Show of hands: Who here knows the feeling of true love? Not like unrealistic movie love or way way unrealistic and weird sparkly vampire love. It’s also not the I love you because you’re my sister and I have to kind and it’s not like I love you even though you forgot to take out the garbage, hunny.

We’re talking true, unfaltering love. Magical love.

Unflinching love from a someone that, even when you’re stressed out and not paying attention to their complete joy of seeing you, still thinks you’re the greatest person, like, ever. Even when you get mad at them for trying to get your attention when you’re clearly in the middle of something very important on your phone. Even when you come home and ignore their shouts of excitement at the sheer joy of seeing you walk through the door.

That is real, magical, no-matter-what love, the kind that we are lucky to come by once in a lifetime. It’s uncompromising. And if you found it, you know exactly what we’re talking about. If you haven’t, that’s okay. It’s out there. It just comes in the eyes of a dog. Your dog.

Anyone who has or has had the privilege of calling a dog their friend can attest to their magical abilities to love without abandon. Because dogs are literally made of magic. The way they love you no matter what you did or didn’t do. Because your dog doesn’t hold grudges. They don’t get mad at you for ignoring them. For refusing to throw the ball again. For not getting excited with them when you walk through the door. They love you at levels of 110%, all the time, 24/7, even when they’re sleeping.

But most of all. They love you. Just for being you. They love you so fully, without exception, making you feel like you, there, sitting at that computer screen, are the most important person in the world.

Sadly, the reality is that not everyone thinks the same way. Not everyone shares the same views of dogs a dog as this community. But the hardest reality to swallow is the knowledge that out there, right now, is a dog being abused or neglected at the hands of someone who has taken for granted the magical abilities of their dog. And this dog, because it is so good and worthy of so much more, will love that person and those hands, no strings attached, because that is all they know right now.

Which is why this rescue organization exists. To change the lives of dogs who were shown a cruel fate at the hands of someone who didn’t recognize love in the eyes of their dog.

We know we can’t change their past. But together, we’re helping to rewrite their future.
Take Wes. Wes is the newest addition to our available TDIAO family and the perfect example of how the past cannot define a dog. We’re still getting to know him, so we can’t tell you everything just yet, but what we know so far has us marvelling, as we always do, at the amazing resilience and grace of dogs. Because Wes’s past is hard and we don’t know how he survived it. The point, however, as with each of our dogs, is that he did.

Here is what we know:

Wes, like our Cora (also still available for adoption) comes from a horrific hoarding case – the photos above are a small glimpse of his past. But like Cora, the history of abuse he suffered at the hands of the person he trusted most is not what defines him. Far from it.

The photos of Wes don’t do him justice. He is a gentle dog with a quiet temperament who loves easily and is learning to live fully. An old soul with a knack for putting a smile on your face, Wes is the epitome of strength and calm in the face of all that he has witnessed. This boy is so well-mannered and we can’t hear nothing but fantastic things about how well-behaved and mellow he is.

In the week that he has been in our California team’s care, Wes has transformed dramatically. From a confused, out-of-sorts dog to a dog so giddy that his tail is a dangerous weapon, our sweet boy is now more than ready to be loved. His eyes light up in recognition of his temporary humans and in anticipation of your touch, his body literally curls towards your hand as if there was never such a thing as a pet in the world – which, for Wes, sadly may have been the case.

This Old Soul just oozes joy and gratitude and every day we see him unravel a bit of his shell, revealing the sweet, gentle bear that we knew was always there, just waiting for the right time and person to find it.

It’s easy to marvel at the ability a dog has to forgive and forget. It’s harder to forget what they went through. But, if Wes has forgotten, that means he has forgiven; that he is ready to love fully at magical proportions, the only way a dog knows how: at 110%, all the time, 24/7, even while he’s sleeping.

On Sunday, Wes will be placed into a kind, patient foster home, a home that knows exactly what it means to have in their company a creature of magic so bursting with love and gratitude. And with that comes the knowledge that no one, ever, will hurt this dog again. And for dogs like Wes, they know, just like how you know, that this is exactly where they need to be. And if that isn’t a happy ending to a love story, than we don’t know what is.

Want to help dogs like Wes? There are so many like him out there right now, waiting for real love, wanting to learn to forget their fears and trust again. Help us help dogs like Wes and Cora and consider donating to Thank Dog I Am Out today – your kindness goes a long way in helping us save our four-legged friends.