Melinda Roth > Quotes

“It still shocks me sometimes that other people don’t feel the way I do about the dogs,” he said, “When I first started doing this, I was surprised that other people didn’t hear the dogs talking to them, you know? They tell you when they’re hungry, when they’re sad, when they’re happy. I mean, they’re just like us; they’re living, breathing beings who search for happiness just like we do. They want comfort. They want a nice place to sleep, good food, and treats. They want to be loved and wanted.”

But you know, I’ve realized that people choose not to hear them. People are selfish and don’t want to see suffering. I mean, it’s easier just to get rid of them, not to feed them, to kick them when they get in the way. Then it doesn’t hurt to look at them, to hear them beg for help.”
― Melinda Roth, The Man Who Talks to Dogs: The Story of Randy Grim and His Fight to Save America's Abandoned Dogs

“When she looked up into his eyes, Randy saw the look he’d seen before in hundreds of dogs when they realized that being wild was over, when they realized they couldn’t hunt, could fight disease, couldn’t depend on the pack. It was a look that said they were tired, a look that said they had no choices anymore. On Sunshine, who had probably watched her pups die slowly one by one, probably licked them and nudged them and savored their warmth of their bodies until the awful moment of cold clarity hit her, it was a look that said, I give up.”
― Melinda Roth, The Man Who Talks to Dogs: The Story of Randy Grim and His Fight to Save America's Abandoned Dogs

“He was a well-educated, successful, thirty-five-year-old business owner who was sardonic, easily stressed, and disillusioned with the human race. He didn’t like children and he made fun of old people. His laundry list of phobias included drinking tap water, walking through grocery stores, and driving on highways. He smoked too much and suffered incapacitating panic attacks. Yet as founder of Stray Rescue in St. Louis, he spent his days chasing wild, injured, diseased dogs that no one else would touch.”
― Melinda Roth, The Man Who Talks to Dogs: The Story of Randy Grim and His Fight to Save America's Abandoned Dogs