10/21/2025
HE WOULDN’T LET GO OF MY LEG—AND I COULDN’T LEAVE HIM BEHIND
I was only supposed to be grabbing trash bags and cat litter. That’s it. In and out. But as I pulled into the Walmart lot, I spotted this big, scruffy dog sitting near the cart return like he was waiting for someone who never came back.
He didn’t bark. Didn’t move. Just watched every car like it might be the one.
I walked over slow, hands out. He didn’t flinch. Just looked up at me with those tired, unsure eyes. When I crouched down to see if he had a tag, he leaned his whole body into me like he’d been holding himself together all day and just now let go.
And then—he hugged my leg.
I’m not even kidding. One paw around my shin, chin resting on my knee, like he’d decided, right then and there, “You. You’re safe.”
Animal control said they’d received a call earlier that morning. Someone saw a car dump him near the edge of the lot and drive off. No collar, no chip. Nothing.
They told me they’d take him in, assess him, start the process. But when they tried to lead him away, he panicked. Planted himself and looked right back at me.
I didn’t think I was ready for a dog. But standing there, with him wrapped around my leg like I was all he had left in the world… I couldn’t just walk away.
So I asked the officer one simple question.
And his answer changed everything.⬇️
(continue reading in the first cᴑmment)