A dog's luck

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Earlier this year my wife & I adopted a rescue dog. The backstory goes that our pup's parents were presented to a local pound by a local man's scorned wife, as revenge for him allegedly doing the dirty on her. He decided to leave them there to await their fate.

The male was an entire bitsa (he wasn't rescued from the pound & was put down), & the female was heavily pregnant at the time. A dog rescue organisation rescued the mum the day before she was due to be put down, and she gave birth to 10 healthy pups the next day. All 10 pups and the mum have been adopted by new owners.

Last year, our previous dog died after being bitten by a snake. Our yard was in a bit of disrepair with a leaky water tank (snake haven) and a rotting back fence, and in hindsight it was destined to happen eventually. Our last dog died a pretty **** death in the back of the car whilst racing to the vet 40kms from home. Since then, both the tank & fence have been replaced, the ground is now dry and the backyard secure for the new pup. We've since bought a 2nd pup, from an accidental litter (parents/pups WEREN'T sent to the pound), and the two dogs are best mates.

I'm not wholly against euthanasia and it has its place, in fact we "inherited" an aged dog when buying our house. Its owner had passed away and basically the old dog went bonkers. I decided to have it put down the 4th time it escaped the yard & had been clipped by a car on the highway (but was OK), as it was clearly a miserable dog who missed its owner, despite the attention & care I tried to give it...

Anyway it's that time of the year where a lot of people buy pets as gifts for xmas. This, and my experiences with losing our last dog and the sad fact of pound operations throughout Australia, inspired me to write this. It's simplistic & intended to be bush poetry-style, but I hope it gets the message across. Thanks for reading.

The day I came into the world,
And met my tired Mum.
My brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts,
All confined to our own dog run.

Mum always seemed quite sullen,
Her head hung very low,
I realised why this was, upon the day,
When it was time for us to go.

“Off to the pet shop!” my breeders said,
“We'll get good money from you”,
“You'll be sold on to a new family”,
“You'll start your life anew”.

Off to the pet shop we all went,
To be placed in a perspex case.
To sit on shredded newspaper,
To see face, after face, after face.

Of parents, children, and couples,
All peering in to peruse us.
Most were curious and friendly,
But few were here to choose us.

One by one, my siblings all went,
Off to each new home,
One day my turn will come, I dreamt,
As I remained behind, now alone.

Then one day a man came in,
He studied me with intent.
He decided, "I'll take him, how much?",
And to my new home we went.

I was very excited and nervous,
As the man placed me gently in his car,
"Don't worry mate", he assured me,
"We won't drive very far".

The anticipation built up in me,
As we pulled in the drive and stopped,
"I'm about to meet my new family!", I thought,
And out of the car I gingerly hopped.

Inside the house, to my delight,
I met the children and my new Mum,
"Merry Christmas!" Dad said to his kids,
"Our puppy has finally come!"

They showered me with attention,
With treats and many toys,
I was so happy with my new family,
Oh, life was full of joys!

I settled in to my new home,
And I grew from a pup into a dog,
The kids begun to play with me less,
But Mum always took me on her morning jog.

One day mum didn't go for her run,
She'd started a new career,
With long hours, and the kids to juggle,
From then on I'd barely see her.

Dad worked shifts and came home late,
And the kids would stay out in town,
So I'd languish tied up in the back yard,
Feeling bored, and feeling down.

I began to dig from boredom,
I began to bark at the neighbours.
I began to get yelled at by all,
"SHUT UP! YOU'RE NOT DOING YOURSELF ANY FAVOURS"

One week Dad had pulled double shifts,
And Mum had reports to mark.
The kids were away on a school trip,
And so I'd bark, and bark, and bark.

One night Dad let me off my chain,
He put me in the car, in the back,
We travelled long into the night,
And pulled up on a dusty track.

"I'm sorry boy, you've got to go",
My Dad had coarsely croaked,
"We just can't handle you any more",
"We -", he stopped short, and choked.

He turned from me, he faced away,
He opened the driver's door.
He slumped down, deflated, behind the wheel,
His eyes cast to the floor.

I tried to jump back in the car,
Dad clipped me with his hand,
"STAY!" he boomed, and slammed the door.
Dad's final command.

And stay I did, for hours on end,
After watching Dad drive off yonder.
But the night was cold and a storm was building,
My mind began to wander.

The wind had changed, black clouds rolled in,
The raindrops began to spatter,
And with the first clap of thunder,
Dad's command no longer mattered.

The storm was getting bad,
I ran in panic, I ran in fear.
I sprinted up a farm driveway,
The porch light drew me near.

I sheltered from the pouring rain,
Weary, distressed and cold,
The stormfront eventually passed on,
And sleep finally took hold.

The next morning I awoke in sunlight,
Tucked in the corner of the verandah,
A farmer came out the front of his home,
He spotted me, he swore and yelled "MIRANDA!"

"THERE'S A STRAY ON THE PORCH,
CAN YA LOOK UP THE POUND IN THE YELLOW PAGES"
"Come 'ere" he grumbled, and patted my head,
My first caress in ages.

"You can't stay here mate," the farmer said,
"She'll have me guts for garters,
We've got too many dogs as it is,
Miranda'll take ya to the Pound after"

I warmed to them, this old couple,
They treated me with a feed.
They tickled me behind the ears,
They slipped on a collar & lead.

"Come on boy," gesturing at the ute,
"Git up on the tray",
Reluctantly I did as I was told,
And off we drove, away.

The ute rolled up with squeaky brakes,
We stopped in front of a building,
Miranda gently led me inside,
As was given forms to fill in.

"Seeya mate" Miranda waved as she left,
"I hope you find a new home",
I was then taken to a shed full of other dogs,
Barking, crying, sleeping, together. Alone.

My cage was small, the floor was bare,
But I had food, water, and a bed.
The other dogs were deafening,
But at least I had a roof over my head.

Days came and went,
New dogs came in, and others were taken away.
I waited for my new family to pick me up,
Will today be my day?

And finally, the day had come,
I heard footsteps to my compound.
"Come on boy", I heard a man say,
"It's your last day in the pound".

The friendly man in a white coat,
Led me through the clinic door.
This must just be another health check, I thought,
I'd been through this before.

He placed me gently on the table,
"Don't you worry Rover",
He soflty stroked my head and paw,
"This'll soon be over".

The needle flashed in his gloved hand,
It gave a little *****,
I flinched, but settled, as warmth set in,
Followed by chills, I now felt sick.

Nausea built up, this wasn't right,
I tried to lift my head,
But an invisible weight now held me down,
I began to fill with dread.

I wanted to cry out to the vet,
To warn him something's amiss,
But now I found it hard to breathe,
I was nearing an abyss.

Absolute fear consumed me,
Darkness began to cloud my eyes,
My frantic thoughts were breaking down,
My body paralysed.

My bladder and bowels relaxed,
I lost everything within me,
and along with that final life action,
I lost my dignity.

The vet, he grabbed me by my feet,
And dropped me in a black plastic bag,
Along with my fluids and faeces,
He sealed me from the world and signed the tag.

My body was sent to landfill,
Discarded, cast adrift,
My life cut short, forgotten,
Because as a pup I'd been bought as a gift.