I have seen the world through fearful eyes. I have felt the pain of a hand not meant to love, but to harm. I have heard angry voices, cruel words, and the sound of a door slamming shut, leaving me alone in the dark. I am just a dog, a creature who only ever wanted to love and be loved in return. But my life has been filled with suffering at the hands of those who were supposed to care for me.
I remember the first time I felt true fear. It wasn’t the hunger or the cold that hurt the most—it was the moment I realized that no matter how much I wagged my tail, no matter how much I tried to please, I would still be treated like I was nothing. I had no voice to cry out, no words to beg for mercy. All I could do was endure.
The days blurred into each other—endless nights spent curled up in a corner, trembling from pain and hunger. There were times when I was locked away, left without food or water for days. I was beaten for barking, kicked for simply existing. I tried to understand—was I bad? Had I done something wrong? But no matter how much I tried to be good, the pain never stopped.
Yet, despite everything, I still loved.
Even after every cruel blow, I still hoped for a gentle touch. Even after every day of hunger, I still longed for a warm meal given with kindness. Even when I was cast out, abandoned like trash, I still waited for my humans to return. Because that’s what dogs do. We love, even when we are not loved in return.
But no dog deserves this. No dog deserves to be treated like an object, to be hurt for no reason, to live a life filled with fear instead of joy. We are not here to be chained, to be beaten, to be ignored. We are here to love, to play, to bring happiness to those who open their hearts to us.
I was one of the lucky ones. Someone saw me. Someone heard my silent cries. A kind stranger picked me up from the street, carried my broken body to safety, and whispered words I had never heard before: You’re safe now.
For the first time, I felt warmth. A soft bed, gentle hands tending to my wounds, food that didn’t have to be stolen from trash cans. And slowly, I began to trust again. My body healed, though the scars remained. My heart learned to feel safe, though the memories of my past still haunted me.
There are so many like me—dogs locked away in cages, beaten for no reason, left alone to suffer in silence. But we are not objects. We are not worthless. We are not trash to be thrown away. We are living beings, capable of love, of joy, of loyalty beyond measure.
If you see one of us suffering, please don’t look away. Speak for us, because we have no voice. Help us, because we cannot help ourselves. Stand against cruelty, because no dog deserves to live in fear.
All we want is love. And every dog deserves that chance.
