am sure you can come to your own conclusion. It was early afternoon when the sun was at its peak, so one can surmise just how hot it was. I mean, it's MAUI for crimeny's sake.
Without so much as a second thought, I pulled my wide-mouth water bottle from my gym bag; I had filled it with ice water prior to leaving our house, so the ice cubes still danced in the container, doing their job. I unscrewed the cap to the bottle and leaned into the bed of the truck, inviting the pup to take a sip.
I expected the pup to hesitate, but he/she immediately came forward and greedily drank from my bottle, while I whispered soothing words as if he/she could understand what I was saying.
I don't know the full story, how long the truck had been parked there, when the last time was that the pup had something to drink, so in all fairness, I can't say that the owner was being irresponsible. All I CAN say is that seeing a dog panting under the hot sun while tied to the bed of a pick-up truck really broke my heart. If it were my pup, I'd have at least left a bowl of water for them while they waited.
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Today's Gratitude List:
1) Being at the right place at the right time.2) Enjoying an awesome workout at the gym.
3) Receiving an email from my oldest and dearest friend, Marina.
Oh that poor dog! I am so glad that you were there to help them out. Your so sweet!
ReplyDeleteAngie, I think this is one of your pretty thoughtful gifts! I mean, not everyone would take the time from gym time to provide water for a pup, and sure wouldn't let the pup drink straight from their water bottle.
ReplyDeleteAs you continue to post your 29 Days of Giving, I enjoy reading them and watching your compassion grow for the environment around you.
Have a fantastic week!
Mal
Sue: I wish I had my camera on me so that I could have posted an actual photo of him. He was a cutie!
ReplyDeleteMallori: The water bottle was one of my favorites - received it as a gift from one of the 5K's I did...it is officially contaminated and no longer usable, but it was SO worth it! Thanks so much for reading along on this project...it has definitely been an eye-opening challenge for me and I've really enjoyed sharing my experiences here.
I'm with you - so irritating. They could have at least parked in the shade as the bed of a pick-up truck doesn't offer any on it's own.
ReplyDelete