Nali was offered for free on Craigslist; however, after being taken in by a family, they discovered that she was deaf and made the decision that they did not want her. Before turning her over to a shelter, they kept her outdoors where she had no access to any toys. Because of this, Dharma Lorenz was able to locate her and become her new mother.
“The moment I saw her, I knew that I needed to take her,” Lorenz said to The Dodo about their meeting. “My first plan was to simply provide her with foster care and locate a permanent family for her… She was very frightened and miserable at the shelter, yet she still managed to wag her tail and mustered the courage to come to me.
Nali turned to her new older sister, Amba, for direction as she adjusted to her new surroundings in their new house. Amba was able to reassure her that the situation was in control and that she did not need to worry about making a mistake that would cause her to lose her new home. Still, there were moments when she need a little bit of additional comfort, and it was at these times that she came upon her travel cushion.
Lorenz said, “I had just returned from a trip that lasted for two weeks, and my travel pillow was on top of my suitcase.” “While I was distracted, she moved it to the sofa and laid down with her head on it. She did this while I was looking the other way. Obviously adorable to the extreme! After that point, she made it a habit to take it about with her everywhere she went. She carried it with her to bed, and she kept it on the table next to her food dish while she ate. If she lost it, she would search everywhere and complain until she found it. If she couldn’t find it, she would cry. It seemed to reassure her and helped her feel less anxious as a result.
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Even though she had been gone for a short period, it seemed as if Nali’s new mom was finally making her way back to her thanks to the travel cushion. It was a tangible representation of the fact that she would never have to fear being deserted ever again in her life. As a direct consequence of this, the travel cushion emerged as her most trusted companion very soon.
Nali used to bring the travel cushion with her wherever she went for a time. It accompanied her on every stroll, and even accompanied her to the veterinarian so that she might feel more at ease. It was her constant companion up until the time when she realized that someone else had a greater need for it than she did.
At the animal shelter, Lorenz had a response quite similar to the one she experienced when she met Nali when she spotted a dog called Satchi. She was aware that he needed her assistance just as much as Nali had, since he was likewise deaf and afraid.
“When he got there, he was so traumatized that he wouldn’t come out of his cubby,” Lorenz recalled. “He was so terrified.” “He seemed to be so perplexed and frightened that it tore at my heart… I started by showing him some hand signals in the yard, where we both could see each other. He was and still is quite keen to win people over… The shelter showed no interest in him at any point throughout the seven to eight months that he stayed there. Day after day, he would routinely spend his time simply sitting in his cubby and observing the folks who passed by. There weren’t a lot of people who would stop, and nobody was interested in seeing him. Then, without any prior notice, he was granted a window of time of twenty-four hours before he was to be put to passing. That that day, I took him in as my own.
After Satchi moved into his new house, he gazed at Nali in the same manner that she had looked at Amba. Instantaneously, he started to see her as his closest friend, and she assisted him in overcoming many of the same anxieties that she had experienced when she was initially adopted. She assisted Satchi in making steady but steady progress, and then she presented him with the crowning achievement as a gift.
“Nali had the pillow one day, and he grabbed it as if to play tug, but she just let go of it, which was interesting because they typically, if not always, play tug with everything,” Lorenz said. “It was interesting because they usually, if not always, play tug with everything.” Once he had it in his possession, it seemed that she had no problem with his keeping it. It was almost as if the ‘cushion’ had completed its task for her, and she was aware that Satchi needed it just at this moment.
Now, if Satchi is nervous or anxious, he brings the travel pillow to bed with him and also keeps it in the vehicle with him. Nali gave it to him with the expectation that it would be of assistance to him to the same extent that it had been of use to her, and that maybe one day he will in turn give it to another dog who is in need.
