Run, little dog, run.

[eric]

To find myself here, after so many years, it wasn

[Guest Anonymous]

That is too sad for words. :cry:

[Guest roo]

:cry: :cry: :cry: :evil:

[mouseatthebusstop]

:cry: very sad

[Rowie-the-Pooh]

As Gigi Said, it is too sad for words :cry: :cry:

[eric]

Going to the shelter last Saturday affected me deeply. I just had to get these feelings out somehow. Never really wrote anything before, but the words flowed easily.

When we went to get Travis, I don't remember there being any old dogs. But at this shelter, almost half were at least several years old, with half of those being 10+ judging from the gray muzzles. I just can't get over it.

I keep replaying the moment in my head when the lady told me that Amigo had been brought in after 7 years because his owners wanted more time to travel. To so casually betray a companion for such a trivial reason is beyond me.

It kills me because I know my dogs have emotion. They feel happiness, they feel sadness, they anticipate.

You have not seen disappointment until you have seen my dogs miss out on a car ride. The basement door and garage door are side by side, and when they see us getting our coats and car keys, they go sit at the garage door, panting and whining. If I open the basement door (their pen is downstairs) the panting stops, the tails grow still, their heads bow.
Its so bad my wife refuses to lock them up in their pen.

I am perhaps too prone to project on them human emotions, but there is much research and theory indicating that social animals need feelings and emotions in order to function within their society.

I'm not saying my dogs have complex thoughts and spend longs hours in self-analysis. I think they have a level of emotional development similar to 2 or 3 year old child. The base emotions, but felt strongly. It is easy to overlook because most of us are deaf to the language of our dogs. But look closely, watch the eyes, observe the posture. Before you stands intelligence and sensitivity, a distillation of human emotion.

So when that old hound looked at me I could not help think what thoughts and feelings were drifting throught his mind.

Looking into his eyes, I kept hearing "It wasn't supposed to end like this."
I think that's why all I could say was "I know, I know".

I'm not 100% sure, but I think I've decided I want to do more. We're returning to the shelter this Saturday with food, and we're going to look into volunteering. Try to bring some light into the darkness of those final moments, and reverse a lifetime at the hands of "humanity".

Thank you for indulging me.

[ShadyLady]

wow Eric you summed it up perfectly I admire your strength and wish you and your wife all the best wouldnt it be great if all us doggie people could adopt just one old dog I always swore if I was going to rescue a dog from a pound it would be an old one :cry:

[Guest Anonymous]

By all means, feel free to forward it to shelters. I would be so happy if it makes even one person stop and consider what they are doing.

Send me a quick email at eric2k2max@hotmail.com and I will send you the text document with my full name.

[Guest Anonymous]

By all means, feel free to forward it to shelters. I would be so happy if it makes even one person stop and consider what they are doing.

Send me a quick email at eric2k2max@hotmail.com and I will send you the text document with my full name.