We have a new mouth to feed at our house. We didn’t plan it that way. In fact the Hubster and I’d had a conversation a few days earlier that we were content with our very placid lives – including the two wieners who own us and the two grown men-children who live in other states. Easy. That’s what our at-home lives were. Easy. Then I came home from work one day to find a message on my answering machine from an animal rescue. I heard the tale of a woman who called about her neighbors, or more aptly put, her former neighbors. It seems these folks had abandoned their home more than a month earlier and she, nor the neighbors on the other side of the newly departeds’ former home, realized they had gone. And it would not have mattered except that although they had gone, their animals had not. Four dogs and a cat were still residing in the back yard. She said that all were skin and bones. They were starving to death. The neighbor had called for help in rescuing the poor animals before something unthinkable happened to them. The Hubster arrived home and I told him what was going on. We went to the rescue and saw the pitiful dogs and the cat. The emaciated cat walked carefully and looked like she’d fall over if a light wind hit her. According to the rescuer, the cat and dogs looked way better than they did when she first saw them because she had been feeding them for close to a week. It was enough to make us cry. We agreed to take the one that would most likely fit in with our crew at home. They assured us that the other dog would be fostered until a home could be found. We went to the car and got the carrier and returned to pick up one, small, trembling dog and took her home. Our two wieners greeted their new sister with some skepticism, and the new girl did the same. She was very quiet. We tried to feed her, but she wasn’t interested. That night I made a bed for her on the floor next to the head of our bed. The other two were already asleep on their cushion on the floor at the foot. I placed our guest on her cushion. She immediately jumped up on our bed. I gently placed her back on her bed. A few seconds later she jumped back up. I repeated the procedure. Each time it took her longer to jump back to the bed. By the fifth time when I placed her back on her bed, she stayed there. All night. :She’s either a smart dog or exhausted dog,” I told the Hubster the next morning. “Probably both,” re replied. The next day she ate. She was hungry, very hungry. But we fed her a moderate amount. Not too much, too soon. By day three she’d assimilated into our household. By day five she’d had her first visit to the vet. “She probably wouldn’t have lasted much longer,” the vet said. “I suspect she was on her way out -- and she has heartworms.” We were sitting on a bench in his office with our new baby. The doctor’s assistant smiled, “She looks so happy sitting there between the two of you.” The vet said we needed to strengthen her for a while before he started the heartworm treatments. A woman from the animal rescue group said this is not an unusual scenario these days as more and more people lose their homes due to job loss and illness. The veterinarian and his staff said they had seen many, many animals that had been abandoned. People lose their homes – and leave their pets. But, I have to ask, “Is leaving animals alone, outside in the heat, to starve to death, the right way to handle that situation? Does that really seem like the right thing to do? Really?” Let’s think it through, folks. Surrendering formerly much-loved pets to the SPCA or an animal rescue group is a better decision than leaving creatures to starve to death. If you need help, contact:
• Frances R. Willis SPCA 136 Four Paws Ln, Summerville, SC (843) 871-3820; e-mail: manager@SummervilleSPCA.com