About three or four months ago I rescued a mother dog & her puppy from an abandoned lot where they were scrounging for food. I didn’t relinquish them to a rescue society since I feared they’d be separated & didn’t think that a good idea for either. For a long while, they were all each other had.
The baby, now named Bellissima, fit right into her new family but the mother, named Bella, was a lost little soul. Eyes are the window to the soul in (other) animals too & hers were empty & confused. She didn’t know what to do with affection & was wooden when she received it. But she watched with an eagle eye when I smooched up her baby.
There comes a point in rescue when you see the dog has come to trust & feels his/her place in the family. You can see it in their eyes. I can see it in Bella’s now. And it is truly lovely to see. The baby has become a spoiled brat–which is the way it should be.