So there I sat, unhappily crammed in the backseat of a toaster-like sedan with three medium to large sized odorous mutts, all of whom were tremendously excited about their pending car ride. I contemplated asking their owner how much RedBull he had given his dogs before unleashing them on my lap, but I resisted my urge for sarcasm. The dogs bounced happily from window to window, scratching my legs all to hell, while periodically slobbering on my face. In my books pain, doggy breath, all combined with unwanted kisses, are the perfect recipe for disaster. However, Karina and I were both ecstatic to have been offered a lift to our desired destination, so there was no room for complaints. Obviously the dogs did not sense my overwhelming distain for their species and in all fairness, they did reserve their seats before us so technically, they had first dibs on the window seat.

Gone to the dogs, South Carolina, USA – Karina Noriega

Gone to the dogs, South Carolina, USA – Karina Noriega

Thankfully, once we got on the road the dogs’ calmed down significantly and curled up peacefully on top of one another, pressing themselves hard against the door opposite to me. Watching them contort their cute little fury bodies to give me my much desired space, provoked serious guilt feelings in me. As a child was attacked by a dog and this left me with some trust issues making it difficult for me to warm up to unfamiliar animals. I decided in this moment to take a leap of faith by allowing one of the stinky fur-balls to perch himself on my lap.  In the end it seemed that these little canines, in fact, came into my life to provide some much needed animal therapy! During our two hour car-adventure through the deep-south I bonded with the little rascals and even took pleasure joining in with some of their car-games.

While I began my adventure believing my travel companions were less than appealing, they turned out to be exactly what I needed. That day these mangy-mutts became my inspiration; a much-needed breath of fresh air.

April: When you can’t beat them, join them 🙂 — Karina Noriega

~ An Extraordinary Story by April Beresford ~

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