TRUE Superheroes Come IN ALL Shapes and Sizes....!

 

True Superheroes come in all shapes and sizes. As was taught to me by a 15 pound Chi-Hua-Hua mix that captured my heart on an unassuming Memorial Day weekend in 2003 while I was still living in Los Angeles, CA. During a nearly ritual weekend brunch at one of my favorite local hangouts, just I was about to deeply divulge my fork into a plate of their heavenly waffles dabbled with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, out of the corner of my eyes I saw a couple holding a small dog who was in obvious distress. From a simple glance, it was easy to ascertain that his back leg was nearly shattered and he was in desperate need of medical attention on many fronts. 

I quickly placed down my fork and scurried out the door to meet the unassuming couple holding this poor pup. They disclosed to me that they had found this scraggly mutt on the street, as he sweetly hopped up toward anyone who paid him any attention. Now just a few feet away from his weakened body, it was quite easy to count every bone on his food depraved body. Not to mention an obvious case of mangled mange. His nails were turning inward from lack of cuticle care, and he was covered in fleas and ticks.  An absolute mess in every conceivable manner. Just my type! ;0)

"We have been knocking on doors for hours around the area where we found him. But haven't had any luck finding an owner," said the sweet couple. "We took him to a shelter, and they said a dog in such a devastated condition would be euthanized almost immediately, " they continued. 

"Would you be open to giving the puppy over to me?" I gushed. "I promise to take care of him and if you give me your number, I'll even keep you up to date on his progress."  It took less than the beat of a beaver's tail for them to acquiesce and hand this "super survivor" over to me. 

I quickly canceled my Napa Valley Memorial Day's plans with friends to turn my full attention overt to this "Saintly Furred" newly found friend. My first order of business was to get him to a surgeon who could hopefully repair his badly damaged back hind right leg. It was literally dangling in the air as I gently placed him in my SUV. 

Thankfully, living in a city as vast as Los Angeles meant finding a competent animal surgeon was not as challenging an endeavor as it would have been in more rural areas areas. And as an added bonus, my next door neighbor was a former vet's assistant. She was quickly able to guide me to whom she considered to be the best animal surgeon in all of Los Angeles! 

I truly threw caution to the wind and zipped my black Jeep carrying this hurting pup in and around the busy streets of LA; finally pulling into the parking lot of the animal doctor my friend suggested.

I ever so gently carried him into the vet's office. The pain he must have been enduring far surpassed anything I could have imagined. And for those of you who follow my blog, you know I have faced more than my share of unadulterated suffering! 

In fact, when the office nurse came out to greet him, he snarled back at her. Causing her to quickly pause for a couple of beats. Just long enough for me to whisper into his left ear, "I got you buddy. I promise. Everything's going to be OK." 

And with that short burst of trusting words, the nurse's next attempt to approach him was met with much more trusting eyes and even a quick wag of his tail. I handed him over to her as she could see his obvious angst that needed immediate attention. 

"Do whatever you need to do," I quickly blurted out. At that time in my life, I had been blessed with a job in which the money to help heal this pup was no object. And in a short span of less than an hour, his brave perseverance had touched a part of me that resided deep within my soul. A kinship based on all of the many trials and tribulations I had been forced to face on my own SuperHero's Journey. 

I patiently waited in the vet's office until the head Doctor emerged from back behind his operating rooms. "I heard you found this little guy on the streets of LA. Let me tell you something I've never seen before. His leg has been broken for at least TWO MONTHS! His mange is as bad as we've seen, and he has a horrible case of heart worms; and he has lost more than half his body weight for a dog this size," he gently informed me. "Are you sure you want us to try and fix that leg. Or would you rather us put him down?" he understandably asked. And something from deep within my own knowingness was shining a beacon of light on my heart and soul. Resolutely telling me  this little guy was a survivor, here for a reason, as well as a season, and NOT to give up on him. 

As I drove back to my apartment, I couldn't help but think about what this little animal had endured. No regular food or drink on the savage streets of mid-town Los Angeles for at least two months. Not to mention the fact that he suffered through a badly shattered leg during that same time period, yet still found it within his heart and soul to carry on. 

And guess what?! The surgeon was able to completely put his mangled leg back together in just one surgery! And as for his other conditions, (Mange, fleas, heart worms, etc.) with lots of patience and buckets full of LOVE, I slowly nursed him back to full health. 

As a pseudo joke, I named him Nacho. I told people it was because when I asked what happened to him, he defiantly splurged out, "It's Not Cho Business!"  LOL  So Nacho it was!

And that dog became one of the strongest guiding lights that has ever entered my life. He became my greatest teacher of patience, a remembrance of never giving up-no matter what life's odds have sent you.  And the brightest beacon of light showing me how to treat and recieve all others. With no judgment and absolute unconditional LOVE! 

SUPERHEROES IN TRAINING TAKEAWAYS

Unfortunately, Nacho developed a horrible case of doggie diabetes at the age of ten and I was forced to let him transition back to Spirit. But during his nine years in my stewardship, he became my best friend. Truly! He gave me the strength to persevere through three major surgeries, the loss of everything I owned, the horrific passing of my father to cancer (leading to the complete emotional fracture of my entire family), and a couple bouts of deep depression. He gave me the fortitude to never give up on myself or the blessings of my own life. Even when I desperately wanted to! 

Yet, as low as times would eventually get for me, a simple glance from this precious pup would lift my spirits. I always felt his own Soul whispering directly to mine, "Carry On! Carry On!" 

I very often felt as though he came to breathe new life into my often scarred heart. Just as I showered him with an unwavering amount of love and devotion, he spent the remainder of his life doing that and so much more for me! 

And that's why I truly believe that WE ARE ALL SUPERHEROES! Even a 15 pound scrawny mutt is capable of living a life of loving service. I know Nacho did that for me. And that is what being a SUPERHERO is all about. It has just as much to do with what you are BEING with your life in service to others, as what you are DOING for them! 

The badge of a SUPERHERO comes with any and all of the many ways you are being of loving service to yourSELF and all others. As basic examples BEING:

Kind
Compassionate
Patient
Understanding
Joyful
Giving
and of course,  LOVING

And that's just the "starting line" of the many ways you can use your own set of Super Powers to lift up the spirits of others in need of some love and care; the type only YOU can provide!

BE SUPER HEROIC!

Nerdmaste,

Jeffery Louis Martinez