|
Throw-Away Dog
From Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Dog’s Life
By Joyce Laird The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind.
~Theodorus Gaza Five years ago I had to do what every dog lover dreads the most, bring peace to a suffering friend and companion who had been at my side for eighteen years. My Lady Bear, a white Husky, could no longer walk, and at my age and with my arthritis I could no longer lift the large girl to carry her outside. I decided that after fifty years of dogs in my life, their lives were too short and mine was too long. Even though I figure I have about twenty years left, maybe more, and that would be about two dog lives, I was not going to get another and go through the pain of losing one again. But as the weeks turned into months, and even though I love my cats, I missed a dog around the house. My heart ached for Lady Bear. I missed the walks, the playing outside, the look of love in a dog’s eyes when she looks up at you. I started looking online and in the papers to see what a new pup would cost. I wanted either a Husky like Lady or maybe a Collie like my first two dogs. I’d always had big dogs. When I saw that breeders were asking three times my mortgage payment for a pup, it ended my search. I definitely could not afford it and even though my heart goes out to rescuing pets, I was loathe to try the animal shelter because any dog at my house had to get along with cats. I didn’t want to bring one home, have a drama ensue, and then have to return the poor thing. So I simply stopped looking. (Keep reading) | 