In my e-mail today, there was a message one from our alderman. He keeps people informed and passes on messages. He forwards community news, events and requests from people in our town. His e-mail today had a plea to foster a dog.
If you may recall, I fostered Miracle and later adopted her, when her owner never claimed her. She has been with us for more than a year. She is a source of joy. Miracle is a very sweet, tame and gentle bird. She spends most of her time with me when out of her cage. She was very easy to train. She has become my little companion and is becoming very affectionate. She calls to me when she hears me come in the door. I couldn’t be more blessed by this lovely little creature if I chose her myself. So the message about this poor dog touched me deeply. Here is a synopsis of the plea for help;
"The shelter has run out of foster homes and they need your help. He has been at the shelter about 2 months. He was brought in as give-up, because his owners moved. He needs surgery to correct a congenital defect. The surgery is fairly easy, but the recovery is hard. He will require a lot of rest and quiet. Obviously the shelter is not the ideal place. It will take 6-8 weeks for him to recover. He should be the only dog in your house. He is neutered, 2 or 3 years old, strong and weighs about 80 pounds. They are looking for someone with experience with this type of dog. The shelter will pay his medical bills and also provide supplies and food. They only ask that you can get him to vet for appointments."
Well that plea certainly made me want to help him. Maybe the owners did move; maybe he was too much to handle; or maybe they couldn’t afford the medical bills. A lot of animals are given up because of the economy or people just don’t know how to handle the animals. Lots of people give pets away they just don’t want. Unfortunately that’s a sad fact of life. That is why there are so many pets in shelters, especially in hard times.
So I thought I would inquire about the dog. Maybe I could foster hm. I went to the shelter and asked about him. They told me I was probably not the best person to foster him. I didn’t have experience with a dog like him. They said they received some calls inquiring about the dog and were hopeful they may have found someone capable of fostering him.
I told them I wanted to do something to help, so I gave a donation for several months of his care. They thanked me profusely for my interest and donation. A caring soul that volunteered there asked if I would like to meet him. I was very happy to.
You can only imagine the shock and anger I felt when I recognized the dog. I rarely get that angry. I tried as best as I could to hide my reaction from the workers. This was my neighbor’s dog. They had adopted him this spring. When they got him, they walked up and down the block showing him to neighbors. They did this several days the first week they brought him home. They had the dogs at each house come out and meet each other. I remember thinking that was a little odd, but kind of cool.
I got to meet him. I couldn’t get over how cute and friendly he was. He seemed to be fairly well behaved and was good on a leash. He seemed like the perfect dog for kids. I didn’t think about it again, until one day when one of the neighbors got a second rescue dog and was playing with him in his driveway. I was doing yard work. The other neighbor came out and looked over at the neighbor playing with the dog. He didn’t say hello to him and turned around and just went back inside. That was odd, they were friends. But it makes sense now. I hadn’t seen that dog for a long time. I realized hadn’t seen the dog at all for months. Now I knew why. They had given the dog to a shelter and lied that they were moving. Now tell me what kind of people do that?
The dog has unique markings and a very friendly attitude. So I knew in my gut that it was the same dog. They had another dog about 3 years ago, and it just disappeared too. I know some of you are thinking I should give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe I should, but I know that dog. I recognized the coloring, behavior and its markings. I know it is the same dog. I didn’t say anything to the workers. What would be the point? I didn’t or wouldn’t ask about the owners, because that information is confidential and I didn’t want confirmation. They would never tell me anyway, and do I really want to know? Not really.
How utterly reprehensible and extremely selfish to dump a pet; a family member like that. Would they dump their children? I don't think so. So you know why I got so angry; and I prayed to forgive them. I rarely have that kind of intense anger. I will have to meditate quite a bit to get past this. I am trying to understand and forgive. Thank goodness that dog is in a good place with people who care.
The people who owned him haven’t moved and they haven’t lost their jobs. They make very good money. They own expensive cars, finished remodeling their house and brag about the top of the line appliances they bought. But ask some people to take care of a dog with a congenital defect; and oh what the heck, why not just dump him at a shelter? So now you may be able to understand my reaction. I need to go and practice more loving kindness. I am working on that everyday.
Added noted: Practice compassion for all living things, human, animals, etc. I will be keeping track of the dog and hope to report good news soon.
Namaste
