Unconditional Love

For me, the best part of going home means I get to see my puppies. My family is super important to me so I talk to them all the time via Skype, Facebook, or phone, but I just can't do that with Max and Matilda. There's no way to replicate sitting on the couch snuggling with Max, listening to the rain, and taking a nap together to pass the time. Or sitting with Matilda in Dad's big armchair as she softly snores, somehow making me forget my every care in the world. Since Max is on my mind this morning, I figured I'd use today's post to tell his story. My freshman year of college we got the basset hound, Matilda, from a friend of ours who just couldn't give her all the love and attention she needed. Shortly after that my Dad had an emergency heart surgery and my life changed pretty drastically for a bit. I ended up taking 2 weeks off from school, shuffling back and forth between the hospital and home, and trying to hold everything together.

After Dad came home, he had Matilda to keep him company while H and S were at school, so they became really close. After going back to school I had a really difficult time trying to catch up, and also struggled with a lot of guilt for not being able to be home helping work to pay bills, and take care of my Dad, S, and H. I was lucky enough to have a professor who helped me get through the semester, but like I said it was a really rough time for me. Dad went back to work after a couple weeks of healing, and we soon discovered that we were going to have to get Matilda a playmate. We started looking in all the local shelters and pounds in Texas, but could never find the right dog. Dad had always wanted a beagle so we were looking for one for him, or another basset like Matilda. On a whim my roommate and I checked out the pound of the town where I go to college a couple of days before the semester ended for the summer. Then I met Max. In the second kennel from the back, huddled in the corner, shaking, was the most pathetic looking animal I'd seen in a long time. He was so scared that no amount of coaxing would get him to come to the front of his pen. Eventually I decided to climb in, pick him up, and bring him out. It was plain to see that he

had been mistreated,and even though he was just a puppy he had been through a lot. Since he wasn't quite what we were looking for I decided not to take him. The next day, however, I couldn't get him off my mind, and my roommate couldn't either. We had both seen something in this puppy's eyes, a look that cried out for help and love. We went back a second time and discovered he had been found by a river, and had been at the pound long enough they were going to have to put him down. I decided right then and there I was going to have that dog. I called my dad, pretty much told him I was bringing home a puppy,and a couple of days later Max had a new family and a new home. I decided to name him Maximus Rex, which means "King Maximus." It wasn't easy at first, he had a lot of fear, particularly of men, and a lot of hurt to get past. Then we discovered how much love he had to give. No matter how frustrated I got that he chewed up my bluetooth unit, or ate my sandwich, or stole my covers at night, he always looked at me with unconditional love in his eyes. He's always willing to forgive me for my faults, asking simply that I love him in return. That first summer he did as much to heal my hurts as I did his. I felt my guilt start to melt away, as his fear did. Now he is an integral part of our family. Because I'm still in college, he can't live with me yet so he lives with Dad and S and they care for him for me. I simply love walking in the door for a visit and getting literally knocked off my feet when Max discovers I'm home. Then the rest of the visit is spent cuddling and snuggling with him, and feeling as if all is right with the world. They say dogs are man's best friend and I firmly believe that with all of my heart. I love Max with all my heart, and he's definitely my best friend in the world. But you see, for as much as I've loved him, he's loved me twice over. I helped to heal his wounds, and he has done wonders for mine. I still struggle with being away from home, and the situation there, but whenever I'm having an off day, I think of Max and his unconditional love. I think there's a lesson hidden somewhere in there that we could all do well to live by.