So, we adopt this cute little dog from the shelter and give her a home. According to the pound from whence she came, at two years of age, she had been a stray her whole life. I immediately felt a pull to her, a motherly need to save her from her pathetic existence, which surely involved routing around in trashbins, ripping apart bunny rabbits who failed to evade her extraordinary Beagle snout, being shooed off porches by crotchety old women wielding brooms. It became my mission to fill out her waifish waistline - we bought the dog food whose bag boasted the most human-worthy ingredients - and to allow her to live in comfort from here on out. Maddie and I loaded our PetSmart cart with a fleece-lined bed, rhinestone-studded collar, a leash we figured was long enough to permit her to feel as unconstrained as possible. We even got poop clean-up bags that attached to the leash in a holder that looks like a fire hydrant!!! We had her professionally bathed, deodorized, nail-clipped. She got brand new pink food and water bowls and bags of yummy treats which we planned to dispense on a regular basis. We whisked her away to the vet for a complete checkup as soon as possible; there she received the vaccinations which would protect her from all the horrid canine medical dangers out there. She was dewormed, spayed, poked and prodded, all the while exhibiting her little doggie smile, leading us to believe she harbored none but the purest intentions...
Don't get too cozy - this is where the story turns dark. Lock your doors and hide your young.
This morning I let her out into the yard, attaching her collar to a cable we have staked into the ground. It is a long cable and she is able to run around the yard while attached (yes, I paid extra for the long cable.). When I went outside to let her in for her breakfast, she was gone, the hook end of the cable resting innocently on the grass as though laid down gently with the aid of opposable thumbs. But the truth is that I must not have attached the cable correctly and she broke free. She was gone - really, really gone. No stray strands of fur lingering in the air, no sound of paw-steps echoing from the field beyond our yard, just the stark absence of Ava.
It was time for Madeleine to get to school and I had to leave for work from there. But my plans were now thrown askew by her break. I dropped Maddie off and came back home, walking through the dewy grass of the field, listening to my voice ricochet in the air as I called her name. Back into the car I went and coursed around the neighborhood until I thought the old man arranging his garbage outside was going to call the police on what he surely began to think was a stalker. Then I got pissed.
What in the world does it take to let something know you love it enough to rescue it from a life of wandering around, scrounging for food, risking disease and maiming by larger, fiercer animals? Did she forget the caged misery she endured while in the shelter, sleeping on a hard, painted slab of concrete, wet from the spray of cold hose water constantly washing away the stink of her waste? Did she enjoy the dearth of warm human touch, coos and nighttime tuckings in?
I know I am forcing my human emotions, wants and needs upon her, but for Pete's sake - why is she willing to give up everything to run the hell away?
Okay, I feel better now. As much respect as I have for animals, she is still, after all, a dog. And now she's in jail - animal control picked her up this morning. Ha ha on you, Ava. Oh, wait, we're the ones that will have to pay a fine to get her back.
Don't get too cozy - this is where the story turns dark. Lock your doors and hide your young.
This morning I let her out into the yard, attaching her collar to a cable we have staked into the ground. It is a long cable and she is able to run around the yard while attached (yes, I paid extra for the long cable.). When I went outside to let her in for her breakfast, she was gone, the hook end of the cable resting innocently on the grass as though laid down gently with the aid of opposable thumbs. But the truth is that I must not have attached the cable correctly and she broke free. She was gone - really, really gone. No stray strands of fur lingering in the air, no sound of paw-steps echoing from the field beyond our yard, just the stark absence of Ava.
It was time for Madeleine to get to school and I had to leave for work from there. But my plans were now thrown askew by her break. I dropped Maddie off and came back home, walking through the dewy grass of the field, listening to my voice ricochet in the air as I called her name. Back into the car I went and coursed around the neighborhood until I thought the old man arranging his garbage outside was going to call the police on what he surely began to think was a stalker. Then I got pissed.
What in the world does it take to let something know you love it enough to rescue it from a life of wandering around, scrounging for food, risking disease and maiming by larger, fiercer animals? Did she forget the caged misery she endured while in the shelter, sleeping on a hard, painted slab of concrete, wet from the spray of cold hose water constantly washing away the stink of her waste? Did she enjoy the dearth of warm human touch, coos and nighttime tuckings in?
I know I am forcing my human emotions, wants and needs upon her, but for Pete's sake - why is she willing to give up everything to run the hell away?
Okay, I feel better now. As much respect as I have for animals, she is still, after all, a dog. And now she's in jail - animal control picked her up this morning. Ha ha on you, Ava. Oh, wait, we're the ones that will have to pay a fine to get her back.
Ilovemydogilovemydogilovemydog...
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