Old Dogs

'Old Dogs'
I've got an old dog in my backyard. Nothing new about that scenario but this is an old dog that's new to me. He's lost and is looking for his home. He's a shepard mix of some sort and old enough to have met Columbus when his ship first arrived- at east that's what I'm guessing. He's blind, partly crippled and deaf with a tumor on his right hind leg. But he's a good old dog.

He was wandering in heavy traffic out on W. Main Friday afternoon, looking helpless when a lady coming from the other direction stopped, grabbed him out of the traffic and put him on the shoulder of the road. DJ Duncan was with me and guilted me into picking the poor thing up and stashing him in my backyard until something could be done. I called the police department for the animal control department and of course it being a week-end no one was available.

So I fed the thing and gave him an old rug to sleep on. He's wearing a flea collar and another larger collar that looks like at one time he may have had a tag but it's been broken off. During the Monday morning drizzle I stashed him on a blanket in the kitchen. He looks a bit dazed but appreciative. I think.

The older I get the more I identify with old dogs. This dog has had a full life. He might have helped out on the farm, maybe helped raise a kid or two. He might have chased off a few burglars, made guests feel welcome or anxious as the case may be. He may have been someone's partner riding shotgun in the front seat or in the back of a pick up truck.

He may even made friends with an old cat at some point in time. Many old dogs and cats have curious relationships- if they live long enough. Kind of like us old people. In old age once-bitter enemies often find something in common they never had before; their time is almost up and they know it. And if they respect each other for nothing else, they respect each other for having lived so long against the odds.

If it's not in your budget to make a contribution to the local humane society please at least be kind to these animals. And remember to care of the ones you have. Wandering the streets blind and homeless or lying dead by the side of the road is not a fitting fate for ones who have loved you.