Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do and let the chips fall where they may.
In Galena, almost all of my neighbors were the “dogs as lawn ornaments” kind of people. I hated it.
Dogs are social beings. They want to be with their pack, not chained to a stake in the damned front yard or exiled to a wire crate on the edge of your property, living on cold concrete and eating your damned garbage.
I hated it.
But I don’t yet command the world, so I blessed the dogs and tried to stay neutral about their owners. Even if they were insensitive assholes.
One day, I noticed that the guy who owned a handsome Dalmation dog had moved out of the house he rented; but the dog was still chained to a stake in the front yard. He sat by his food and water bowl waiting patiently for his owner to return.
The next day the dog was still there by the food and water bowl, but the owner was no where in sight.
I spoke to Farmer Pete, who lived across the street. He felt it. He wasn’t willing to interfere.
I debated bringing the dog home, but this was well before Matisse. I was still firmly ensconced in Galena as the cat rescue lady. I wasn’t equipped for a dog, but I knew well enough that they need.
I fed and watered the dog.
On the third day, nothing else changed. Dog. Stake. No owner.
Fuck this.
I called the landlord of the rent house. If he didn’t locate the dog’s owner and take care of him, I would report his tenant for animal cruelty.
Being a Mexican in lily-white Galena was bad enough. The landlord didn’t need more trouble. Since the guy skipped out on the unpaid rent, he reasoned that he had an ace in the hole. He took the dog to his home until he could leverage it into the money due him.
Fine by me. The dog was being watered, fed and cared for. That was my sole objective.
Weeks later, the dog owner/tenant called me:
“Mind your own fucking business.”
“Fuck you, asshole. I did the right thing.”
Months go by. I encounter the landlord at a local function. I thanked him for taking the dog.
“You know. That dog caused me lot of trouble. He made a big mess in my house. But my son liked that dog. We still got him.”
Dog meet boy. Love at first sight. Match made in heaven.
Tears welled in my eyes. My heart swelled with pride. Small triumph.
I don’t know why I wanted to share this today. I just do.
