Monday, October 19, 2009

Lessons Learned


Mom and Goldie


Yesterday when mom mentioned to one of her brothers that she had been looking at old pictures of the doggy furiends she had growing up, she was surprised to learn that Goldie actually belonged to the brother she was visiting with.

Forty years ago, mom's much older brother had moved back to the family home after leaving the Navy. Uncle had gotten Goldie as a pup from a man living nearby, he claimed she was a Rat Terrier mix.

It always seemed to mom that Goldie had just disappeared one day, never to be seen again. When she asked uncle what had happened to his doggy, he told our mom something very disturbing. It made our mom very sad and she thought and thought before deciding to share it with our furiends and their pawrents and anyone else who might be reading my blog.

First you have to understand that when mom was a kid, most doggies were allowed to run loose all the time. It was normal for doggies to roam all around looking for love, cause back then people did not take their pets to be spayed or neutered. Most people felt altering an animal was a waste of money and some even thought it to be cruel. There were no rescue groups to teach the people and there were no laws telling them they could not let their pets roam.


So nothing was done to keep the doggies safely at home.



For the most part, people left the "strays" alone, but sadly there were some people who hated animals and were mad that their owners did not keep their pets from straying. These people, who thought the strays were a nuisance, also thought it was okay to do whatever they wanted to the animals since they had wandered onto their property. These wandering pets were often poisoned or even shot.


And because of this hate, sweet Goldie's life was ended early and very cruelly.


One day Goldie became very sick. So sick that my mom's brother rushed her to the vet. After doing an exam the vet said he believed Goldie had eaten some hamburger that had been mixed with ground glass.

Yes, you read that right.
Goldie had been fed ground glass!
She had wandered away from home and eaten some poisoned meat left out by
a heartless hooman.


Uncle told our mom those words were like a punch to the stomach. Mostly cause he was shocked that anyone could be so evil, but also cause he knew he had failed to take good care of his dog. Uncle thought he was being nice by not tying his dog up or putting her behind a fence. But allowing Goldie to come and go as she pleased, had directly led to her death. So with a broken heart, he had to admit he had done Goldie no favor.

Well, that was not entirely true. Uncle asked the vet if anything could be done for his dog. The vet replied the kindest thing would be to put her to sleep, otherwise she would die a slow & painful death. So that is what my mom's brother did. He tearfully told Goldie goodbye, then sent her over the Rainbow Bridge.

RIP Goldie.


Mom wants to also share with you what happened to her very first dog, Queenie. Since Queenie had not been altered either, she often wandered and had given birth to several litters of very cute puppies. One autumn day a pregnant Queenie was slowly crossing the road to visit a nice old lady who always had a yummy treat for her favorite "stray". At the same time a big truck rumbled down the road, headed for the grain elevator up the hill. Apparently, the truck driver never knew he had run over a little dog and her unborn puppies. It's likely, with her being so small, he never even felt a bump.


RIP Queenie.



Mom knows these are horrible things for an animal lover to hear. But she believes some thing good can come from the telling of Goldie and Queenie's stories. We hope it will be a lesson learned and if it keeps just one dog safe, then it is a story worth telling.


Please spay and neuter your pets. And do not let them wander!








19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh Bijou - this is a very sad post today. My (former) assistant says that she could tell similar stories. Dogs are treated so much differently now... she does wonder if the humans have gone too far the other way though. One thing she really questions is the fact that many shelters won't let people adopt if they don't plan to keep the animal indoors. As long as they have a safe place (fenced yard) dogs should do fine outside... they're DOGS! It bothers us that so many of them are cooped up in houses now, some for 10-12 hrs while owners are at work. That doesn't sound like a great life for a dog, does it?

Brindusa (Brinda Dasha) said...

Oh, oh, very sad indeed. But I have to tell you that things like that still happens in my country, today. I hope I don't have to wait for another 20 years so that people change their way of treating animals.

Cloud the Wonder Dog said...

Please give your mom lots of hugs and kisses, Bij. This is so sad, the things that people are capable of. Attitudes about dogs have changed a lot in this country, haven't they? For the most part, dogs have a higher 'social status' these days, thankfully. We love to imagine a world where all pets are loved and cared for, and treated with respect.

Luv,
Cloud

Rocky Creek Scotties and Rocky Creek Ramblings said...

Bijou,

These are such sad stories, but the unfortunate thing is that these types of things are still prevalent today. Not all dogs live the life of leisure that we do.

