Commentary: How my rescue dog actually rescued me

I have a grim practice of walking through animal shelters to visit the animals. The sounds of desperation in each bark, begging for a chance to be loved again, tug at my heart. I wish I could take them all home, though this has never been a real option for me.

While out in the dog-eat-dog world, I stumbled across a black beauty of a dog. I was drawn to him. I couldn’t walk away, and when others walked up to his cage, I claimed him as my own.

Ultimately they would walk away. I felt some guilt. I really had no intention of adopting that day, but I couldn’t fight the magnetic energy. I gave in and asked if I could play with him, and he was awesome. Before I had officially adopted him, I named him Bowie.

Bowie has brought so much color into our lives. His antics never cease to amuse. With his cleverness and curiosity, he has learned to open the sliding screen door and invite himself inside the house. About a week after we brought him home, we found him in the kitchen sink. He somehow knew to jump on the couch, to the table, to the counter and then to his prize — the chance to lick our dirty dishes. We have learned to wash our dishes immediately.

At the park and the beach, we love letting him off the leash. He is gallant like a horse and gallops from dog to dog, trying to find a playmate. He has a swing in his hips and a skip in his step that is a just a crack-up. He grazes on grass like a goat, chews wood like a beaver. Once he gnawed a tree into a little stump and, like a monkey, he will climb on a small outside wall to peak over a taller wall to spy on the neighbors.

It has been over a year since Bowie entered my life. Each day has brought a new amusement and given me just one more reason to love him. Did I mention that he smiles? Did I mention that he “talks” to us by a drawn-out howling sound? Did I mention that he loves catching June bugs in the field?

Rescue animals are the most appreciative. It seems a cliche to say he rescued me, but I didn’t know how lost I was until Bowie found me.

When adopting from a shelter, you are not only giving a life a second chance, you are gaining a new member of the family, a new best friend and an unconditional love.

JENNIFER TORRES lives in Costa Mesa.