Opinion

Telfer: Attack on sheltie brings out best in people

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Hardly a day goes by anymore without news of some horrific event. Whether it is a mass shooting, mass stabbing, suicide bombing, police shooting or police being shot, a truck being driven into a crowd of people or some other atrocity, it seems like the world is going crazy.

It makes us feel vulnerable, disheartened and left wondering whether there is any good left in humanity.

But even through all this darkness, a light of hope can pierce and shine brightly. From unexpected places, we can find kindness and goodness, support and concern.

My wife and I have experienced the better side of humanity over the past three weeks as we have hoped and prayed that our nearly 9-year-old sheltie, Lanie, would recover from injuries suffered when she was attacked by another dog.

Lanie still is not home and might not be for awhile yet, but her story has brought out the best in the people we have encountered since the attack. Topping that list is the entire staff at the Eastman Animal Hospital, who took on the challenge of trying to keep Lanie alive even when it seemed like it was against all odds. They have done so much it is hard to express in words: five surgeries, daily bandage changes, blood monitoring, medicine administration and more. They even bought Lanie YaYa’s chicken in a bid to get her eating again, after she went several days needing to be force fed. And, guess what? It worked!

The care Lanie has received has been above and beyond anything we had a right to expect, and we are so appreciative of each and every person at the clinic who has touched her life, and ours.

The people in our neighborhood have been equally wonderful. Whether we have been out for a walk, or in the front or back yard, or taking a bike ride, these friends have taken the time to check in with us and find out how our rescue Lanie is doing.

But perhaps the most unexpected source of support has come from the people we know on social media. We had no idea when we made our first post on Facebook about Lanie’s injuries how much people would care. We were overwhelmed by the empathy shown and the love offered. Dozens of people commented on the post, offering words of encouragement and prayers for healing. Dozens more liked the post as a way of letting us know they were thinking of us.

Because early on we were not certain Lanie would survive (we are fairly certain she will make it now, but still not 100 percent), we decided to post stories and photos almost every night detailing her progress. Each post was greeted with a similar outpouring of encouragement as the first one, and often a number of new people would write to let us know they, too, were thinking of us and Lanie.

By the end of the week, my wife and I were emotionally drained but spiritually uplifted because so many people had shown us how much they cared. Today, some three weeks later, we are just looking forward to bringing Little Miss Lanie home and sharing that good news with all our friends on Facebook.

We don’t know when that day will be yet, but we do know there are many, many good people who are looking forward to it almost as much as we are.

Jack Telfer is editor of the Daily News.