Anonymous
The white card over the door said he was a 2-year-old
German Shepherd, but the four-legged creature occupying the cramped cage
was neither noble, fearless, majestic, nor proud. He was a layer of skin
draped over a skeletal frame. He hadn't even the strength to lift his
head. The offer of a meat tidbit was ignored, the will to continue
existence in a human world had vanished.
Although he had been placed in a row of cages marked
"for adoption," officials hadn't bothered with inoculations. A dog that
no longer wanted anybody, was insensitive to the flies that feasted upon
his dirty body, could hardly be expected to appeal to visitors seeking
dogs to adopt. He no longer cared. He had no desire to be anyone's
friend. He wasn't waiting to be claimed by anyone except death. And it
seemed as if death wasn't in much of a hurry either.
I couldn't help wondering how this dog came into this
world. Was he the result of someone who owned a female and felt she was
"entitled" to have at least one litter? Was he the by-product of a
family educational object lesson? "We felt the kids should see the
miracle of birth."
Was he once someone's cute Christmas puppy that was
discarded along with the tinsel and tree? Or was he a training aid,
acquired to teach a child "responsibility"? Perhaps he was once a status
symbol, his usefulness outmoded by changing fads.
Is he nature's result of a dog allowed to run the
streets because of the mistaken philosophy that "dogs should be free and
not confined"?
The person who felt his female was entitled to have at
least one litter should be advised that at least one of the dogs he felt
she was entitled to have, has laid down on the floor of a cement cage to
die -- unwanting and unwanted. The parents who gave their children the
benefit of seeing the miracle of birth didn't complete the lesson. Their
children didn't get to see the miracle of death and how it is slowly
putting an end to this creature they caused to be brought into this
world.
The parents who hoped a new puppy would teach
responsibility to their child should know that the living, breathing
being that they gave to their child has almost breathed his last. Yes,
they should have waited until their child demonstrated his ability to
assume responsibility before placing a life in his hands.
And to the limp body on that cold cement floor -- what
can I say to you, old fellow? What excuses can I offer for the suffering
you have endured? How can I justify your existence? But it really
doesn't matter to you anymore, does it? You don't even feel the ticks
sucking the last vestiges of life from your veins. We don't deserve to
be your best friend, do we boy?
Go on to Think Of Me
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