Not Wanted, Anymore

As I listened to the plaintiff cries of the 'puppy', after 'Sally's' re-dressing appointment, I asked the technician on duty about the latest patient of the day. Thinking it was a case of spaying or surgery of some kind, I was unprepared for yet another sad story. He was a rescue, a senior statesman, an unwanted. His medical history had become his albatross, as his 'owners' no longer wanted him, his age or health issues to 'bother' them any longer. He had been found 'lost' in the woods.

The world of canine abandonment is a busy, endless place. I remember the story of a couple who rescued a puppy from euthanasia, moments before it was to happen. Their Labrador retriever puppy lived to the ripe old age of 19 years, an incredible age for any dog. Then there were the endless stories of dog owners who wanted 'them' out of their lives simply because the canines no longer matched the colour of their home decor.

The web is awash in horrific videos and pictures of defenseless, innocent pets whose owners  callously deposited them outdoors to die. The outdoors proved to be their lucky escape for many of them. Witnesses abound there. Reasons to put animals to sleep are endless. Dogs and cats are called animals yet we are the humans. I do not understand! But abandonment is easy. When pet ownership becomes overwhelming, discarding the family pet, when help is just a phone call away, is never an excuse. ...

Dogs do not judge. Unlike cats, they do not hold a grudge, for long. They do not care about lifestyle. They simply exist to run, sleep, eat, play and do our bidding while making us smile and healthy along the way. They give us purpose and help socialize us, too. They are, most assuredly, a daily teaching tool, an escape to reality. They make us human!

Our first pet was an abandoned three-month-old retriever found wandering 'alone' in the biggest Toronto landmark called High Park. My brother and his lifeguard buddies who discovered this vulnerable beauty took turns caring for her each day until her owners could be found. No such luck. With no collar on her for identification, there seemed to be no way to find them. I was leaving Toronto for a teaching post, up north. It made sense for us to take her with us. We adopted her in a heartbeat. Her litter, months later, after a summer trip out west, created the double edge scenario of the two dog family. It made sense to us. It made sense to them, too. That was 46 years ago. Our canine journey had begun.

Becoming pet owners to Sheba, decades ago, was life altering. She presented us with a litter of 9, months later. (Spaying had been forgotten). Later into the school term, we were evicted from our rental unit because of our new family circumstance. We had decided to keep one of her litter, a son. Once the 8 puppies found forever homes, we moved to another city, for a new teaching post, renting another house but summarily evicted, again, when the adult children learned of the 'mother and son' furry couple who would be living in their mom's rental house. In less than 9 days we became reluctant homeowners, forced to buy a tiny abode with only two conditions. The house had to have a roof and 4 straight walls. School would begin soon and winter was just around the corner. The thought of ridding our lives of our pets never entered our minds. They were family and the better part of us.

He walked in as I was paying the bill. His little pet had been soiling the house. He wanted it euthanized. What was I hearing? An infection in a young animal deserved euthanasia? Tests would reveal the problem, he was told. But he did not care! He was in a hurry. The clinic declined his request to impose the death sentence upon an innocent. The man left. Jumping the queue to euthanasia, that horrible of all moments, says alot about who we are and the direction we are headed. 

Dogs bring us joy, unbridled laughter, sadness, too. They're our in-house therapists in a frenetic, seeming uncaring world. They help bring us together, help us re-focus and redefine who we are. Pity has no place in the dog kingdom. They do not know its meaning. Our pets force us to move in all kinds of weather while making us better at being human. We are their willing students: they, our teachers, everlasting. Abandonment is a callous solution.


Next: Momsey's Incredible Grandson!