My neighbor across the street is the owner of one of the sweetest dogs on earth. Unfortunately, for some reason, the kids in the home are very cruel to her. They kick her, hit her, spill over her water so she can't drink, and ride their bikes over her chain. It's heartbreaking to witness, and although the original owner is very loving towards her- the children(his nephews) are just very cruel. Recently she got off the leash and was running around the neighborhood. And as with any animal that crosses my path- I set out to befriend her. She was very shy at first, almost always ran away yelping if I even neared her. But after many many days of slowly getting closer, letting her know my scent, and eventually teaching her how wonderful it feels to get scratched behind the ears- something beautiful happened. There is only one person in the entire village she trusts- her owner. He is very kind towards her and she loves him dearly. But now... there are two people she trusts. I have made a habit of sitting with her each day. I let her approach me. At first she was very shy and took many minutes to come over, but now she runs and burrows her head into my chest. She rests her entire body against me and nuzzles my chin as hard as she can. She still shakes- mainly out of habit of fear of humans- but she isn't scared. She kisses constantly and has the biggest sweetest eyes. And the love I get from her is so overwhelming. I nicknamed her 'sweetpea' and she certainly has earned a sweet little place in my heart.
