I was just a small puppy then. I had no knowledge of the
outside world and I didn't know what was going to happen to me. They had just
brought me home from that place, the place where I was in the cage, with the
glass window where people would look at me and smile. I would get excited
but the people would just walk away and leave me there alone. I didn't know of
anything different at that point so it didn't really make me sad. One morning,
I was brought out of the cage and into a small room full of toys and brushes.
It was amazing. The people started to pet me and play with me. I jumped around
and it made them laugh. I fetched the toy when they threw it and they rewarded
me with a belly rub and a hug. They put a collar around my neck and walked me
out of the room. I went home with the people I played with that day. They loved
me. I played with my humans all day and slept with them at night, and I started
to think that maybe this was how it's supposed to be. Maybe I'm meant to be
loved all the time, not just sometimes when someone wanted to comment on how
cute I was then lock me back up in a cage.
But as I grew, the humans started to play with me less and less
until finally they just started leaving me outside all day and would bring me
inside only at night, condemned to a kennel. After awhile even that stopped.
They would leave me outside all day and night and didn't feed me as much as
they used to. Sometimes, I would go days without a meal. When I begged to get
inside with a bark and a whine they would scold me when all I wanted was a hug.
That was something they used to do often but now they didn't even acknowledge
me...unless I did something bad. I barked all night and whined all day, just
hoping that it would pay off, just one more belly rub. Maybe I would be able to
see their face again, even if it just was a face of hatred towards me.
Finally, they opened the door to the small yard and lifted me
into their arms. I was so excited! Maybe they were bringing me in to play or
maybe they just wanted to cuddle. Either way I knew I was going to be happy.
They didn't set me on the floor to play or put me on the couch to cuddle,
however. They carried me out another door. I was outside again but they kept walking
with me until we got to the strange machine my human called a “car” and we
began to move. I wondered where we were going. I wasn't sure if we were going
somewhere fun. We drove up to another strange place. Was it somewhere fun? What
was going to happen here? They took me inside. This was odd. It smelled of
other animals, just like me! They carried me over to the desk where the lady
sat. They talked to her for a minute and she took me from them. I didn't know
what was happening. The lady took me out of the room when the door closed
behind me. The last glimpse of my humans face I got was them standing there not
looking at me. Why were they not looking at me? What was wrong?!?! I had to
know! I flailed around trying to get out the grip of the woman's arms but she
held on tight and wouldn't let me go. I whined and whimpered. What was wrong
with my human? Then she set me down on the concrete floor, amongst the barking
and whining of all the other dogs around me and turned around. I tried to
follow her but she pushed me back into the enclosed area with her foot. What
was happening?
Then I understood. She slammed the cold metal door behind her
and walked away. It was happening again. I wasn't meant to be loved, played
with, or hugged. I was just meant to sit in a kennel all my life. No one loved
me and I knew that now. I didn't know why though. What did I do wrong?
Well done, Madison. Those who abandon pets anywhere - the shelter or worse, the outdoors - are villains beyond description. But I console myself that they will get what they deserve either in this life or in one to come.
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