THE DOG THEY WANTED US TO PUT DOWN IS THE ONLY REASON MY DAUGHTER SLEEPS THROUGH THE NIGHT

When I first saw Tank, he didn’t look like a monster. He looked like a dog who’d stopped hoping to be understood.

A massive pit mix, all muscle and scars—the kind of dog people cross the street to avoid. The shelter had labeled him “unadoptable.” Too strong. Too unpredictable. Too intimidating. But I saw something else.