The Young Man & His Dog

Many months ago, back when my dad was still driving, I saw a clean young man walking along Lincoln with his cute, red, possibly pit cross, 1/2 grown puppy.  A couple hours later we saw this same man & his dog outside WalMart with a "need help, hungry" sign.  I remember thinking "What a shame.  He must have just recently lost his job".  Over the months I've seen this man & his dog on various street corners, begging for help.  My heart has always been drawn to his ever faithful companion.  As time has gone by the man has gotten scraggly & scruffy.  His dog has grown & while not skinny, she is lean, & always laying at his feet, no matter where I've seen them across town.  Why this duo has drawn my attention time after time, I have no idea.

Today the man & his dog were at WalMart when I went shopping.  Without realizing which aisle I was in, I found myself picking up a few groceries, a small bag of dog food, & a little blanket for the little red dog.  I had no idea how I was getting the 2 little bags to the man from my truck in a VERY busy parking lot.  But as I pulled out of my parking space, the lot seemed to temporarily be free of moving vehicles.  I waved the man over & handed him a bag, telling him it was for him.  The 2nd bag I told him was for his dog.  I told him I'd seen them around town for a long time.  Through a choked voice he told me his dog's name (starts w/SH but I couldn't make the rest out), thanked me, & wished me a great day.  I pulled out of the parking lot, choking back my own tears.  After running to another store I headed home, back pass WalMart.  There was the man, scooping peanut butter out of the jar with either crackers or a bagel (I couldn't see which).  His dog was looking up, waiting for her bite.  Blinking back tears, I came home to hug my ever faithful companions.

How is this related to being touched by horses you ask?  Well if it weren't for my lifelong love of horses, I wouldn't have had a career path to fall back on after losing my long time office job.  If it weren't for horses, it very well could be me & my dogs standing on street corners, hoping some stranger would have compassion for us that day.  Horses touch our lives in ways we'll probably never even realize.  They truly are magical creatures.