Today started like any other, but it ended with my heart in pieces\u2014and then put back together again.<\/p>\n
I was at the shelter, just to donate some old blankets. I wasn\u2019t planning on adding to our family. But then I saw him. Tucked into the furthest corner, shaking so violently his small claws were clicking against the floor. He looked so small, so utterly broken.<\/p>\n
The staff told me his story\u2014abandoned in an empty apartment for weeks. He\u2019d survived, but he\u2019d forgotten what love felt like. He wouldn\u2019t make eye contact. He didn\u2019t bark. He just waited.<\/p>\n
I knelt down, my hand pressed against the chain-link. It took ten agonizing minutes before he even lifted his head. Our eyes met, and in that split second, all the pain, the loneliness, and the sliver of hope hit me like a physical blow. I knew right then, I wasn’t leaving without him.<\/p>\n
Fast forward six hours: Meet Leo, our new family member.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s not shaking anymore. He\u2019s currently passed out on the softest bed he’s likely ever known, belly-up, snoring louder than a freight train. The sound is music to my ears.<\/p>\n
We didn\u2019t save Leo; he saved us from missing out on this incredible journey of healing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today started like any other, but it ended with my heart in pieces\u2014and then put back together again. I was at the shelter, just to donate some… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n