Are you wondering where your best friend is right now? He is in the cage of a shelter or a boarding house.

Are you wondering what he is doing? He is waiting patiently for you to come and see him, take him out for a walk, look him in the eyes and promise him that from now on he’ll be sleeping in a warm bed next to you.

Are you wondering what color is he? How old is he? What character? Well, he comes in all shapes, sizes, ages and colors. Every dog in every shelter is unique and irreplaceable. Pay a visit to a shelter or to a welfare organization in your area and you will know. Somewhere inside all these cages you will find your ideal companion.

You will find the one who will run for the ball every time you throw it; the one who will be begging to be petted and who will always beg for more. You will find the one who will be standing by your side, proud and silent, and who will follow you around faithfully; you’ll find the one who will be waiting patiently in his bed for you to come home from work.

You will find the one who will greet you at the doorstep, jumping all over you wagging his tail saying in his unique way: “where were you? I missed you” and you’ll find the one who will go on napping even you get home.

You will find dogs for every home, every family, every temperament, every lifestyle…

There is an ideal companion for every one of us. Just ask the volunteers. Get to know the dogs, take them for a walk and you will know the ideal one for you. It may be the timid small dog that remains scared and hidden eyeing you hopefully. Or it may be the one who jumps with joy every time you go near his cage. It may be black, adult, three-legged, ugly or blind.

Or not. It may be a puppy, or a senior dog who will become a puppy again for your love only. It may be the dog that belonged to someone who never truly loved him, or it may have never belonged to anyone- it could have simply been a stray called “Shoo!”- or it may be a puppy who got lucky enough to be found out when someone was taking out the trash. Whatever it is, it is your best friend and has been waiting for you for days, months, even years.

He is waiting for the moment you’ll take him home, look him in the yes and tell him “I’m sorry I took so long to come for you”. Let’s empty the cages. Our best friends don’t belong there. They belong with us, in our home, in our arms.