I offered my bottle of water to a thankful Red. We watched him take a small dish from his belongings and pour half of the water for Sparkle. I was touched. The next time we visited the park I made sure to have a small sack lunch and 2 bottles of water! This time I watched as Red split the sandwich and gave half to Sparkle, before he even took a bite. Same with the chips and the apple I put in. Red would always share with Sparkle, even feeding her first. I couldn't believe his selflessness and his love for his dog. No matter what he had Sparkle got half and she got it first. I learned so much from my visits with Red in the park. Soon we got around to talking about our lives and families. He'd give me great advice usually ending with 'believe in yourself' but the greatest lesson I learned was LOVE. How to give it, what it looks like, and most importantly how to appreciate it. I know Red must have been hungry but it brought him so much joy to be able to feed his dog. I had to start making my own treats for Baby Girl and Sparkle who had been cleaning me out regularly. I learned out how to make treats loaded with protein, vitamins, minerals, fruits and vegetables for Sparkle...and when Baby Girl gained weight eating all those extra calories, I learned how to make healthier options just for her.
I don't know what happened to Red or Sparkle. One day they just weren't there. We went to that park everyday for a month hoping they'd be back. We stopped going to our favorite park. We were both toosad, or maybe Baby Girl was just feeling how sad I was, But I'd like to believe she was grieving for her first and longest friend Sparkle. That's when we decided we would search for them. In the beginning, each week we would grab a bottle of water and a pocket full of treats, to hit a new park. We couldn't help to noticed the large amount of homeless people living on our streets with their animals. Eventually we started carrying cases of water, trays of sandwiches, sweets from our studio and boxes of my dog treats. The treats my Baby Girl loves and grew up on are now being shared with dogs around the metroplex! Proceeds from the sale of her treats make it possible for us to provide homeless animals and their owners a sack lunch, water and Baby Girl's Treats!