There is a story I can't forget.

It was about ten years ago, while I was visiting a friend of mine. As we chatted, I noticed a dog (a middle-sized mutt dog) calmly lying on the floor. I'm not sure of the breed. It may have had Labrador Retriever blood, but the dog was smaller in size. What I remember most clearly was the look of contentment in this dog's eyes. I petted this friendly dog and told my friend what a nice dog she had.

What she said in response to my remark was something I didn't expect at all.

According to her, this dog's previous owner was very abusive. He yelled at the dog, and hit her with rolled newspapers, and so on. By the time this owner decided to let go of this poor dog, nobody wanted her. The constant abuse had made her out of control, very fearful of people, and vicious.

When my friend heard that nobody wanted this dog, she decided to keep her. She had been mourning for the death of her previous dog and felt it was time to move on. So, the dog became her new family member.

After she told me the story, I looked again, this time more carefully, at the dog lying relaxed on the floor. There was no hint of fears, nervousness, or anger coming from this dog. I asked her how she trained the dog to make her so calm and friendly.

She said, "Well, nothing really. All I do is just love her. I love her very much."

I learned that I can't underestimate the power of "love" in pet care.