The sign, a stark message scrawled across a t-shirt, hung in the shelter like a small, desperate plea. Raised in the Pound Please Don’t Pet Me Let’s go Cleveland shirt… The words snagged in my throat a little bit, you know? My own childhood wasn’t exactly filled with sunshine and rainbows, and I got a quick image of a scared little pup, maybe a scruffy terrier mix, sitting in a cold kennel. It brought back this memory of my grandma, bless her ass, who always kept a bowl of hard candies on her kitchen table. They were never the good kind, the ones with the wrappers that stuck to your fingers, but I always felt welcomed when I saw them.