The author, John Marek, is executive director of the Anson Economic Development Partnership.
When you hear that 36,000 cats and dogs are put to death each year in the Charlotte region it certainly makes an impression on you. The vast majority of these are good, loving animals that people have simply tired of or can’t care for any more. A week ago Saturday, we adopted Millie, an adult German Shorthaired Pointer from Furbabies Animal Rescue, and yes, she has speckled paws. Millie is our fourth rescue dog, joining Laika in our home and Kasay and Cyrus who have gone on to that big doggie park in the sky.
Growing up, my family home was in a little village out in the country near the Sandusky Bay. For whatever reason, people often “dumped” unwanted animals there, so it wasn’t uncommon to have strays wandering through our yard. Although we were not in a position to take these animals in on a permanent basis, we often put out a bowl of food and water for them. Eventually, the county would come and round them up.
One dog, in particular, stuck around for awhile. He was a black mutt, a little bigger and longer furred than Laika, but with the same general build. He was friendly, but skittish, and would come and curl up near our feet if we were sitting on the porch swing. He did not want to be touched, though, and would run away if you tried. Obviously, he was used to being around people who were not nice to him and I wondered what terrible crime he had committed that had gotten him banished to the hinterlands; peed on the carpet, chewed a pillow, had a disagreement with the family cat?
He was skin and bones and bloody sores when he showed up on our doorstep the summer after my freshman year in college. My buddy Carl started calling him “Raul” and the name stuck. After a couple of weeks, he had gotten back some of his strength and we were very close to making him a permanent part of the family … then he stopped coming around.
Of course, I want to believe something miraculous happened – a good- hearted motorist took him in or someone the next town over offered a better brand of dog food than we did – but I know what fantasy that is and what his fate most likely was. And I think about that every time Laika siddles up to me to have her tummy rubbed or Millie comes over to have her head scratched. We like to think we are doing our part by taking these dogs in, but that’s just four out of tens of thousands. Please, consider a shelter dog for your next pet.