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Nov. 30, 2005 A few years ago I discovered that animals hopelessly haunted me. Mostly these animals are dogs and cats, and there was one horse Astro that reminded me of Merlin the magician. Oh and that baby blue jay that I accidentally killed--I was 5 and didn't know I couldn't give it a bath. By haunted I guess I really mean that they still live in my head no matter how long they have been dead. A lot of these animals belonged to me, family or friends and others sadly were cases of abuse I heard or read about (it seems these abuse cases grow more frequent--not sure if that is just Tennessee or a worldwide trend). I'm not sure why certain animals haunt me. Well, that's not quite true...there are some that I feel guilty about and they haunt me because of that. Four dogs and a cat have left me feeling guilty. One dog I just didn't have time for and he suffered really from lack of attention...except that he got to stay outside most days and that he loved. I gave that dog (a Pomeranian) to my grandmother and well he died happy and too fat. Another dog I gave to my grandmother was a Siberian Husky (she died fat too). It's hard to love a Husky because they like socializing with other dogs more than life itself, so they run away a lot. I will always feel guilty that I didn't find her a better owner though no one would have loved her any better than my grandmother...they just might not have fed her so much. The last two dogs were a German Shepherd and Poodle that I had put to sleep. They were both old and sick. The German Shepherd was dying, in fact, and I was young. I'm not even sure why it was left up to me...it shouldn't have been. Anyway I didn't know what else to do...he was going blind and had problems with his back legs to the point of dragging himself a lot. The Poodle was 15 and mostly blind. I imagine that they went to a better place and sometimes that consoles me or did. But then I found out a couple of years ago that the drug they used to use to put animals to sleep left them aware of what was going on...and now I will never be able to rid myself of the guilt. That brings up the last animal in this group...a cat. I was in a parking lot one afternoon in Mobile, Alabama and noticed a group had gathered around a cat under a car. Well, I ended up taking it to a vet (ASPCA paid but they wouldn't take it). The cat's back legs were not working and the vet said the best thing would be to put her to sleep. So I said okay. She had a collar and I posted fliers, but I was never able to contact her owners and let them know what happened That last paragraph was so cheery I don't think I can top it; so I will just briefly mention a few of the other animals that haunt me. Scooter was a dog I only knew from the poster his owners posted when he went missing. Tawny was my grandmother's dog that died while I was taking him to the vet. Greta was my best friend's dauschund. All the stray cats my neighbors in Mobile used to feed. The funny looking dog across the street that used to run to me every chance she got---not sure what happened to her. Duchess was my cousin's dog...we will leave it at that. Angel was my grandmother's dog when my grandmother died, and my husband wouldn't let me take her. They found her a better home but still. Abuse cases haunt and trouble me. I can't see why on earth a person would purposefully harm another living creature that wasn't intent on harming you. Newest cases around here are Pancho and Petey, both puppies and only a few months old. Pancho is a Chihuahua that got out one night a few weeks ago. After about seven days he was able to crawl home. He's still alive but his back legs are badly damaged. Authorities say it isn't damage from being run over. The damage is more consistent with some kind of crushing. The children next door to Pancho say their daddy stomped the dog. Pancho's fate is still unclear since his owners don't have much money and the humane society's help is through contributions (this happened in Perry County, Tennessee), they are not sure yet what can be done to help him---he seems to get along dragging his back legs, this is causing sores. He is supposed to see a specialist in Nashville this week. Petey was a seven-month-old dachshund. They don't know much about what happened to Petey but they did find 3 of his legs and later a few other pieces. The owner has nightmares and worries about her sons. There have been so many abuse cases around here over the last ten years that it is down right scary. The horse a 16 year old drove up to and shot in the head because he wanted to know what it was like to kill something. The yorkie that some yahoo decided to drop kick like a football...ironically, because the yorkie's cost was over a thousand dollars the DA was able to get the guy on destruction of property...stiffer sentence. The poor chow that got picked up by an incompetent animal control officer and ended up shot by a more incompetent cop. They didn't seem able to handle a 10-year-old dog and said he was vicious when all indications are they were just afraid of dogs. The lab that someone placed in one of those big metal drums at a dumpsite...someone just happened to hear it and got it out before it could smother to death. And lastly, another lab that had been picked up by animal control...before her owners could get her out, she had been chewed up by other dogs the animal control people had put her in the cage with. The idiots just left her there long enough for infection to set in and now if she hasn't died she probably will. Well, I don't know about you all, but I feel better; at least until the next time all these animals come calling. Sometimes you have just got to get things out in the open. ------------ About the author Lee Caldwell-Owens: Graduate of #Artbell channel on Efnet IRC. Has a BS in History and English with a minor in Women's Studies and if she had completed her thesis, would have a Graduate Degree in English. Likes to dabble in writing about the paranormal. Email: zommbywu00f@aol.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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