10 April 2013

The Most Beautiful Things I've Ever Seen- Part 1

The Most Beautiful Things I've Ever Seen (Part 1) by Crissy Brown

I used to work for an organization that had a service dog training program. They would usually bring in golden retriever puppies after a physical assessment to make sure they were up to the task of being a service dog. I remember how cute they were with their little round bottoms waddling through the office. One little guy came in the same week I was hired; his name was Copper.

I learned that Copper would be placed with a family for a little over a year, and they would provide the necessary training for him to become a service dog. Of course, I fell in love as I watched him get bigger and bigger. I even bought low-fat peanut butter treats so I could spoil him a little. Eventually, Copper had grown into a beautiful and genuinely good dog. Then came the day that he was to meet the family he was going to be placed with. I was asked to take photos of the occasion for the newsletter. Little did I know when I accepted the task what an honor it would actually be.

In the hallway outside of the meeting room, I took photos of Copper with his first family who'd been training him from a pup. Then I walked inside and took photos of who were to be Copper's forever family before they met him. The mom was permanently wheelchair bound from a car accident. She kept saying that she was nervous because she'd heard that sometimes the dogs didn't like their new families. Even though it wasn't quite my place, I reassured her that Copper was a good dog.

The two families met first while Copper waited in the hall with the director of the training program. So there we all were- both families in the same room with a few other people looking on. Then Copper came in...

He walked past the only family he'd known and right up to the woman in the wheelchair. He tenderly laid his head on her lap, as if they were old friends. There wasn't a dry eye in the room, and even as I write this, my eyes are dewy because it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

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