Woman's Best Friend

"WOMAN'S  BEST FRIEND"

Humans can really suck sometimes; we really can….

How can we be so self-centered and so judgmental, having ill-will for others…

while expecting so much from everyone else, but not from ourselves. 

We can change this, if we sincerely care enough to do something about it.

For so many reasons, it should truly matter to each one of us……

Beautiful “Lady” (that was her name) was an amazing soul.

Lady was the sweetest, most affectionate dog I have ever owned.  She was right there by your side so often, that you sometimes had to shoo her off just to put your shoes on.  She was a beloved member of our family that was recently deemed “Vicious” by the Court because she had been in a dogfight after accidentally being let out by a child who did not close the door all the way. 

Lady ran over to a neighbor’s dog (possibly to greet it) that had been off its leash by its owners, who were watering flowers in their front lawn at the time and were not monitoring their dog. No one knows exactly how this confrontation occurred (including the owners who were watering their plants), but because the other dog had more than one bite wound on its body, Lady was declared “Vicious”  by the Court.  According to their decision, it did not matter where or how the dogfight started, which dog was the aggressor, etc., but only that there was more than one bite on the other owner’s dog.  

How can we expect an animal to have the cognitive ability to know when to fight or not fight back, or to know how many times HUMANS have decided they are “allowed” to bite an animal they feel threatened by, when they are instinctively just trying to protect themselves? 

A human gets MULTIPLE CHANCES to redeem themselves when dealing with drugs/alcohol abuse issues, etc., but the FIRST TIME this dog gets involved in a questionable confrontation, it can be ordered to become a prisoner in its own home -- not only being locked up (yes, locked up) in a cage with a "secure top,” (the bottom going about a foot deep) and all of this inside an already fenced yard, but also being required to wear a muzzle whenever stepping outside of its own front door.  

Where is this dog's second chance? 

Where is the consideration for rehabilitation or possible community service? 

How can it be decided so damn quickly (or seemingly easily) to throw anything’s usual day-to-day life away, let alone a living, breathing creature’s life, especially when that animal had no related prior record? 

This sweet dog didn't fail anyone. In many ways, we all failed her…

-her first owner failed her

-her second owner failed her

-I failed her

-the Metro Officer failed her

-the Court failed her

-the City Attorney failed her

-her neighbor... failed her

Lady didn't do anything wrong (by simply being a “dog”)…

BUT we sadly did, as the "superior" beings.

As a result of now seeing her struggling with these many quality-of-life-changing restrictions, unable to live as a "free" being anymore, it was decided (one of the hardest decisions of my life) to put this beautiful animal down.  Lady could no longer live freely inside OR outside her own family’s home.

Before the vet gave her the painful sedation shot  to put her down, we were warned that dogs would probably bite because of the pain... but our beloved Lady, declared “Vicious" by the Court, simply turned to the vet and licked her face! There wasn't a dry eye in the room, from her family or the staff, who told us this was the hardest "put down" they'd ever done. The one consolation was that Lady was surrounded by her family (as heartbreaking as it was to say goodbye). 

I am a FIRM believer that "everything happens for a reason" and although I can't find one right now, I will eventually come to that reality on my own.  No dog or living being, especially one with no prior record, should be thrown directly into a situation like our Lady was, without taking an animal’s innate nature into more careful consideration — we should think twice before deciding ANY living creature’s life sentence, regardless of what kind of being it is. 

That sweet, affectionate being was a beloved member of our family and
will continue to be in our hearts and memories forever.