Angels Don't Always Have Wings
From Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Dogs
By Deborah Kellogg

Angels appear in many different forms to hold your hand through the difficult times.
~Doreen Virtue

In 1972, I was spending the summer in Passau, Germany, studying at the Goethe-Institut. Passau is a lovely little city that sits on the border between Germany and Austria right at the confluence of the Inn, the Ilz, and the Danube rivers in a hilly part of southern Bavaria. From the tops of the cliffs above the rivers, one can see three bands of color floating downstream for several miles. The flower-filled garden of the institute sits on one of those hills, and the views from there are breathtaking.

One particular evening, though, I wasn't thinking about the view. I'd stayed late that night for one of the cultural activities the institute puts on for its students. Feeling warmed by conversation and a couple of the excellent local brews, I was ready to walk the two miles home. Normally, walking around a city in Germany, even today, is safe for single women regardless of the time of night because lots of locals are out, and there's an active police presence on foot, even in the quieter parts of town. People stop and talk to each other. So, I thought nothing of setting off on my own through the mild summer night to get back to the house I shared with several other students. (Keep reading)