We rescued another dog yesterday. I don’t mean we went to the animal shelter and rescued a dog from there. That’s not rescuing a dog – that’s rescuing a dog from a rescuer who should know better (they run an animal shelter, after all). What I mean is we went somewhere that was very nice and picturesque – a beautiful lake within a very nice forest – and found an injured dog. The owner freed it from its 24-hour lockdown when we came upon it in its cage. This is where the dog had been staying 24 hours a day with almost no human contact, no treats, living outside – and where we live it does get cold in the winter and very hot in the summer.
We did not do what my daughter did a few years back when she went with a friend to visit a friend and found the friend’s boyfriend beating a dog with a stick. I don’t know where she got the courage to do what she did, but she grabbed the stick on the next downbeat, lifted the crying dog into her arms, cuddled it and told them they did not deserve a dog, told her friend she did not need a ride home – she could walk – and then did just that. No, we did not tell the owner she was cruel and take the dog from her, as my daughter had done. We offered her fifty dollars, she accepted, and the dog was ours.
The ride home was downright scary for her, but I kept her in my lap, petting her the entire way, and every now and then she would turn to me as if to ask what I was doing. We gave her a few treats when we arrived home and she was too scared to eat them at first, but then she ate them all. We named her Moa. She can now climb stairs, come to us without a nervous tic, go outside on a leash (something that was totally foreign to her), and we are working on the bloody sore on her front leg.
Since my daughter brought the first dog home to us and told us how she managed to get it away from his abuser, we have accumulated and assisted quite a number of dogs. That first dog still lives with us. Other dogs we took in, we found owners for them, and for the most part we have been fairly successful. One dog I miss was badly injured, obviously starving and sick. We tried, but she was too much. In the end we sought the help of a vet, who recommended an animal shelter. Unfortunately, we learned too late they put animals to death as fast as they find animals to display for adoption. I’m hopeful she found a good home. If not, I’m hoping she will accept my apology for not keeping her.
A second dog – a very large cane corso – lives with us too. His owner brought him to us after he heard rumors there was an actual hit on him – someone was threatening to shoot him and/or poison him. When the owner found out someone was kicking him and another person was throwing water at him while he was at work, he took the rumors seriously, and we have him now, a fantastic dog, well behaved and the best partner for serious exercise. We walk a few times a day a half-mile or more up and down hills, and because of his weight and strength, I weight-lift when I walk him (or is it him walking me?), walk at different speeds, and am constantly doing aerobic exercises. Since where he is is a secret, we keep him safe and healthy.
Now we have our third addition. Three abused dogs – though the owner of the second was unaware what was going on when he was at work – and all three are doing fine. The big one will probably be going home soon. We know who the people are who threatened him, kicked him, and abused him with cold water. I’m not as strong as I used to be, but I have a strong wife...we’re ready.
Adopt a dog from a shelter if you want a dog. Rescue it, please, from its rescuers.
| Copyright © 2020 by Michael H. Brownstein Michael H. Brownstein’s volumes of poetry, A Slipknot Into Somewhere Else and How Do We Create Love?, were published by Cholla Needles Press in 2018 & 2019, respectively. |
We have never gotten an animal from a pet store; the last 9 dogs we've had were rescued from abusers. We did, with the help of our neighbor, basically steal our current boy, Billy; he was locked in a 6x8 washroom all day then beaten for making a mess. The neighbor, Sue, has taken 3 dogs from them, two voluntarily and the one by duress, and she gave them such a dressing-down they never made a peep. Sue is a treasure, a stick of a gal with a lion's heart. Doesn't have 2 dimes to rub together but will not turn down a dog, especially a pit. We just lost Jackie, the Karma Kitty, I haven't been able to write about it yet but I will. He was a stray, Booger is a stray, most beautiful Maine Coon, Bubsky the Polish cat we rescued from a feral colony, and our latest, Pooh Bear, came from the local no-kill, an all-animal rescue to which we contribute. I've also brought them injured wildlife a few times. I really love how you're "hiding" the big guy who's "on the lam". You don't need to buy an animal; they just come your way in life. The religious might say God puts them in your way for a reason. Anyone who abuses an animal is flat out sick.
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