A SAD ARTICLE

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This article was published in The Messenger Index Newspaper in Emmett, Idaho. USA

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Subject: For Shelbi and friends with love

She wandered into the city park one evening, she may have been someone's pet for awhile but she was tired and hungry now and the sound of people and the smell of food attracted her.

Her color suggested possible border collie and her age somewhere around a year old. The exact history is not known. She was rather thin and somewhat spooky.

Some little girls playing in the park managed to gain her trust and she was very happy as they fed her and gave her lots of hugs. Several people witnessed her chasing cars as the evening set in. This is a very natural instinct for a dog of the herding group. She thought the park belonged to her now and was going to chase away those that did not seem to belong. After the girls went home she tried to get brave enough to let some adults pet her but the fear in her heart was overpowering.

She curled up under a bush in the park to get some rest and await the sounds of the little girl voices that she had grown to trust. This pup may have had an owner somewhere but she was wearing no identification. Her coat was dull and she was very thin. This could identify her as just another stray dog without a home. One can speculate but will never know the true story as to how she got to the city park.

The girls drew up plans that evening to try and construct a dog house for her. They thought if they built a doghouse and explained that they would attempt to make money to feed her, one of the parents would allow them to keep the little skinny stray until another home could be found. After all one of the girls grandmother worked at the pound and surely she would help them.

The next morning the girls gathered at the park to find their secret treasure. The little dog had been avoiding adults in uniform all morning and was very scared and hungry. All at once she heard those familiar little voices! Dashing to meet them ,she met only the force of a car coming down the road! The pain in her body brought screams of fear !

After the car went on, she tried to get up to go to the now weeping terrified girls but she was unable to move very far. Her back leg was torn almost off and blood poured from the wound. One of the men in uniform was summoned by a nice lady with a cellular phone. The wounded pup was wrapped in a towel and transported to the pound where she was given that final shot to eternal sleep. The wounds were so extensive that the vet could not save her.

Now this is where I come into the story. I received a call from my granddaughter, she was in tears and begging me to make doc fix the pup. I came home to be with her as she sobbed . I know it was only a lost stray pup, but to her it was a treasure. All pet lovers have experienced this pain at one time or another.

After her tears subsided, anger set in, she wanted to find that man in the blue car and tell him what she thought. She said if he would have stopped, it would have shown he cared. By driving away, he seemed cold and heartless. As for the pup ,stopping would not have done any good. The best medical care at this point would have been useless. Stopping after hitting a dog, especially with a crowd of upset people takes real bravery, but it is the right thing to do. As for the other people involved in this tragedy, many heartfelt thanks!

As I write the rough draft of a doghouse drawn by children lies crumpled on my desk. A box of Kleenex and memories sit beside it. The children will recover and the dilemma of stray dogs will continue. One only needs a trip to the pound to realize that the overpopulation of dogs is on the rise. My granddaughter and the others who saw the horror of a dog being hit, will have thoughts of the scene for a long time.

So ends the story of a skinny black and white pup.

Posted By
Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 12:40:29 -0600
From: "Brenda"
Article is a weekly written By Brenda Steinebach called Pet Ramblings

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