['I had to sit with a dying dog at the rescue today.   It was sad but I felt like he deserved to be loved on before he passed away']
That is terribly sad. I volunteer at our local shelter. I just love dogs.
I volunteer at a local animal rescue.   We get some dogs in there that are in poor health.  We once had this old chow come in that was so matted that he had maggots eating away his skin.  I knew he wouldn't make it so I sat on the ground next to him and comforted him despite the maggots crawling on the ground.   I pet him and told him that I loved him.  In that moment I felt very caring because that poor dog deserved some type of love at the end of his life.