Page 61 of Taming I Do
“Oh? What kind of work?” I was always looking for ideas on how to further my platform.
Zina peeked through the window of the door to our right. “Good. One of our trainers is here. I’ll introduce you.”
I followed her into a medium-sized room where a man sat at a desk, his pen flying over the page in front of him.
“Hey, Zeb, got a sec?” A dog lying at the man’s feet lifted his head.
Zeb turned around in his chair. “What’s up?”
“This is Delilah. She’s the current Miss Lovin’ Texas and I’m showing her around the rescue. I told her about the program we’re working on that pairs youth with the dogs.”
Zeb nodded. “It’s been working well so far. The kids get a chance to work with the animals, and the dogs get the opportunity to socialize and learn some good behaviors. Some of these kids feel so out of control. It’s cool to watch them learn how to control their own emotions.”
“What happens to the dogs? Do the kids get to adopt them?” I asked.
“If possible. But their home environment doesn’t always allow that. Some of these kids live in apartments or mobile homes that don’t allow pittie mixes.” Zeb glanced toward Zina. “But my sister’s working on trying to change some of that.”
“You’re siblings.” I felt so stupid for not noticing that sooner. The high cheekbones were the same, and so were the brown eyes.
Zeb grinned. “I don’t like to advertise it.”
“I’m not that bad, am I?” Zina gave her brother a playful punch to the shoulder.
“Nah.” He leaned down and patted his thigh. The dog who’d been sitting at his feet sat down next to him. “This is Semper. He’s the reason we started the program.”
“Can I pet him?” I asked.
Zeb nodded.
I reached my hand out to the dog. Semper sniffed, then glanced up at Zeb, who nodded at him. The dog nudged his head under my hand like he wanted me to pet him.
“He likes you,” Zeb said.
“Want to meet some of the other dogs?” Zina asked.
I nodded. “It was nice to meet you, Zeb.”
“Nice to meet you, too.” He called Semper back to his side.
Zina led me back to the main room, then through a door to the back of the building. “Zeb and Semper are proof that the programs we’re putting in place work.”
“Was he in the military?”
“We both were. He came home with debilitating PTSD. I feel like Semper is the only reason I have my brother back.”
“Do you think the same kind of training you’re doing with the teenage boys would work to empower girls?” My head spun withideas. Maybe that would be a way to work directly with the girls I wanted to help.
“Absolutely. I mean, it depends on your goals. But we’ve seen incredible progress with some of the kids we’ve been working with. Zeb takes a van full of dogs into the city twice a week and runs classes at a local park. Some of these kids have been through hell and back. Working with the dogs teaches them how to build empathy and gain confidence. A dog won’t respond to a handler who’s out of control. I’ve seen kids start with nothing and end up working their way through school, getting jobs, and turning their backs on the bad influences that landed them in trouble in the first place.”
“I’m working with my mentor on putting some programming together to empower young girls. I don’t know if there’s a place for training dogs somewhere in there, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask.”
“Are you working locally? I’m sure we could partner on an initiative.”
“I’m not sure.” My current plans involved moving back to Dallas at the conclusion of my term as Miss Lovin’ Texas. That was about as pretty far from local as I could get. But Zina’s testimony had given me plenty to think about.
“Have you ever had a dog?” Zina asked.
“No. I never had a chance. We moved around so much as I was growing up.”
