Today was a sad day.
Rewind to Sunday, the beginning of this week. I was helping our daughter’s family move out of her apartment into another apartment. Midnight was their puppy, now ten months old. Still growing, and soon to be a big dog. Too big to live in a crate while mom and dad go to work.
Ambivalent about whether to keep him, they kept waiting to make that decision. I must have asked a dozen or more times, “what are you going to do about the dog?”
They have had several job changes, cuts in pay, medical bills, and moving into the apartment would require vet visits, shots, neutering, pet deposit, and monthly pet fees. Their whole reason for moving was to decrease their monthly costs. The children’s asthma, mixed with the challenges of feeding and caring for a big dog, was too much for a family with a tiny apartment. After much contemplation, they came to the realization they did not have the means to keep him. They decided it was in the best interest of the family to give him up.
What’s next?
We were out of town on a preaching gig when we got the call. Elizabeth was insistent he not go with them to the new apartment. (It is impossible to sneak a big dog into your apartment, let alone keep him quiet when you live right in front of the office.) They asked if they could drop him in our backyard until he could be taken to the shelter, which had closed for the day. We didn’t want to do it, but they were insistent on not moving him into their new apartment, so we acquiesced. We would be home later that evening to feed him.
It’s easy to fall in love with such a wonderful pet. I recognize the grave and arduous difficulty of this decision. It was not easy for them. He is part black lab, part blue heeler. Looks like a lab with some blue heeler traits. He’s super smart, fun, sweet, loves to play, and loves to jump. Remarkably fast. Didn’t bark the entire time we had him.
As it turned out, the Montgomery County Shelter was closed the next day, and the next. They would be closed for accepting new animals for the next two weeks because of Covid, so this bought me some time. Tim agreed to keep him a few more days, but Friday was it.
I immediately started on a mission to rescue him. We couldn’t keep him, but maybe someone else could. I tried many foster and rescue organizations. Called the shelter to get their information. Reached out to friends, family, neighbors. I put his picture on FaceBook, in rescue groups, on Instagram. I did everything but take him to Walmart with a “free puppy” sign attached.
Somehow it was shared with groups near and far, including a rescue group in Arizona. While I was getting chemo I was in touch with a lady who sounded perfect for Midnight. Had there been transportation, we would have had a home for him there. Our daughter and son-in-law started questioning whether they should take him back home, but the texts confirmed their intentions not to do so.
I learned some things along the way. For example, there is a current animal crisis (another result of Covid). Covid puppies like Midnight are in excess, and the shelters are overcrowded. People took in puppies, and their dogs couldn’t get fixed due to the veterinarian rules during covid, so more puppies were born. Many, many puppies. And kittens. Now that we are nearly post-pandemic, people are going back to work. Reality of life is setting in, and they can no longer care for a pet. All the rescues want to find a foster home until they can find a forever home. This takes time. And money.
SO many pets need adopting right now.
Several times I thought we had a home for Midnight. Cattle ranches, horse ranches, talk about friends taking him, amongst other things. We kept waiting to see if any of these plans would materialize. Every day we said, “one more day.” But every trail went cold, and it seemed this puppy was destined for the shelter.
He was starting to get restless, digging in the yard, chewing our remote, taking over our patio furniture and sleeping on the table. Generally making a big dog’s mess in the yard. Yeah, you know the kind.
We didn’t sign up for this. We can’t even enjoy our own backyard! There’s a million reasons we don’t have a pet! We travel, leave home a lot, do not have time or know-how to train him properly, and we don’t really have the kind of space he needs.
If we were going to keep him, we would approach this very differently. But it just isn’t possible. At the end of the day, today, there were no other options.
We live in Conroe, so we can only take him two places. Montgomery County or Conroe animal shelter. Since Montgomery County was closed, Conroe was our only option. I reached out to people once more. I was starting to hear crickets, even from our daughter.
Conroe shelter reviews are horrible. I get it. We didn’t want to do it. We actually considered driving him to the country and dropping him off where he could find a farm to live on, but that would likely just prolong the inevitable. I would feel even worse if I read about an accident because this dog jumped in front of their car. Plus, a long drive to the country did not seem doable given our current circumstances.
He enjoyed the ride in the back of the pickup, totally unaware of the purpose for being there. He tried to jump out, skinning his paw, but fortunately we were able to catch him before he was seriously injured.
We decided Tim would watch Midnight while I went in to talk. These workers must have no soul. Not an ounce of compassion for our situation or our feelings. I confirm what the reviewers say about the workers. I left in tears, which continued to flow for the remainder of the day.
I made the mistake of telling them his name. “How do you know his name?” was her snide retort. When I explained the situation, she said owners have to pay $50 to surrender him. “He’s your responsibility.” Another curt response, mean even. Even though he was never our dog, they considered us the owners. They wouldn’t take him if we didn’t pay the money.
“What if I told you he was a stray?” At this point the lady threatened me. “You’d better be careful. You’re on camera.” She pointed to the camera. “You told us the story. You need to be careful what you say.”
I was having a hard time holding it together. I walked out when she said I would have to sign a euthanasia agreement. It was the way she said, “He’ll be euthanized.” Cold. Calculated. Absolutely no compassion whatsoever. For me or the dog. What I’ve been told about this shelter was confirmed.
A family came in looking for a puppy. I told them we had one out in the truck if they wanted to take a look. That resulted in another hurtful comment. “You can’t rehome here.” They wanted to take a look, but they wanted a smaller dog anyway.
I went back outside to where Tim was keeping an eye on Midnight, who was panting in the heat, getting some shade from the bed cover. I almost said to Tim, “let’s take him home.” But I value my marriage way more than a dog we have only had in our yard for five days. I explained to him what just happened. I couldn’t deal with them any more. Could he please finish up. I’ll watch the dog.
Fortunately for me, my hubby is my protector. He has broad shoulders. While I didn’t want him to experience what I had just experienced, I knew he could handle it. He agreed. They are heartless.
After the papers were signed, and the fee was paid, we walked Midnight to the side of the building where the handler was ready to receive him. He was the kindest of all the workers. Looked him over, and gave him some pats. Midnight seemed happy to meet his new friend.
That’s the last we saw of this precious puppy.
Our only hope is to pray someone falls in love with him like we did. Someone to adopt him. Someone with land and a family, or a farm where he can be put to work. Someone who can rescue him from the Conroe Animal Shelter monsters.
This was so much more difficult than I ever expected. I thought about it and contemplated for quite a while, wondering, “why?” He’s a dog! And we really only knew him for about a week. How did I get so attached to a dog in just five days?
As the tears flowed, I am still a bit unearthed by the experience. I’m still processing it all. He was part of my daughter’s and my grandchildren’s family for nearly a year. Perhaps that’s it. I do not want to be remembered as “the one who took Midnight to the pound.” I will gladly relinquish that title to my husband.
While all things aren’t necessarily a part of my cancer journey, I can’t help but wonder how much of this experience is related. I’m much more sensitive now. More compassionate. More vulnerable. More aware of life and death than ever before. With cancer, there is constant loss. Constant good-byes. Bad news comes just as frequent, or more frequent in many cases, as the good. I guess I was hoping for a happy ending here, and it just doesn’t seem like we’re going to see it.
Á la prochaine…until next time.
If you or someone you know would like to foster or adopt Midnight, please act quickly! He is at the Conroe Animal Shelter, 407 Sargent Holcomb Blvd., Conroe Texas. His ID is A034130. Phone: 936-522-3550. Call TODAY!
