Cars whizz by in both directions as he crosses the street. They honk and swerve to avoid him, splashing water in his already wet face.

It’s early morning. The smell of the diner across the street beckons him. That’s when they take out the garbage. Sometimes a morsel or two falls on the street as they pour it into the dumpster. On good days a friendly person tosses him a scrap.  He’s hungry, because yesterday he didn’t find very much while making the round of dumpsters and deserted alleys. 

Sometimes he finds a plastic garbage can that blew over in the wind. In it he might find a small bone, a box of cereal not totally empty, or some other treat. But the diner is always his best shot at getting something into his always hungry belly. 

It’s going to rain all day again today, so he’ll find puddles everywhere to quench his thirst. On dry days he’s not so lucky.  With his coat soaking and his feet exhausted from the incessant search for food, he finds an overhang where he can rest and find shelter from the storm.

It was another long day of wandering, getting yelled at by fearful people trying to drive him away, sometimes with angry looks and gestures, sometimes with thrown objects.  Other street dogs bark at him to keep him away from their territory.  They take his food if they can.

Of course, I have no idea what Augie’s life was like before he was rescued. It was probably better than the lives of other strays abandoned by our society to live on their own. Since Augie is both good looking and friendly, maybe he experienced more kindness than other unlucky ones ever see.

What we know for sure is that his life was filled with dangers and hardships living alone without companion or protector. And dog lovers know that loneliness in dogs is more of a hardship than loneliness in people.

For Augie it all started to change when a thoughtful person picked him up off the street and brought him to a shelter in Sacramento, CA. Here he would get the necessities of life, safety, and some kind attention.

After he spent a  year in the shelter, Jamie, my friend and colleague, spotted those sad, liquid eyes that grab your attention and follow your movements. She is a dog lover and devotes much of her time and resources to improving the lot of dogs all over the world. Meeting Jamie was Augie’s big break.

After spending two years in kennels waiting to be adopted, Jamie persuaded me to provide that home and helped me do it. I was a teenager when I last had a dog, and since my life is very busy I was apprehensive about the adoption. Every day now I’m glad she persuaded me to take the plunge. And every day I’m rewarded for doing it.

It’s been less than a year since Augie came to stay with me, and he brightens every single day we spend together. He is a loving companion, and we get closer every day. We live in an affluent suburb where it seems everyone is a dog lover. We meet lots of them during our walks, and Augie has made a lot of friends both human and canine. 

Is he happy now? I don’t know for sure. He doesn’t often sport the open-mouth grin we associate with happy dogs. Maybe the hardships and uncertainty of his old life have extinguished some of his capacity for happiness. Maybe he’s not yet sure that this new life will last.

He looks content when he folds up his paws to take a nap.  He likes to cuddle and stay very close to me while I work around the house. While he waits for me to do something, like put on my coat, he rests his head against my leg and waits patiently. But there are still the sad eyes peering out into his world, mostly at me.

After being with me for a few months, Augie started giving me a rare treat a few times a day. I call it his “propeller wag”. He wags his tail, sometimes very quickly, in wide circles. Most days when I awake he greets me with this burst of enthusiasm that I hear is really rare. One animal behaviorist says it means he’s elated.

He seems to be content and comfortable most ofthe time in his new “forever home”.  He enjoys all aspects of his life and gives me very little trouble.

When eating, exploring, or playing, he’s like an excited puppy filled with enthusiasm and energy. And what’s more important for pack animals like dogs and humans, Augie now feels, maybe for the first time, that he belongs.