A Simple Act of Love...
As I opened my van door I heard a sound that was a cross between a human scream and a howl. "What is that sound?" I asked the man who greeted me at his driveway. "Oh, that's a momma dog".
"What's wrong with her, I asked?" "I don't know, she's always like that" he answered. He then turned and asked his young children if they'd given the dog any water that morning. The answer was no. It was now almost 6:00 p.m.
I asked if I could see the dog and they lead me to a dark, dirty barn. A bone thin little black dog was chained in the building nearly choking herself to death--standing on her back legs--as the taut chain would not give in to her frantic demands to free her. She was trying to reach her puppies that were being kept a few feet away--just close enough for her to see them but just far enough so she couldn't reach them.
"Maybe she's hungry, we ran out of grain (dog food) a while back and just got some today," the man said. A nursing mom, no food, no water, her pups out of reach--a stinking, cold cement floor for a bed--the screaming howl made sense to me now but not to the man who could have cared less that just inches away from him an animal was in anguish.
I choked aside a mixture of disgust and anger and prayed to God I could hold my tongue just seconds before the man's last cruel, unbelievable verbal blow, "Well, if I can't get rid of them I'll just shoot them" he said--as he cocked the trigger on an imaginary gun and pointed it at the momma's head. His 6 children stood by with macabre grins on their dirty faces. In a burst of "humanity" he told me he'd give them to me for free. Quite honestly, at that moment, I would have taken all the money I could find to get those dear dogs out of there.
I took momma and 2 of the 3 pups as fast as I could get them loaded into the van. The last pup he would not give up because it was pretty and he wanted to keep her. The cycle of unwanted puppies would continue in this poor little girl I had no choice but to leave behind. My heart cried out to her but I knew that even if I could not get her now, she too would eventually become a nuisance and unwanted and I could get her then. If she survived--she and the other animals that live in this tortorous place.
I talked to the man about having the remaining puppy spayed so he would not have to worry about unwanted puppies in the future. "How much does something like that cost?" I told him about a low cost spay/neuter clinic and even offered to take the puppy to the clinic. He was going to have to think about it.
So I left that puppy behind and once I got in the van and headed home I just sobbed. I'm not one who cries often but I cried for those animals left behind and those I was taking to safety. I asked God to help those I had to leave at that place and, as what had just happened really settled into my heart, I cried for the unknown number of animals that were in that same desperate situation all across the world.
And then I asked myself how did we, as humans, reach this point? When did life--albeit animal life--become so worthless? How did we get to a place where we are so desensitized to suffering that seeing a living creature in agony does not touch something in us? Where does someone go in their minds to make it OK to basically torture, abuse or neglect any creature--animal or human--God has created?
I don't know that anyone can explain it simply except to simply say that though life holds many wonderful things it also holds some not so wonderful things.
And just when I was sure my heavy heart was forever changed from this awful experience God proved to me anew this morning that the wonderful things usually are not too far around the corner from the not so wonderful ones...
As I went out to check my dear rescues I saw momma taking mouthfuls of her dog food and laying them tenderly next to her babies. Though she had been almost starved to death, she showed more compassion, humanity and love than she had been shown all her life.
That simple act of love from a sweet spirited dog broke my heart and healed it at the same time.
Thank You Lord for the lesson taught by one simple gesture of one simple little dog.
P.S. I will be seeking to have all the animals legally removed from this "home". Please pray for those left behind.
Shepherdess Blog
November 8, 2012
Copyright 2012 Jackie Deems
One of the pups that was going to be shot
As I opened my van door I heard a sound that was a cross between a human scream and a howl. "What is that sound?" I asked the man who greeted me at his driveway. "Oh, that's a momma dog".
"What's wrong with her, I asked?" "I don't know, she's always like that" he answered. He then turned and asked his young children if they'd given the dog any water that morning. The answer was no. It was now almost 6:00 p.m.
I asked if I could see the dog and they lead me to a dark, dirty barn. A bone thin little black dog was chained in the building nearly choking herself to death--standing on her back legs--as the taut chain would not give in to her frantic demands to free her. She was trying to reach her puppies that were being kept a few feet away--just close enough for her to see them but just far enough so she couldn't reach them.
"Maybe she's hungry, we ran out of grain (dog food) a while back and just got some today," the man said. A nursing mom, no food, no water, her pups out of reach--a stinking, cold cement floor for a bed--the screaming howl made sense to me now but not to the man who could have cared less that just inches away from him an animal was in anguish.
I choked aside a mixture of disgust and anger and prayed to God I could hold my tongue just seconds before the man's last cruel, unbelievable verbal blow, "Well, if I can't get rid of them I'll just shoot them" he said--as he cocked the trigger on an imaginary gun and pointed it at the momma's head. His 6 children stood by with macabre grins on their dirty faces. In a burst of "humanity" he told me he'd give them to me for free. Quite honestly, at that moment, I would have taken all the money I could find to get those dear dogs out of there.
I took momma and 2 of the 3 pups as fast as I could get them loaded into the van. The last pup he would not give up because it was pretty and he wanted to keep her. The cycle of unwanted puppies would continue in this poor little girl I had no choice but to leave behind. My heart cried out to her but I knew that even if I could not get her now, she too would eventually become a nuisance and unwanted and I could get her then. If she survived--she and the other animals that live in this tortorous place.
I talked to the man about having the remaining puppy spayed so he would not have to worry about unwanted puppies in the future. "How much does something like that cost?" I told him about a low cost spay/neuter clinic and even offered to take the puppy to the clinic. He was going to have to think about it.
So I left that puppy behind and once I got in the van and headed home I just sobbed. I'm not one who cries often but I cried for those animals left behind and those I was taking to safety. I asked God to help those I had to leave at that place and, as what had just happened really settled into my heart, I cried for the unknown number of animals that were in that same desperate situation all across the world.
And then I asked myself how did we, as humans, reach this point? When did life--albeit animal life--become so worthless? How did we get to a place where we are so desensitized to suffering that seeing a living creature in agony does not touch something in us? Where does someone go in their minds to make it OK to basically torture, abuse or neglect any creature--animal or human--God has created?
I don't know that anyone can explain it simply except to simply say that though life holds many wonderful things it also holds some not so wonderful things.
And just when I was sure my heavy heart was forever changed from this awful experience God proved to me anew this morning that the wonderful things usually are not too far around the corner from the not so wonderful ones...
As I went out to check my dear rescues I saw momma taking mouthfuls of her dog food and laying them tenderly next to her babies. Though she had been almost starved to death, she showed more compassion, humanity and love than she had been shown all her life.
That simple act of love from a sweet spirited dog broke my heart and healed it at the same time.
Thank You Lord for the lesson taught by one simple gesture of one simple little dog.
P.S. I will be seeking to have all the animals legally removed from this "home". Please pray for those left behind.
Shepherdess Blog
November 8, 2012
Copyright 2012 Jackie Deems
