I readily admit, I want to take in just about every rescue dog I meet at the shelter. Monday mornings have taken on a new feeling ever since I began volunteering to take the plethora of canine guests, most of them recruited up from underserved shelters in the South, out for a walk through Canine Cove behind the shelter. They are as grateful as they are excited, as friendly as they are curious, and every time I have to put one back in their kennel, my heart beats with just a little bit more longing for each and every one of them to find their forever home.

Simone, a 7-year-old, 41-pound Pit Bull Terrier mix, is on my regular Monday walking agenda. Needing a home without cats (the shelter recommends) and perhaps no other dogs, she fits into the category of Just Going to Have to Wait For That Special Person to Come Along.

Last month, such people did come along and take her in. For a day, or maybe three.

But last Monday, Simone was back at the shelter where she’s been waiting for months for a couch to lie upon or a person to show her that everything in the world is not as bad as she believed. She is as personable as she is sweet, as loving as she is smart. She’s well behaved and polite, simply a lovely energy to amidst. She’s been waiting for far too long in her glass condominium, where I slip in the occasional Greenie or rawhide after my shift is over and we’ve had out time out on the trails in Canine Cove together.

Even more prominently, Simone has a forgiving disposition. She doesn’t seem to have taken life’s rejection personally. Her heart is as open as her spirit is willing, to embrace a special person showing up just for her.

I’m hoping that come tomorrow, I won’t see Simone in her glass condominium. I’m hoping that just like the Belgian Malinois puppies fresh up from the high-kill shelters in the South, she’ll be off the website, because someone with an open heart, a few dollars a month to spare for kibble and a willing spirit, will take her into their arms and embrace her loving canine soul.

Simone has everything in the world to offer just the right home. Can it be yours?

Namaste, and have a beautiful Sunday.