Two months ago there was a large Great White Pyrenees dog running up and down the road in front of the house. It was obvious it was a stray as it ran with no purpose and wild abandon. Around its neck was a red collar minus the tags.  At the place where the tags should have hung was a half opened link missing the vital information. The identification tags would have allowed for easy retrieval of this animal to the home from whence it came.

Now the dog ran, and ran and ran. For hours then days and ultimately for over a month. This dog was on the go.

When it ventured to close to our animals we shooed it off. That is a polite way of saying we scared it away as we did not want the responsibility or the hassle of another mouth to feed or problem child to contend with.

During the sixth week I could no longer stomach the idea of the dog getting hit or victimized in any way so I set out food and water.

Shortly thereafter my neighbors decided to adopt this dog. They took her to the vets and had her groomed and got her shots. They implanted a chip so she would never be lost again without a way of retrieval.

Once she was cleaned up and made presentable we found out that “it” was a she.

While it ran around in my yard I had taken to calling the dog “Casper”, as in friendly ghost. She was large, white, non-threatening and came and went without any clue when she might reappear. Much like the imaginative ghost character on the old cartoon.

The dog was given a new name, Chloe. Pretty name for a really sweet and kind dog.

Why did I take all this time to tell you about a stray dog? Well I got to thinking of how I must also appear to other people.

As someone with a visual impairment I must look scary and off-putting. While the dog was a burden if we were to have taken it in, people often see my situation as a burden they will have to help shoulder if they get involved with me too.

It must appear like I am going to be high maintenance just by association and most people have enough to keep them busy without a pet project.

As nice as I try to clean myself up and make myself look non-threatening and scary I still cannot convince people to come close enough to give me a chance.

Once the dog was cleaned up the menacing look that pervaded her washed away like the mud coming out of her fur.

Unlike the dog that can only show varying levels of communication I am a vocal authority on who I am and what it means to have interaction with me.

I am not needy, or pathetic. I am self-reliant and want a good safe relationship like everyone else.

The dog wanted and found a good home.

I want and hope to find good friends that can accept me for all my quirks and anomalies.

Whenever possible, take in a stray, and talk to someone that makes you nervous to learn more about them and yourself in the process.

Blessings, Denise

From the writer of seeingdifferences.com