You might say that this is a pet peeve of mine.

SHAME

It’s a shame really, that some people are allowed to have dogs. It should be mandatory to have to pass a written test before being allowed to adopt a pet. Probably a basic field test of empathy and caring should also be required, like the drivers test at the DMV. Maybe a demonstration on knowing how to pick up an animal or brush tangles out of long fur, or having a dog come to you if you just hunker down and softly call it’s name.

I admit I’m a little fanatic about this subject, but then again, I’m the one who has to listen to the pitiful cries of my neighbor’s dogs. The guy to the west of me has a dog left behind by his ex wife, he doesn’t even like dogs. Oh sure, he puts out food and water for her but he spends maybe ten minutes a day, max, with her. I hear that dog cry like a lost child almost every day. When he leaves for work she paces the perimeter of the fence line for hours desperately hoping he’ll appear.

It breaks my heart, but there’s nothing I can do. If I go out to console her, she barks furiously at me through the fence. I don’t think she likes women.

The east side neighbors have an eight foot wide dog run along the length of my property. Their two elderly German shepards were imprisoned there for years. Day and night, summer or winter they were confined to that compound. At least I could pet those two through the chain link. I’d stand there until my knees ached with my hands stuck through the wire petting their faces and getting my fingers slobbered on with their gratitude.

One day last fall they disappeared and I can’t say I’m sorry. I just hope they went to a better place, one with full buckets of water and dishes of food.

I don’t own a dog right now, but happily my four cats allow me to live here and pay the bills. And although there’s cat hair on every surface, including me, no matter how often I have to clean, I consider myself lucky. How could I write without a paw on my arm?

We’re all getting older around here; some of us are well past middle age. But if the day ever comes when all my furry friends pass before I do, I might get a little dog. You can be assured that I’ll take the aforementioned test and pass it.

Would you?