A dog in our neighborhood died today. I wrote this article last May and now I am posting this in her memory.
I truly believe dogs are human babies trapped in cute four-legged furry bodies. Based on my experience from years of having pooches around, they have human-like characteristics such as intelligence, sweetness and loyalty to name a few. But why do others choose to torture them?
Animal cruelty is usually associated with the physical blows like directly hitting. Other physical forms of animal torture include dog fighting, hunting of confined animals for sports, circus practices and laboratory experimentations. One type of cruelty we often witness but overlook is the way unfit owners neglect and abandon their pets. We consciously or unconsciously believe it’s nothing compared to the ones I mentioned above. Well, I beg to differ. You’ll know why.
It really pains me to see stray dogs scavenging for food, home and love. People tend to be scared of them, as they are called asong kalye or askal, because they look dirty, smelly and vicious. Some would automatically assume that they bite. I really couldn’t blame them because realistically, you couldn’t just offer your hand to a random askal. Dogs, unlike their wolf ancestors, are supposed to be domesticated and they should have a family to be taken care of and to take care as well. Yes, dogs in return offer their masters protection, love and loyalty. Since they are left in the wild, expect them to have (some) instincts of animals in the wild. Negligence and abandonment are not usually categorized by others as cruelty since it just seems mild. There is nothing mild about the daily search for food where your enemies consist of people and dogs. Looking for even a decent shade against the heat of the sun and pouring rain is difficult. We complain about sweating too much because of El Niño, ignoring homeless dogs who pant so much because they can’t sweat You may be wondering why this is such a big deal for me. You see, as an owner of four dogs, I am so bothered to see a lot of stray dogs everywhere especially here in our community. Where do they all come from? I mean, do they just suddenly appear out of nowhere?
There are so many reasons why I hate our new neighbors. They have these annoying spoiled boys who keep on shouting and crying so early in the morning. Honestly, you get used to them eventually so I forgive them for that. There is, however, another reason why I blow a fuse at the mere sight of them. You couldn’t really call them responsible pet owners. They have this cute and active mongrel that they refuse to take care. The dog would constantly visit us in our house and we would let her eat and drink every now and then. She (yes! the dog is a she) would sometimes sleep outside our house as if we were her owners. When we go out, she would follow us until we ride the car or tricycle and when we return, she would happily greet us.
We have come to love this dog I call Baby. I know it’s such an uncreative dog name but the first time I called her this, she responded by wagging her tail and coming to me. There are times when we don’t see Baby but she would come back eventually. There was an instance though that we got so worried because we never saw her for weeks. We really thought she was dead. When I finally got to see Baby again, my heart was broken. I hardly recognized her because of hair loss brought by skin disease, with so many wounds and scabs. I think Baby had mange, a skin disease caused by parasitic mites. Not only was she different physically, she was aloof and the luster in her eyes was gone. When I would call her, she would runaway. I blame our neighbors for this. Was it really hard to provide food, drink and shelter to one dog? We have four dogs and it’s not really a burden. It is sometimes tiring but it’s okay because we love them. If the owners really don’t have time to prepare food, is it such a devil of a job to give the dog leftovers? Leftovers aren’t the best food option but they are better than trash. Would it kill them if you call your dog to go inside the gate? I don’t think so.
I was lucky enough to have taken a picture of Baby when she was still healthy and pretty. This was taken last year when she confidently got inside our house. I took another photo of how she looked before she died. I changed my mind about posting it here because the photo really looks disturbing.
If I may be idealistic, I would adopt Baby and all the stray dogs but realistically speaking, I don’t have the time and money for all of them. I am doing my part by sharing this information through my blog. I am appealing to those who are reading this. Please take care of your dogs, bred or mutts alike. If you have dogs that are outside your house and you think it’s okay… No, it’s not okay. Show some love by letting them in and saving them from diseases. Take time to bond with them and you will realize the joy they bring. Trust me! You’re really missing out on a lot of things.
It broke my heart when I found out Baby died today. She was found under our car parked outside. I didn’t look at her because I knew I would really weep. R.I.P. Baby. I know you’re in dog heaven right now.
