Before he could react further, a second woman approached, a bottle of water in her hand. She offered it to me, her eyes full of compassion. “For the dog,” she said softly. I nodded my thanks, unscrewing the cap and helping the parched animal drink. The water seemed to revive her little by little, her panting growing less frantic.
Then, something even more unexpected happened. A young boy, no more than eight years old, stepped out from behind the crowd, tugging at the man’s shirt. “Daddy,” he said, his voice small but insistent. “You told me dogs are family. We shouldn’t leave family in the car.”
