12/10/2026
The beatings she had endured left scars no gentle hand could entirely erase. Even after years of love, a slamming door or falling rake could bring those terrible memories rushing back.
And yet, Ruby loved on.
Somewhere beyond the safety of the world she came to know are countless dogs whose loyalty will go unrewarded, whose devotion will be taken for granted and whose lives will be measured by their usefulness, obedience or status.
When dogs helped domesticate us all those years ago, we irrevocably changed their lives. Just as they changed ours. We made them dependent upon us, accepting a responsibility that should never diminish with age, illness, inconvenience or the passing of novelty.
For love is not simply what we feel for another. It is what we choose to do for them.
To be faithful, gentle and observant. To stay when staying is hard. And to recognise that the lives entrusted to us are never ours to discard.
Perhaps today the world might be just a little more Ruby.
Not simply in the love we give.
But in the love we never give up on.
“Be kind. Be kind like Ruby.”
For the Love of Ruby
There was something about the way Ruby looked at the world, a gentle knowing tempered by the wariness of someone who had learned that not every hand offered kindness. Yet somehow, her gaze always seemed to settle on the possibility of second chances.
And it makes me wish the world would look a little differently at dogs.
Perhaps it was the trust in those beautiful eyes. Or the quiet assurance of someone who came to know what it meant to be loved, not for what she could do, but simply for who she was.
Ruby never had to earn her place in our hearts. Yet she found one there all the same.
And isn't that how love should be?
But Ruby's story did not begin with kindness.
Purchased for $1,000 as a purebred working Kelpie, she was expected to fulfil a purpose. When she failed to meet those expectations, the decision was made to shoot her.
And that is how she found her way to me.
The beatings she had endured left scars no gentle hand could entirely erase. Even after years of love, a slamming door or falling rake could bring those terrible memories rushing back.
And yet, Ruby loved on.
Somewhere beyond the safety of the world she came to know are countless dogs whose loyalty will go unrewarded, whose devotion will be taken for granted and whose lives will be measured by their usefulness, obedience or status.
When dogs helped domesticate us all those years ago, we irrevocably changed their lives. Just as they changed ours. We made them dependent upon us, accepting a responsibility that should never diminish with age, illness, inconvenience or the passing of novelty.
For love is not simply what we feel for another. It is what we choose to do for them.
To be faithful, gentle and observant. To stay when staying is hard. And to recognise that the lives entrusted to us are never ours to discard.
Perhaps today the world might be just a little more Ruby.
Not simply in the love we give.
But in the love we never give up on.
“Be kind. Be kind like Ruby.”
