My dog, Kilner, was so gorgeous! Kilner came to our family from the Los Angeles Animal Shelter as a fully-grown dog, who had already had her own puppies. Why did I love her so much? Her nipples were still raw from feeding her pups that had been stolen away from her only days before we discovered her. For at least the two years we had her in our home, it was I who gave her the unconditional love, not the other way around.
But, she was the one we wanted to fill our home with love, that German Shepherd-Terrier mix breed, we named Kilner! We soon discovered she had separation anxiety, because when left alone, she tried to escape (and find us) by ripping off the wooden molding and chewing through the drywall. But I showed her unconditional love, and hugged and cuddled her.
The next time we left home, we put her in the back yard where she had space, grass and shade. She still tried to find us and jumped the six-foot wall to get out. We found her waiting for us by the front door. I gave her more hugs, because I loved her.
We had no previous knowledge that she had been beaten or otherwise abused, but to keep her from jumping up and biting us, when feeding her, we were armed with a water spray bottle to train Kilner, so we could drop her bowl and run away. My guess is that most families would have returned her by then, because she required so much extra work and understanding. We went through many more crazy scenarios with her.
But I still loved her everyday, and eventually the unconditional love became a two-way exchange. She adored me and I adored her. I walked her a mile every day, to keep her healthy, because I loved her. I watched her eat her food at midnight, because unless I sat there while she ate her food, she wouldn’t eat, (she was spoiled). I did this because I loved her. I gave her multitude of hugs and kisses every single day, because I loved her. I experienced so much with her and now she has been gone for only 30 days, after a 17 yearlong life with us, and I still love her.
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