We live in central Phoenix, near the canal . Every day I used to see a homeless old man and his scruffy little dog hanging out down there. I would tell my husband we should give him food for the little dog. It wouldn't have been a problem; we have our own "mini farm" of animals! But he would say "OK!" and then blow the idea off because of our business. Being in Phoenix, Arizona, you can just imagine how hot it gets here, but his winter was really chilly! I had just come from KFC with take-out food for dinner. As I was turning by the canal, the man and his dog were sitting right there all bundled up. Even the doggy had a coat on! Not even thinking about it, I pulled into the parking lot along the canal and piled up a plate of chicken with all the fixings for the man and his little buddy . I gave it to him with a soda and a bottle of water for the little dog. He said, "Thank you, sweetie. You are an angel." And there were tears welling up in his eyes! I told him he was so welcome, and then went home. When my husband dug into the KFC bag he asked, "Were you hungry, or what?" I told him what I did and he said, "Only you!" Then he told me I had done a good thing. A few weeks later, we were walking along the canal and found the man walking to me, with his little dog. He asked whether I would mind adopting the dog. With tears in eyes, he said it had gotten too hard for him to care for the dog. He added that he was planning on heading to Washington State but his dog wouldn't have been up to it, so he hoped to give it to me. "Only you! In this city, you are the only person I can believe in!" Now, every time I watch and pat the dog lying near the fireplace, I will remember the old man's words and wish him good luck. Why did the old man hope to give the dog to the author?
Because he knew the author was also a dog lover. Because the author was the person he could trust. Because the author was the only person he knew. Because he believed that his dog liked the author.