By Harry Burrus
Capture this in your mind’s eye: you have a chain around your neck that restricts your movement, you can’t recline and it’s difficult to sit; you can’t walk and you stand in feces and filth. You’re exposed to the elements and only occasionally are you given water to drink. On a rare occasion a piece of bread is thrown at your feet. You’re underweight and dehydrated and your ribcage prominently shows. There are no changes in your life either day in or day out, past or present. You are alone and depression has engulfed you.
«I’m coming to get you,» I call out as I approach Dexter’s casita. Head held high, his coal black pupils lock focus on me. His metronome tail movement begins a slow beat, the tempo increasing the closer I come. Dexter’s a few months past three years old and has a copper-brown-gold brindle-patterned coat. He reminds me of a tall, shy, handsome cowboy―Gary Cooper. Like Coop, Dexter’s behavior at first blush, comes across as laconic and taciturn, and he can surprise you with his emotional range. He’s no wallflower. He knows he’s going for a walk and I get an “aw shucks” smile as I attach his leash. He lets out a cheerful bark when I open his door, signaling we’re on our way.
Our walking pace varies. Dexter, at first slow but steady, absorbs his expanded worldview. There are so many new things to see and sniff and grass to munch on. As a fast-moving truck passes, it stops Dex’s movement and his tail goes between his legs. I comfort him, telling him it is okay. We continue up the street and turn a corner where six loose turkeys surprise us as they come up the hill. I think I jumped higher than Dexter did.
Now imagine the following: you now can move around with ease in your living room and bedroom. You can stretch out on a clean tile floor and look out your front window. Your bodyweight is good, your water bowl is full, and you receive daily meals via servicio a domicilio, which you devour. You have cleaning service a few times a day and you are now sure your gruesome past is behind you. You look forward to each new day. You have many friends like Scout and Crystal. Good vibes engulf you and you look forward to people coming to meet you. Your name, Dexter, is on your very own casita door.
Dexter is at the S.P.A., Los Pinos 7, 415-152-6124. Safe at last!See https://www.spasanmiguel.org/pet-food-money-bank to find out how to keep Dexter’s bowl and all the S.P.A.’s animals’ bowls filled by donating to our Pet Food Money Bank fundraiser. Matching donations through July 31, 2022 is an offer you can’t refuse.
