We got my dog from a rescue shelter when she was only a few months old. My brother and I fell in love with her the second we crawled into the play pen full of puppies, and when we brought her home for adoption that day, the people at the shelter told us she was a lab/collie mix that would grow to be about forty pounds. Here’s a picture of my brother and Sammie from that day.

In case you can’t tell, the shelter people lied.

Our vet records classify Sam as a mutt, but anyone with an ounce of dog breed knowledge can tell you that she is most definitely majority boxer and pitbull. Also, she’s ninety pounds. The shelter underestimated that one just a bit.

Regardless, for today’s purposes, it is worth mentioning that Sam can’t stand the rain. And maybe that seems counterintuitive for a creature who prefers to spend her time in the summer splashing in our local creek, but it just so happens that she will do anything in her power not to stand in exposed areas whenever raindrops are falling. So, when I stumbled upon this photo while looking for an image making a “visual argument” to analyze for this post, you can probably tell why I chose it.

Taken outside a Morrisons grocery store in June 2020, this photograph depicts a security guard using his umbrella to cover a dog whose owners were shopping for their produce inside the store during a rainstorm. The photograph was quickly spread on social media, and it made national news as a “feel good” story of the week. It’s safe to say the image is effective in that sense, and I think that’s the case for three main reasons:

1. Sharing an umbrella is a universal sign of compassion – While this is definitely true, the man in this photo isn’t just sharing his umbrella; he’s sacrificing the whole thing in favor of keeping the dog dry. This suggests a level of compassion and sacrifice that exceeds that of the man simply sharing the umbrella with the dog. It can also be assumed that this dog doesn’t belong to the man, which makes it even more uplifting.
2. The photograph isn’t staged – The streaky drops of rain in the foreground of this image suggest that it was taken through the windshield of a shopper who was passing by this scene. Not only is everyone else in the image not looking up from their feet to avoid the rain, but the security guard holding the umbrella is looking right at the dog, as if to determine whether he needs to readjust his umbrella to more fully cover his new canine friend. It’s a moment of genuine, unprompted compassion, and it only serves to amplify the warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you look at this photograph.
3. Everybody loves dogs – Most people can likely agree that sitting out in the rain isn’t particularly enjoyable, even for our pets. But imagine how this image might be different if the man were to be holding his umbrella over a frog… Frogs get wet all the time; they live in water. The fact that this particular pet is a dog only makes this image more universally heartwarming.

So, to end my final RCL post of the semester, I’d like to leave you all with a quote from my favorite poem by Amanda Gorman:

“Lost as we feel, there is no better compass than compassion. We find ourselves not by being the most seen, but the most seeing.”

I’m grateful that this semester’s posts have helped open my eyes to the world around me here at Penn State, and I hope more than anything else that they have done the same for you.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and winter break, and I’ll see you all for Spring Semester!