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Thursday, April 16, 2009

to all the pets I've loved before

Okay, so I am walking with my friend when all of the sudden we see a sign that to me, not following it, is simply not an option. That's right, puppy sale is scrawled across a piece of paper and hastily taped to the front door of a pet shop right here in Old Town.


We make haste, asking the lady behind the desk where all these puppies are. She points upstairs and we are off. Another thing that is off is the smell that is wafting down from above us. Puppy poop. But that does not slow us down. Not even a little bit.

Arriving at the top of the stairs, I feel like I am in a scene from Cruella Deville's private collection. Every cage is tiny, forcing the puppies to sit on metal grates that work like sieves so that the poop and pee can just drop directly underneath the grating, where they just stay on some newspaper. I know instantly that the puppies must hate this situation, since no animal likes to mix their excrement with their living space.

Ah, no human likes that either, I am pretty sure.

My friend and I take off in different directions towards the puppies; nobody is there to take them out of their cages, but that does not keep me from sticking my hand inside a cage. I walk up to a little American Eskimo puppy and he goes wild. Like starved-for-attention-all-his-life, wild. He is getting as close to me as the metal grating allows, puffs of his soft white fur are sticking through the cage to freedom. He's licking me and melting me all at once. It breaks my heart, it really does. I move onto an English Bulldog who is already a year old. His underbite and droopy face only make him more endearing; he looks a little over it, though. I am sure a year in a place like that would make me over it, too.

I see a Himalayan cat, so beautiful with blue eyes and a fawn colored coat edged in chocolate brown. She is meowing and jumping and reacting to me like I am the only hand that has ever pet her.

I call Drew. With a cacophony of barks and meows creating a fitting soundtrack to my very sad story, I tell him where I am. I tell him about the delicious white puff of an eskimo puppy, the thick shouldered english bulldog who reminds me of a gentleman, the gorgeous cat who has no lap on which to curl up.

I start to cry, I can't help it.
It is really just that sad to me.

Drew tells me that we can adopt a puppy when I get back from tour. I tell him I want to adopt all of these puppies now.

Oh, and the cat too.

Of course I cannot.

I know that they are not humans, I understand this. But still, they are living creatures and they are special and precious and lovable. And I hope that they get adopted. Soon.

This might sound funny, but the two cats that Drew and I adopted are literally such a joy to us. They have become part of our little family in an astounding way and it comforts me to know that they are home to greet Drew when I cannot.

I am going to open up these comments for you to brag on your special pet. What do you love about your cat/dog/fish/bird/horse/husband?

I am all ears.

Or in this case, eyes.

14 comments:

Tiffany said...

Oh my! where to start, where to start!

Hershey- my chocolate lab/german shepherd we've had since I was seven. When I was little, he used to walk me to the bus stop, and went back in the afternoon to walk me home.

Gidget- Shitzupoouaua (Shitzu poodle chihuahua) does nothing but cuddle ALL THE TIME.

Lizzie- my pomeranian that follows me EVERYWHERE--including the bathroom.

Regis- (named after Mr. Philban, of course) my cat, who likes to sleep on my face or right smack on my stomach.

Taco- my parrot who only speaks spanish.

Also, a parakeet I've had for four years. it doesn't have a name because I am so unsure of the sex, but it imitates my mothers laugh.

They were ALL rescues, and I'm devestated to leave them all when I go to college. =(

Mom said...

Why haven't tons of people described their wonderful pets?

OK....I just got back from a day at the beach with our family dog, Strider. He's a great traveler and loves to go on road trips. Today was the 1st day he's ever seen the ocean. He liked the beach but not the waves. He liked the fact that he can dig anywhere he wanted and not get into trouble. It's a lot of fun to see life through Strider's eyes.

Strider is absolutely the best non-human companion a person could have.

I'm sorry about all the pets you found all cooped up in little cages. This is just so sad. I wish you could adopt them all right now.

kathiek said...

I have not written because I have no pets...although John acts very much like a naughty puppy sometimes.

Michele said...

I love my kitties! Although technically they haven't been kittens for many years now! Callie sleeps with me - her purr lulls me to sleep. She also is like a 2 year old - when I'm on the phone she just meows and meows! She also likes to sit on the laptop keyboard! Inky is still very shy, but jumps up on the bed for her nightly rub. She also steals the bed the moment it is deserted! Jess, have you seen Marley and Me? It's kindof ridiculous, but I cried buckets at the end! Something about helpless things suffering :(

Jessica said...

Aha--I knew there were some pet-lovers out there!!!

And Michele--I only read it but I CRIED like a baby then so I can only imagine watching it!!!

John said...

i am sooooo very sorry, but my cavalier king charles spaniel "charlie" would put all your pets to SHAME! he is the smartest, best dog in the world, hands down. i know everyone thinks their pet is the best (as well they should) however, mine really is. sorry to break the news to you. GOD BLESS.

Jessica said...

John--GOD BLESS!!!!!!!!!!

I love it.

Jessica said...

p.s. Tiffany--I had no idea you had a zoo! amazing;-)

Jessica said...

And John--why no mention of your other dog?!?!?!

Poor thing, God bless.

jason said...

I just wanted to get in on the God Bless action. God Bless.

jason said...

FYI We have the best pets in the world, two leopard geckos. Awesome.

Jessica said...

Jason, you are always welcome to join in on the God Bless action, God Bless.

John said...

Jess,

Michael got mad at me for not mentioning our golden "Jake". I do love Jake, but he is our special needs dog (think Marley and Me). It's pretty hard to praise one and not the other, but I'm pretty sure Jake won't be reading your blog....we took away his computer privileges. GOD BLESS!

Jessica said...

What? Jake doesn't read this blog?!?! I'm crushed...