One of the first things I said when I saw the precious pooch named Minnie Pearl was, “HowDEE!”

Minnie looked so forlorn lying in her pen, what with her misshapen, cropped ears. This girl, I thought, deserves something more akin to country music star treatment! I gently coaxed her out of her pen at Metro Animal Care and Control and took her for a walk outside. Minnie Pearl — so sweet and gentle — just wanted to cuddle; she wouldn’t even leave my side. As I returned Ms. Pearl back to her pen, adoption hours had just begun. At that moment, I resigned myself to finding Minnie a loving home.

Minutes later, I met a lovely woman and her two young daughters who had come to the shelter to look at Grandpa, a much older bulldog/pit bull mix. She already had two younger, rowdier dogs at home and wanted an older, mellower dog to join them.  As luck would have it, I had taken Grandpa out for a walk minutes earlier. Not the mellow dog at all, Grandpa was a rather feisty fella which behaved younger than his years. I told her of my experience with Grandpa, thinking all along that Minnie — not Grandpa — was the dog she perhaps ought to be considering. I explained to her that although Minnie was only a couple of years old, she was very gentle and loving… perhaps just the dog to help temper the rambunctious behavior of the woman’s other two.

When the family passed by the pen a second time, Minnie seemed to look longingly at the family with sadness in her eyes — or, just maybe, the perceived sadness was my own pity for the precious canine. At that point I introduced the family to Minnie, hoping that the metal barrier between them would soon be but a memory.

I finished my shift and headed for the front lobby, where I was thrilled to see the family filling out the form to officially meet and greet Minnie.  I struggled to contain my excitement and let them know I hoped they would find Minnie to be the one. At soul level, I was extremely hopeful this was Minnie’s lucky day — the day she’d find a home with a loving family. Could my words of encouragement actually save a canine life today, or would they return home empty handed? Could my simple actions possibly serve as catalyst for a loving relationship between a doomed shelter pup and searching family? Would this be a random act of kindness with results?

A couple of days later, Metro Animal Control posted a beautiful picture of Minnie Pearl going home with her new family. The joy I felt at that moment was indescribable! Because of the small amount of time taken to understand a family’s needs, I had actually saved Minnie!  And if I can do it, anyone can!

Minnie Pearl now goes by the name of Ruby. A recent video sent by her new family shows Ruby frolicking in the snow with her two new four-legged siblings. It doesn’t get better than that for a true dog lover! I encourage everyone who loves animals to take the time to volunteer at a local animal shelter or dog rescue operation and see how satisfying the experience can be… especially when you know you are instrumental in creating a new and lasting relationship between man and man’s best friend.

Bless your new loving family, canine and human alike!