As an eight year old girl I wasn't able to sympathize with our newly adopted dog Molly who was abused and therefore lashing out on us. I had grown up with a dog (Otto) all my life and at the time Molly entered our house too I wasn't able to understand the kind of issues Molly was going through. I didn't understand that the reason Molly growled at me was because she felt threatened and that it wasn't because she was a bad dog. After a couple of months of being growled at, I was terrified of Molly and so was my brother. My family ended up giving Molly to my Nana; where she lived to the age of 11. Molly actually rehabilitated a bit by being with a loving family. Molly still had trust issues and winced when you would pet her head (she thought you were trying to hit her head). Although, with all of her issues she still managed to wag her tail and love the people in her family.
Many years later, now 18 years old, I realize that 4 to 6 million dogs are held in U.S. shelters each year and I am thankful that my Nana could take care of Molly. If Molly had been in another home; she could have been one of the 6 million animals, left to live in a shelter. Growing up with dogs my perspectives have changed and matured as I have learned the facts of animal abuse.
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