In many of my blog entries I have compared dogs to humans. Realistically, I know that dogs are not humans (if they were, our world would probably be a much nicer place). But just because dogs are not humans does not mean they do not love their families. I learned this the hard way today at the SPCA.

During my volunteer shift I had the privilege of walking one of my favorite puppies, Thatcher. Thatcher has been at the SPCA since he was a newborn puppy and is a beautiful cross between an English foxhound and blue tick foxhound, two of my favorite breeds.

When Thatcher was first brought to the SPCA he came with two adorable siblings. Unfortunately for Thatcher, his more outgoing siblings were adopted almost immediately, leaving the already shy Thatcher all alone in his kennel.

While walking Thatcher today he did not seem to have the same energy I remember when he was with his siblings. All he wanted to do was lay down, be petted, and eat treats. Whenever a dog would walk by or bark he would get excited for about a second and then just lay back down.

Thatcher may only be a dog, a puppy at that, but I am quite certain he missed his family. I don’t care whether it’s a human, a dog, a cat, an elephant, or really any animal for that matter, when they are separated from those that they have spent their entire life with they are going to be sad.

A lot of people say “you only get one family” and while this is true to an extent, I like to think family is what you make it. We all have a basic need to surround ourselves with people or creatures that love us and dogs are no different. It is my sincere belief that this saying does not apply to Thatcher. I think his second family is waiting just around the corner.

Losing a loved one can be one of the hardest experiences any person ever faces. And any pet lover knows that the loss of one’s dog is no different. These past couple of weeks I had the misfortune of losing one of my own dogs, Rev, and a dog I’ve been sitting on a regular basis for the past 4 years, Wiley.

Though my schedule is busier than ever, I knew I had to make an extra effort at the SPCA this week. So I volunteered to take dogs for the day to Trick or Treating on the Lawn with my good friend Taylor Harbin. In memory of Rev, we made sure to take two hound dogs out for the day.

People often laugh at me when I say dogs are healthy for you, but I sincerely believe this is true. I enjoyed seeing people’s faces light up when they saw the dogs; some people rushed over from yards away to play with the two hound dogs, and it made me feel a lot better myself.

Minnie and Piper, the two dogs I walked, were not Rev and nothing would have made me feel better than to hold him one more time. But walking these two dogs made me realize what an impact Rev had on my own life and possibly on theirs.

If it weren’t for him, I may never have started volunteering at the SPCA, I probably would not love hound dogs nearly as much, and Minnie and Piper might not have gotten walked that day. Who knows, maybe one of their future owners was there at Trick or Treating on the Lawn.

I’m not the type to argue about religion, but anyone who says dogs don’t go to heaven would have some convincing to do. For me, a dog can have just as big of an impact and create just as much love in one’s life as a human being can. I thank Rev and Wiley every day for teaching me that lesson.

It felt good to be back at the Charlottesville SPCA after summer, and I wanted to make sure to start off well by walking a good dog (not that they’re not all amazing!). Well, it wasn’t hard to make up my mind because as soon as I walked into the first room of dogs, I spotted a terrier mix that looked just like my grandpa’s old dog Benji. I knew I had to walk him.

The terrier dog, Dutch, was incredibly sweet! But, when I opened his kennel to put him on the leash, I noticed something a little offsetting about him—he was missing one of his ears.

I read Dutch’s chart just to make sure he was in okay shape to be walked; apparently, he had lost the ear quite a while ago, but was physically unaffected by it now. So, I leashed Dutch up and took him out to play.

Dutch was friendly as could be and gave kisses just like my old dog, Benji. But there was a big difference between the two: Dutch didn’t like to play. As much as I tried, Dutch just did not want to run around and play. I brought him to the fenced off park, but all he wanted was to lay around and be petted, he wouldn’t even move for a treat.

It was still fun walking Dutch, but his calm demeanor made me realize something: the way you treat a dog can have a huge impact on it. Dutch and Benji were almost the exact same breed of dog, both loved giving kisses, and were sweet as could be. But Benji got to live with a loving and kind master whereas Dutch did not; at least that’s what I imagined from seeing his ear.

It is experiences like these that let me know that my time at the SPCA is worthwhile. The SPCA is giving a second chance to dogs who have been ignored, abused, or just don’t have a home. Working there gives me hope that one day dogs like Dutch will be just as happy and playful as my dog Benji once was.