After
much consideration, I stopped into the CACC in NYC to adopt a Chihuahua. As
I was waiting to be taken to the back, I saw a boxer sitting calmly in
the midst of chaos with the man who was "turning her in." She
observed and analyzed all that was going on around her, the barking, hysteria
of dogs being brought in by police, dogs let out of cages and frantically
struggling to get off their leashes, long lines of people waiting to find
lost animals, adopt animals, or give up animals. With all due respect
to the people who work there, it seemed to me to be a madhouse of sorrow
and fear.
I focused on the Boxer and prayed that she wasn't there to be turned
in. The man seemed attentive and occasionally bent down to pat her on the
head. "She seems to be very attached to you, I said." Yes, she's
a good dog, but my wife just had a baby and I can't keep her." I tried
to talk him into reconsidering, but he weakly smiled and said he couldn't.
It was hard to imagine that brilliant creature who trusted him so much
being put into a small cage and most likely casually killed within a few
days. I went to the back still thinking about her. There weren't
any Chihuahuas, I was feeling upset and I left. The trip back was
about two hours and less than half way I turned back….to get Ollie. "Sasha" had
already been taken in they told me and she might not be adoptable.
To make a long story short, several days later they released Ollie
(her new name) to me and I took her for a medical exam. During the exam,
we discovered a lump, a mass cell tumor was suspected, and Ollie had an
operation. She was special, when she came into my house I expected
an uproar from my two little dogs and cat. There wasn't even an insect
that got into the house without tons of fanfare, racing to and fro, and
often attempts to bite ankles and generally intimidate. Ollie walked
in and no one even blinked. It was as though they had known her their
entire lives.
The result of the biopsy showed that it was indeed a mass cell tumor
and the prognosis was 4 months! It was hard to believe that so strong
and beautiful a being could be so fatally ill, but, almost on schedule,
Ollie passed away five months later.
