It's 6:30 a.m. and the predominating silence of the night has once more been shattered by the early morn's mournful cries of the neighbor's new puppy. At this moment it's a mild 46 degrees outside, well above freezing, but for the puppy in its first night at its new home, it's frigidly lonely.
After joining my wife in the backyard late last night as she introduced me to the newest member of the neighborhood, I retired. Trying to ignore the pitiful wailings from next door, I finally fell asleep.
But sleep didn't come as easily for my wife. She, too, had retired but apparently was unable to shut out the crying puppy. A bit later when turning over, I noticed her absence. As I lie there listening for her, the puppy's sobs once more permeated my conscience.
And then a funny thing happened. The puppy's crying suddenly gave way to puppy yelps and pleas and I knew where my wife had gone--back to the backyard! I'm not sure whether my wife's presence alleviated, for the moment, that dog's loneliness or exacerbated it.
But if there's one thing we both know, it's that dogs are pack animals. Attachment and loyalty to their family are primo priorities and we know how that puppy was suffering desperately all through the night at its imposed isolation from all creatures of which its only desperate need was
to love just one. That's all. But that was not to be. What a sad welcoming to that dog's new life.
We often think people should not be able to just go out on whim and plunk down a few bucks for a pet, especially a dog, without the awareness of what dogs are and why they are here. They are sentient creatures with the most important missions on Earth. Their very essence necessitates companionship of another creature to love. They are mankind's gift serving to remind of the better world it could be if only we could emulate dog's ability to love. Sadly, many people like our neighbors aren't getting the message. Despite all of "puppy's" pleas. Obviously not up to the companionship they chose to ignore all night, maybe today they can return their "merchandise"; maybe get a refund.
5 comments:
Such a sad story. what is wrong with people. where is the humanity in isolating a pack animal from its pack. I agree, why even get the dog in the first place? We've dealt with bad petowning neighbors before too & noticed ignorance plays a part, but most angering is the "it's only a dog" attitude. It's makes you feel so impotent because the law favors them as property owners. Not to mention destroying any vestige of neighborliness if you pursue it. Your wife is very brave as I'm sure you've noticed all these Texans have guns & wouldn't mind shooting someone messing around their "property". If you can bring yourself to speak to the jerk, I'm sure you'll point out that there are no loner dogs in the wild.
In our last house, we had neighbors who just refused to feed their dog. It was a semi-rural, no fence near-wilderness area & I guess they thought the dog should hunt for his food. Extremely shy, we all fed him when he showed up. Finally another neighbor announced to the idiot, I'm adopting your dog. Believe it or not, idiot agreed & then a few months later got himself another dog! Same situation all over again, except this time the dog got hit by a car. It actually happened once more before we moved & his last dog just ran away (hope he made it; we're talking cougar country). Idiot neighbor never saw anything wrong with his actions!
Hopefully that puppy can penetrate your neighbor's hearts before he becomes another statistic (& they lose a little more of their humanity). D.K.
P.S. forgot to say when I first saw your headline, my heart sank thinking it was about your last greyhound standing. Also, wondering how your neice's StB knee surgery went? D.K.
I am glad that your pup is okay and loved by you two- like DK I had heart failure for a moment there...I don't understand people- at all- all and I mean ALL animals need care and TLC...nobody deserves to be put out in the cold- welp except maybe your neighbor...
Glad your wife went and tended to the pup...
would have done the very same...
( part II of the Enigma Women is up- about Flo....)
when i lived in the suburbs, i had the "neighbors from hell" who went through dog after dog and constantly left the poor animals outside and raising canine ruckuses...i was not very diplomatic in my approach to the problem and damned near got into a fistfight with one of the 6'6" punks about it...best for me just to move away and find a place where dogs left alone are far enough away not to bother me with their loneliness...much...
D.K. Ahhh, thank you. It was never my intention to give anyone familiar with our shrinking family concern we had lost our last grey. (BTW, I can speak Scottish...it happened after we acquired these beautiful animals. Ready?
"Ya canna foughten a grerhund!"
Unfortunately, that's all the Scottish I know. Anyway, I could see where you might have gotten the impression that something had befallen our "Pony" from that subject line. She's old, and some days slow, but she's definitely inherited "numero uno" status with us.
Thanks for sharing your story of your neighbors. Just incredible, isn't it, that there seems to be a segmentof the pop. who is sooo totally insensitive to our fellow cosmic travellers.
As for speaking to the neighbor, my wife is already rehearsing possible conversation scenarios for just such an encounter.
I hate having a neighbor involved in this kind of treatment. It's been so nice these past couple of years since their last dog fiasco.
Briefly, Boxer was a precursor to this current pup's future. A lonesome existence. Boxer was a homely little guy, but as sweet as they come. We'd "play" over the wall and I'd give him treats, talk to him. Some times he was chained for digging. Bastards! What else was there to do all day alone?
Then he suddenly disappeared. We learned from another neighbor, they'd taken him out with them for a ride. It was summer. In the car too long, he died!
e4e: I just read your comment to my wife. Thank you for the support. I like your suggestion for the neighbors....let 'em switch places. There's just not enough empathy in the world.
It's now 10 p.m. and the puppy's crying and crying. I heard the neighbors out earlier. They took five minutes or so to water and feed him. That was their time with him today.
BTW, read your part II of Enigma women this morning...you've the story of Flo. Excellent stuff.
And Maineiac...your story of doing battle with your neighbors, risking bodily harm, reminds me of the wife giving water to a waterless pup on a chain to short to reach his bowl.
The owner came over to assure us the dog was okay. If we'd thought it'd done any good, we'da just turned the bastard in.
But these stories are all kind of metaphors for the political mess we find ourselves in, where they're the owners and we're the dogs.
Thanks all for the kind words and empathy for the neighbor dogger.
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