They’re always together, and travel around my neighborhood looking for food. Often they want my dog to join them and be a member of their pack. One is caramel colored with eyes that always look watery, and is larger than his friend who is a small, husky mix. The caramel one has a hurt leg but manages to get around.

I saw them again today sleeping outside of an abandoned electrical shed. The shed is enclosed by a locked gate but there are openings big enough for a dog to fit through, and for me to extend my arm. I had been kind of bummed all day because I haven’t been able to see my boyfriend on valentine’s day, and was going to be spending the evening by myself. But when I saw the dogs just laying there, completely alone, I realized they needed far more love and compassion than I did.

I hurried home with my dog, and immediately started gathering treats and a small bag of food. I was dressed in my workout clothes so I jogged back to where I had seen the dogs. They were still wandering around, seeing where my dog and I had gone, and stepped back a bit when they saw me approach them alone. I bent down to get on their level, and softly called them, having researched how to approach stray dogs days before (I’ve been wanting to help them for a while). The bigger one trusted me more, and enjoyed scrambling around for the treats I threw towards them. 

The smaller one didn’t warm up as fast, and kept his distance. He tried a treat and devoured it in seconds, but was hesitant to accept more. I don’t blame him. If a stranger approached me with food, I wouldn’t instantly want to become friends either. Especially if they looked very different from me and had maybe abused me in the past. 

So I left the bag of food and threw some more treats through the fence before walking away. I doubled back to check on them after a few minutes and saw the little dog munching away on the bag of kibble. 

Even though we should show love every day, there was something special about extending a bit of valentine’s day cheer to these homeless dogs. It was the first time of many that I will be visiting them and feeding them.

They needed love today more than anyone else.