[ SHOWGSD-L ] A PLACE CALLED HOME
- From: Barbara Galasso <uwish@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 02 Mar 2006 19:09:57 -0500
I got the idea for this story remembering when I lived in Georgia back
in 1992. I used to go to the animal shelters and donate food, dog
biscuits and bleach for the kennels. Most of those shelters at that
time were kill shelters. I hope that has changed since then. Anyway,
one day a lady pulled up in a van with a female German Shepherd sitting
up on one of the seats. She brought in three pure bred GS puppies. I
was just leaving and turned around and went back in when they put her
puppies in with the rest of the dogs. They were no older than 12 weeks
old and they were terrified and shaking. I went back out to give this
lady a piece of my mind, (but really would liked to have strangled her
neck instead), but she was already gone. I had two GS's of my own and a
mixed breed puppy that I had just adopted. Plus I rented someones house
and could not bring anymore dogs there. It was heart breaking. Hence
my story..........very appropriate for our recent discussions about back
yard breeders........or those that have to breed their bitch so their
kids can experience the miracle of birth!!!!
A
PLACE CALLED HOME
By
Barbara J. Galasso
I used to love to play with my brothers and sisters and little Joey and
Susie too. Momma would teach us right from wrong as we'd follow her all
over the back yard. Then me and my ten brothers and sisters would come
in the house to have our dinner and lay on the nice warm rug as we fell
asleep to dream our little puppy dreams.
One by one each of my brothers and sisters would leave this place we
called home and be put in some stranger's car to be driven away where
I'd never see them again. Then it was just me and my one brother and
sister that were left. No one came to take us for a ride in their car
and bring us to their house to live. Time passed and now we were quite
a bit larger and ate more and I heard the mistress of the house say to
the master of the house, "We can't keep these puppies any longer. No
one is buying them. They'll have to go. I can't keep taking care of
them, feeding them and cleaning up after them all the time and besides
they're ruining my back yard," she said.
"Gee, I thought we were having a grand old time, digging holes, chewing
up the grass and pulling the daffodils out of the flower bed. Couldn't
she see we were having so much fun? And anyway, our mother didn't seem
to mind."
One day the mistress of the house loaded us up in the car with our
mother "Bella" and we were taken for a ride. Wow, there were so many
exciting things to see as we drove down each different road. I'm afraid
my sister got sick and threw up on the back seat of the mistress's car
and she was very angry by the time she pulled up to this strange
unfamiliar building. She got out of the car and one by one brought us
into the very noisy dark dwelling. I heard my mother barking as she
jumped from one side of the car to the other as the Mistress took us
into the building. I never did get to kiss momma good bye.
Once inside I heard many strange dogs barking and I and my siblings
became frightened. My mistress signed some papers and without turning
back to look at us, she walked out the door. Then two ladies picked us
up and brought us into the back rooms where there was cage after cage of
dogs of different sizes and colors lined up barking at us as we gingerly
made our way down to the last one. The door was opened and there was
already several other dogs in the over crowed run we were left in. This
was to become our new place called home.
We were smaller and much younger than most of the dogs in this run.
They all came to investigate and some snarled and nipped at us. We were
shaking and hurdled together to try to stay safe. The floor was cold
and damp and there was no nice warm rug to lie on like in the other
place that we called home. The barking all around us in that big room
was deafening. There was an open door that led outside to another
cemented run, but we stayed back as some of the bigger dogs ran back and
forth in and out of them. We were fed some dry kibble and given some
water, but we barely got a chance to finish our share before another dog
would clean our plate. That first night, we stayed together whimpering
and crying for our mother.
The next day strange people came to visit and look at all the residents
of this place we now called home. One of the older pups in our run bit
my left ear and I could feel the warm trickle of blood run down my
face. My brother and sister licked my face and ear as I cowered in the
corner. The people came in and out all day long just staring in at us.
Then later in the day some children who looked like Joey and Susie,
said, "Look momma, there's some puppies" as they pointed to us. We
eagerly ran to the gate and jumped up to greet them. But they only took
my sister and brother with them to the outside of the building. They
never returned as they loaded them into the back seat of their car and
drove them down the road further away from me to their new place called
home.
Many a day I would see a man in a white coat come in and remove some of
the dogs as they struggled to get away as he took them in that side room
where I never seen them come back out again. I wondered if they were
going to their new homes too.
The days went by quickly and I missed my brothers and sisters so much.
I thought of how momma used to lick and clean our faces and push us
with her big nose as she laid and rolled on the grass as we crawled all
over her. She used to share her toys with us and beg us to play chase
with her.
I was awakened from my daydream as I saw the familiar black shoes slowly
walk down the aisle towards my cage and as I looked up, I saw the man in
the white coat standing looking in at me. He opened the gate to my run
and took me out putting me on a leash. This was the first time I was
taken out in the seven days that I had been here.
"Finally, I too am going to somebody's home," I gleefully thought to
myself. I anxiously followed him into that side room that I saw so many
other dogs go in before me. All the other dogs were barking at me as I
walked passed them. "Don't worry," I wanted to tell them. "You'll get
your chance too." He closed the door behind me and put me up on a cold
hard table. The man in the white coat patted me on the head and said
"sorry little fella," as I kissed his hand, so grateful for the
attention bestowed upon me and to be away from all those other dogs. As
I looked up into his face, he pulled a long shiny needle from his pocket
and stuck it in my leg. I felt a piercing ache in my heart as I slipped
away to a place called home.
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