XOXO
Lilly, Piper, Carrleigh and Java

Mollie Jo and Bobo said...

It is a fact of life that when pets roam ... bad things can happen. Thanks for sharing the good memories of your early pets and the sad reminders of what can happen to roaming dogs.

I am hugging my hounds a little closer now.

-Katie (the momma)

Nadine, Chewy and Lilibell said...

Oh no, that's just too sad and heartbreaking. When I was little, we always had cats, and our cats too used to roam around the neighborhood. Mittens, Henrietta and Tori unfortunately met their ends by cars :(

Ashley The CRPS Girl said...

Bijou,
I am so sorry your Mom and her dogs had to go through these things.
Unfortunately, Mom has her own story like this.
When Mom was little, she got a puppy that was going to be dumped at the shelter. mom loved that puppy and trained him and was working on making him a therapy dog. He was left in the back yard most of the time but got to come inside at night. Mom's parents said that was enough, that he would be safe (he was vetted adn neutered).
One day some very cruel boys got angry at the dogs who would bark at them when they rode their bikes through the yard. The put some rat poison in some meat and fed it to the dog that came to the fence, which was Lucky, a very friendly dog.
Mom;s parents brought Lucky in to the vet she worked at and he was bleeding internally. It took 2 weeks of constant critical care to get him healthy and he was never 100% again.
Since then Mom and my grandparents never let dogs outside if they can't watch them. Do we get time outside? Yep tons. We are just so much safer than being left out there alone.
Hugs and Tail Wags,
Dixie

Alyssa said...

I'm so sorry about these pups. Poor things. I'll never understand how people will do things like poison food. It's just terrible.

I wish people would take these stories to heart. I come across wandering dogs a few times a week when I take my own guys out for a walk. I always worry about them and try to help them find their way back home.

Alyssa
http://justmeandmyasdf.com

Astrid Keel said...

that was so sad... thank you for sharing their stories. it's a wonderful reminder to keep our beloved pets safe.

Mason Dixie said...

Oh how traumatic for those pups and your family. Mom never lets me stray alone, even at a fenced in dog park I do not leave her side.

NAK and The Residents of The Khottage Now With KhattleDog! said...

Please make sure woo give your mom some extra snuggles tonight after sharing that with us -

These are some of the same kinds of things that makes Mom so sad when she sees khats loose in our neighbourhood -

We khan only try to keep getting the word out -

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra

The Adventures of the LLB Gang said...

Mama is so glad that hoomans have come pretty far in the past years!!! Of course, they have a long ways to go.

Thank you for sharing these stories with us!

Dory and the Mama

Two French Bulldogs said...

Ahh, very sad. Your mom's story was interesting. Thank you for sharing it with us
Benny & Lily

Lorenza said...

Hi, Bijou!
Thanks for sharing those stories with us.
My mom is sad because those things still happen here very often.
Take care
Kisses and hugs
Lorenza

Ziggy Stardust said...

That is a sad post, but I understand the reason you did it. I believe having a pet is a big responsibility and if you don't want to do the right things for them, people should just say no.

Anne and Sasha

Sketching with Dogs said...

What a terrible shame. Mum says dogs were the same in England at that time, people used to just open the door and let them out.
What that person did to Goldie was sick and evil and we hope Karma paid him back in spades!
Thank goodness people are more enlightened about pet care these days.
Wags and sad kisses, Dinah and Bridget xx

BRUTUS said...

It's hard to imagine such a different way of keeping a pet. In the day of leash laws & invisible fences, I can't think of all the trouble I'd been in if left to roam. I'd get lost, get run over, get into it with some animal who'd chew me up.. probably all within the first hour if I ever did venture away from mom's side. With all the evils out there in the world, who can wonder why I keep her in my sights at all times!

Thanks for sharing Goldie's and Queenie's sad, but important stories!

Snorts-
Brutus the Frenchie

Taffy said...

Oh, Bij, your momma needs some extra loves today. Those are sad memories. I asked my parents once why I was always on a leash and didn't get to run like some other dogs and now I know. I think I will have to go thank her for protecting me.
Snuggles,
Twix

Draco and his Mom said...

Those were some very sad stories Bijou, sometimes peoples are very mean. I think the mean ones are still out there but we are the lucky pupsters that have good moms and dads to protect us and love us.
Wags
Draco