One of the questions that people will ask you is, how can you mend a broken heart? Everyone will give you a different answer. In this story, it’s a little dog that helped a man heal.
When people think of dogs saving humans, they often think of big, stalwart dogs. However, it turns out that not only big dogs are capable of saving people. Little dogs like Chihuahuas, can save humans, too, just in their own, special ways.
The story of Bobby Humphrey and his dog “Lady” proved that little dogs can be lifesavers, too. Though Bobby used to love big dogs and never thought of owning little ones, he now rescues and provides shelters for little Chihuahuas with special needs. Apparently, everything has changed when he was saved by Lady, a little yet affectionate Chihuahua.
It all started when Bobby’s 17-year marriage suddenly ended. He was so heartbroken and the pain was so unbearable that he even thought of ending his own life. Luckily, Bobby made it through with the help of his friend, Connie.
“I lost faith in humanity. I got weak. I wanted to end it. One person, above all, Connie, kept me on this planet. True friend that was always there. In fact, she wouldn’t leave me alone long enough to do what I wanted to do. She literally just wouldn’t go away no matter how much I told her to. She lost to that before and wasn’t going to lose me,” Bobby said.
Shortly, Connie asked Bobby to look after her Chihuahua named Lady as she was moving and could not take the dog with her. In spite of not being a fan of little dogs, Bobby accepted Lady who was known to be unsociable.
“Seeing Lady at friends’ cookouts and listening to stories from Connie and numerous others, Lady was not exactly somebody I wanted to be near. Connie admitted that she was very protective of both her and her son and that she didn’t really like people. Especially men. So, honestly, I just steered clear of her until this point,” Bobby explained.
Bobby was still battling with pain and depression but Lady helped him put the broken pieces of his heart together. “I was still struggling to come to grips with everything. There were many days I could not even get up and go to work. Weeks turned into months and the only thing that made me happy was spending time with Lady. I cannot believe how this little 7-pound beautiful baby stole my heart.”
After some hesitation, Bobby realized that there’s nothing to worry about Lady and that she was a wonderful dog. They got along well quickly and when Connie came to see how they were doing, she was surprised by how fast Bobby and Lady have bonded. According to Connie, “This is the sort of dog who hates everyone. Lady must have sensed that Bobby was in need of a friend.”
Some might say he saved Lady; but for Bobby, it was Lady who saved him from pain and loneliness. So when Bobby was was searching for an answer to ‘how can you mend a broken heart’ at an extremely low point of his life, she suddenly came and made him happy again.
Eventually, Connie took Lady back, which made Bobby look for his own Chihuahua pet. The first dog he found was Kira and took two more dogs, Harley and Quinn. He continued adopting dogs and now, he is the founder of the Big Guy, Little Dogs and Sanctuary, an organization that rescues and shelters little dogs.
“I started to see a pattern here. So many of these little beautiful babies are being abused or taken advantage of and I just couldn’t sit by and watch it happen.”
Bobby’s initiative has been challenging at first but when people found out about the sanctuary, financial help started to pour in. While money is a big challenge to Bobby’s passion for saving little dogs, he pursued his initiative and has currently saved more than 30 dogs.
“We rescue Chihuahuas who are living horrible lives, abused, starving, disabled, mental issues, etc. We give them either a ‘furever’ home with us where they will never have to experience neglect or anything like that again, or we nurse them back to health and adopt them out! We just want to help as many babies as we can.”
Did you find Bobby’s initiative admirable and inspiring? Feel free to share this article with your friends and family, you never know who also needs the answer to ‘how can you mend a broken heart’. May they find their joy again like Bobby.