Traces Of A Soul (2025)

11/08/2025

Today is my birthday! 🎉

I don’t know what candles mean, or why everyone’s singing a funny song. I don’t understand the cake — though it smells delicious — or the colorful balloons tied to my bed.

But I do understand something much bigger.

Love.

And today… I feel it everywhere.

I feel it in the gentle hands that scratch behind my ears. In the squeaky new toy that’s just for me. In the cozy blanket laid out where the sun hits just right. I feel it in the smiles, the laughter, the soft whispers that say, “Happy birthday, sweet pup.”

They tell me I’m a year older. I don’t know how many years I’ll get, but I know this one is special. Because this year, I’m not on the streets. I’m not alone. I’m home — truly home — surrounded by a family that sees me, loves me, and celebrates me.

So no, I don’t understand candles or cake.

But I do understand what it means to be wanted. To be safe. To be loved.

And that’s the best birthday gift of all. ❤️🐾

09/08/2025

“I’m sad nobody has time to like my picture...💔🐾”

I might not go viral. I might not get a thousand likes. But I’m still here… tail wagging, heart open, just hoping someone sees me. 😔❤️ Sometimes, all a pup wants is a little attention — a kind word, a gentle hand, a smile.💖

So if you’re reading this, know that your like means the world to a little soul like me. Because even if no one has time for me…

I’ll never stop being a good boy. 🐾💕

09/08/2025

HER LOVE KEPT THEM ALIVE

When the suitcase was found, it wasn’t locked anymore. The zipper had been undone, and rescuers expected the dog to run out immediately. But she didn’t move.

Instead, she stayed exactly where she was — half-sitting, half-curled — her front paw draped over her puppies like a shield. She wouldn’t leave them, not for fresh air, not for freedom, not even for water.

Every time a rescuer reached in to check the puppies, her head would lower protectively over them. She didn’t growl, but her eyes pleaded: Don’t take them. They’re all I have.

Only when the last puppy was lifted to safety did she finally stand and follow. The moment they were reunited in a clean, warm kennel, she lay back down and let them nurse. She hadn’t eaten in days, but her first thought was still them.

That’s the thing about a mother’s love — even in the worst cruelty humans can create, it doesn’t break.

09/08/2025

She Stood in the Road, Looking Back at the Trees...

On a quiet stretch of road, drivers slowed for a fox standing still on the asphalt. She wasn’t hurt. She wasn’t running. She kept looking toward the ditch.

Down in the grass was a small, still shape—a kit, struck by a car hours earlier. She stayed beside him, licking his fur, nudging him, as if urging him to get up.

When rescuers came, she fled into the trees. But that night, a camera caught her back on the road, lying in the same place where he’d been.

08/08/2025

I received this today. It was hard to look at first. It's been almost 2 months since Daisy passed and I still haven't processed the loss...

Daisy was with me for 6 years. In those 6 years, the place where I worked for over 30 years closed. I started our nonprofit. Bought La Casa de Perro. Sold my house. Went from 12 or so dogs, all the way up to 50. (Now back to 41). I threw myself into the rescue and welfare of our dogs. My world got small, real quick.

During our 6 years together, Daisy was never adopted. Everyone loved her, but no solid interest. Biting a kid didn't help. She snapped at me if she thought I was messing with her food. I didn't care. Daisy became my best friend. She loved me more than any human could. Sad to say, I had more emotional attachment to her than any ex.

As she got older and her health started to decline, I did everything I could to make sure she ate and had all the comforts she needed/wanted. She slept on my pillows more than I did. Got different meals until I found something she'd eat.

In the end, letting her go was too easy. Not in the sense that I didn’t care, but in that with her CHF, kidney disease, and the mass on her spleen was making her sick. No matter the meds, fluids, or my wanting her to feel better, she just didn't. The Daisy I said goodbye to wasn't the same Daisy that I knew. I understood why.

I tried to just put it out of my mind. I made Terry take her ashes. I didn't want to see them. I rushed through feeding them, so I wasn't reminded of feeding her by hand so she'd eat. I've tried to distance myself from my emotions for the last two months.

While some experience their worst heartbreak from a human, mine has always been from losing our dogs.

It should get easier, but it never has. I had a hard, ugly cry when I opened the portrait.. I've had to make peace with losing my best friend.

Thank you, Martha Ann. Daisy would love it as much as I do.

08/08/2025

He Guarded the Door That Would Never Open Again...

