He kisses me long, deep. Beautiful. Our lips are sweet with love.
We fall back into bed.
And find each other again and again.
The End
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It’s no secret that my muse for the character of Lachlan is none other than the magnificent actor, Tom Hardy. But it’s also Mr. Hardy himself that inspired me to do more than just write a book. An advocate for adopting shelter dogs and a warrior against the unfair stigma and treatment of pit bulls, Hardy uses his fame and stature to try and help educate people on the matter. And while my own fame and stature is absolutely miniscule, especially compared to a mad genius like him, it did inspire me to speak out and do more for a cause I deeply believe in.
I rescued a pit bull mix from a high kill-shelter in San Bernardino, California. Or, I should say, the lovely ladies at the non-profit Vancouver Island Flirting with Fido organized a rescue run, trucking up dogs from various shelters and bringing them up to Canada to fit them with various loving families. Most of the dogs are pit bulls or mixes, bully breeds that are misunderstood and usually cast aside, the first ones to be put down in a shelter alongside the sick and the old. Because these dogs do have a terrible reputation, the organization takes special care to let people foster the animals first so they can find out if the dog is meant for them. Not every dog is for everybody – especially rescue dogs who may or may not have been abused and have behavioural issues – and dog ownership is a life-time commitment. It’s not just until you have a baby and then you decide you don’t want your dog anymore. It’s not just until you have to move and you don’t want to bother finding an apartment that takes dogs. It’s not just until the dog is old and can’t play anymore and just isn’t as cute. A forever home is a forever home.
So my husband and I took this scared little pit bull mix, Bruce, into our home. And it wasn’t easy. There were times at the beginning where I thought I couldn’t handle it. Bruce wasn’t like the dogs I grew up with. He was terrified of everyone and everything. Tail always between his legs, shaking like a leaf. He didn’t bark, he didn’t make any sounds. He just wanted to run away and be on his own, away from human hands that he thought would only hurt him.
But we persevered. I wanted to be that forever home for Bruce. I was afraid that in any other hands, he would never be happy, never trust, never come out of his shell.
Slowly but surely though, he did come out of his shell. With lots of patience, lots of love, and, yes, lots of frustration, Bruce learned to trust us. He learned his commands. He learned to be a big puppy in such a way that makes me think when he was living on the streets as a young dog, he never got a chance to even be a puppy.
Now Bruce is a completely different dog. He barks at strangers who come to the house, which is both bad because it’s annoying and good because it means he finally has confidence. He’s protective of us and we’re protective of him. He’s better with people in general too, once he figures out they aren’t to be feared and of course he adores being around other dogs. One day soon we’ll be rescuing another dog in need so he can have a little buddy to love on and play with.