Quadrant 1: I Love My Dog
Usually cooed when the dog is sleeping peacefully and being "oh so adorable" because, well, frankly, because it isn't doing anything you think is "bad" like peeing on your rug or jumping on your visitor or eating your pillow or running off or....._____.
Let me start out by saying that I'm truly happy about what's happened for the dogs of Bad Newz Kennels, infamously dubbed Vick's Dogs. Not many dogs have been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. But these famous dogs with the famous name are the cover story in the Dec. 29 issue of Sports Illustrated. However, as happy as I am for their outcome, I can't help but wonder what the future holds for the Rive/Sledge dogs, seized during a dog fighting ring bust in Enfield, North Carolina a couple of months ago. I wonder if they've all been euthanized like the article in the Rocky Mount Telegram said they likely would be?
I never thought I'd be writing a eulogy for my youngest dog first. I have 2 geriatric dogs, and my 2 year old is the one I lose!
I will never forget a conversation I had with a woman years ago when I was a young, single parent. I was expressing my exhaustion, feelings of being overwhelmed and sense of loneliness at not having a partner to depend on for parenting help. I was speechless when she replied with, “But, you do love your kids, don’t you?”
I was completely taken aback! I felt a surge of guilt and quickly said, “Oh yes of course! As hard as it is, I LOVE every minute of it!” That was an absolute lie.
Some years later, when my kids were nearly grown, I watched an episode of Oprah where mothers were talking about the reality of parenting, sans the romance. I actually cried. It was so nice to hear moms admitting such forbidden things as feeling resentment and even temporary hatred for their children. It was comforting to know that I wasn’t evil because I occasionally fantasized about just getting in the car, driving away and never looking back.
Years ago, back when I lived in Chicago, I worked for a kind woman who watched the winter weather like a hawk and sprung into action on the city’s coldest (cruelest) nights. Chicago can get pretty cold (gross understatement) and there are lots of watchdogs on various lots with little-to-no attention and minimal-but-standard-meeting housing.
During these cold spells she’d gather blankets and prepare a warm gruel and attend to these forgotten canine servants under cover of the winter darkness. She wasn’t being sneaky, she was always one for honesty and education and also took time to befriend the dogs “owners” with the hope of coaxing them to take better care of their furry work crews and chose to lead by example and also provide the necessary tools for making life more comfortable for the dogs herself. She may have also brought chew-bones now and again, I don’t really remember, but providing warmth and basic care was her main goal.