When the neighbors moved away, they didn’t take him. At first, people thought he’d wander off, find food, join other strays. But every day, at the same time, he came back to that door. He’d sit, wag his tail at any sound from inside, then lie down when nothing happened.

Weeks passed. His fur grew matted, his eyes dull. People tried to take him in, but he’d slip away, return to the door. Rain, snow, wind—he was there.

One morning, the door was boarded up for renovations. He didn’t fight when the shelter took him. He just kept looking back at where the door used to be.

08/08/2025

HE WAITED FOR HOURS… NO ONE CAME BACK

The day had started like any other for him—tail wagging, paws tapping on the ground, thinking this was just another short trip with his person. They stopped outside a store. She tied his leash to the metal handle of the door, smiled, and told him to wait.

He sat, ears pricked, eyes following every person who passed. Surely, she’d be right back.

Minutes turned to an hour. The cold from the concrete seeped into his paws, but he didn’t move from his spot. Whenever the door opened, he’d lift his head, tail giving a hopeful thump—only to see a stranger walk past.

The sun began to set. People walked by without looking, or with that quick, uncomfortable glance of someone who knows they’re seeing something wrong but doesn’t want to be involved.

By nightfall, his head hung low. He still watched the door, still waiting for the voice he knew. But she never came back...

08/08/2025

THEY SAW HER… TOO LATE

It was early morning when the delivery driver saw her. A flash of orange darting across the road, eyes fixed on the tree line. Maybe she was chasing something, or maybe she was running home.

He swerved, but there had been another car just seconds before. She lay on the gravel shoulder, her body still warm, breath shallow. He crouched beside her, watching her chest rise and fall, slower each time.

Her fur was dirty, the white of her chest streaked with dust. One paw twitched—maybe instinct, maybe a final reach for the safety she couldn’t get to.

She had been so close. Just a few more steps and she would have been among the trees again, hidden from the noise and danger of the road.

By the time the sun rose higher, she was still. A patch of sunlight fell across her face, making it look almost peaceful. Someone carried her into the forest and covered her with leaves, so she could rest where she had been trying to go all along.

08/08/2025

A Bag Thrown from a Bridge… But It Moved. He Opened It — and Found Life Fighting to Survive

Carlos was crossing the bridge when he saw it—a plastic bag bobbing in the shallow water below. Then, it shifted. Without thinking, he climbed down to the bank and pulled it ashore.

He tore it open, and his heart stopped. Inside was a puppy, soaked and gasping for air. She shivered violently, eyes half-closed. Carlos wrapped her in his jacket and ran to his car, driving straight to the vet.

Hypothermic, malnourished, but alive—she had been moments from drowning. They named her Vida, meaning “life.”

Now she sleeps pressed against Carlos every night, never again in the dark, never again alone.

06/08/2025

HE WAS TRAPPED INSIDE THE WALL. FIREFIGHTERS MADE A WAY...

Cinco, a 3‑week‑old puppy, ended up inside an HVAC vent at home just before dinner. No sound came out—just a faint squeak. A fire crew responding nearby heard the pup’s faint cry, forced the vent open, and rescued him from darkness.

They cut an opening in the wall, gently lifted Cinco free, and wrapped him in towels. He was cold, silent, and fragile—but alive. The station named him Cinco (five in Spanish) as a tribute. Simple meals, warmth, and daily cuddles followed.

Now he wiggles at their stations, licks faces, and reminds everyone that even the tiniest voice deserves to be heard...

06/08/2025

EVERYONE IGNORED THE CRIES — EXCEPT HER. THAT’S WHY THE DOG IS ALIVE

The puppy had been trapped under the porch for nine days. She was tangled in wire, half buried in trash, and too weak to cry anymore.

Every night around midnight, a faint sound could be heard. Most people ignored it. Thought it was nothing. Just the wind, or an animal somewhere nearby.

But Emma didn’t.

She listened. And one night, she crossed the street, knelt down, and looked under the porch.

She didn’t expect to see anything. But there she was. A puppy—skinny, filthy, her leg caught in wire. Not barking. Not crying. Just lying there, staring up at her.

And then, slowly… she wagged her tail.

Emma called for help, and together they pulled her out. The vet said she wouldn’t have made it another night.

They named her Maple.

Now she sleeps in a warm bed, cuddled up in a blanket. She eats four small meals a day, and follows Emma everywhere. Still a little nervous. Still healing. But safe.

And alive.

Traces Of A Soul

11/08/2025

09/08/2025

09/08/2025

09/08/2025

08/08/2025

08/08/2025

08/08/2025

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08/08/2025

06/08/2025

06/08/2025

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