An only child. 8 years old.

Since he was 5, all he ever wanted for his birthday was a puppy.

Every year, Mom and Dad would tell him the same thing. “You’re too young. You couldn’t take care of it. When you’re 8, you can get a puppy.”

So on his 8th birthday, Mom, Dad and the birthday boy went to a kennel.

Following through on their promise, the parents said, “You can get any puppy you want. Big, small, black, white, furry, hairless. Anything you want.”

The boy went from pen to pen, and saw 4 or 5 cute, gray, furry balls in each of them. Then in the next pen, there was an identical one, all by himself.

He said to his parents, “How come this one’s all by himself?”

“Well, you'll have to ask the manager.” So he tracked down the manager.

“Excuse me, sir. How come this little puppy is all by himself and not with his brothers and sisters?”

“Oh, that’s the saddest story in the whole store,” said the manager. “That puppy was born with a bad hip and bad leg. We’re going to have to put him to sleep.”

“Put him to sleep? Why?”

“Well, I know it sounds harsh,” said the manager, “but the truth of the matter is nobody will buy him. He’ll never be able to run and play with a little boy like you.”

“Well, would I hurt him if I picked him up?”

“No. Go ahead,” said the manager.

The boy picked up the puppy and scratched its head. In moments, the boy fell in love with the puppy, and he said, “Mom, Dad… I want this puppy.”

This shocked the manager. “If you do take this puppy,” he told the parents. “I’ll have to charge you the same amount, and it will cost you thousands of dollars in medical charges for operations, and there’s no guarantee his leg will be fixed.”

“Well, we’re in a bind. We told him he could get whatever one he wants, and he wants this one.”

They went to the cash register and paid for the puppy.

As the family was just about out the door, the store manager tracked them down again.

“Excuse me, son. I hate to bother you, but you just have to tell me. My curiosity just got too great. You could have had one of the healthy puppies. Why do you want this one?”

The boy gave his mom the puppy and he bent over and picked up the pants on his right leg, and he showed the store manager the brace on his right leg.

“Mister, I want this puppy, because I can understand what he’s going through.”

That is empathy. You feel what someone else is feeling, from their point of view.

If you only experience it from your own point of view, that’s just sympathy.

Empathy builds real relationships.

As always,

Brian

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