Thursday, July 18, 2002

By Staff
Starving puppies
To the editor:
While out for a drive a few weekends ago, I came upon two starving puppies that were abandoned in Clarke County. It was a shameful sight to see some of God's creatures with ribs and hip bones sticking out further than anything else.
The poor animals could not help the situation they were in. They were not asked to be born. They were not asked to be taken away to a deserted place in the boiling hot sun. They were not asked to go without food or clean water. And it's a crying shame that a human would do something like that to another breathing being.
People, what is wrong with you? Have you no heart anymore? Has this world gone so wrong that you don't care about anything but your own stingy selves? It makes me sick to my stomach to know I live in a world where people just don't care not all, but some.
I went back later in the week and fed the dogs. It was evident someone else had been feeding them also; empty bowls that were licked clean were present. That Sunday I couldn't stand it any longer. I went back to try and get them, but they were truly scared. It took my sister and me two hours in the heat to finally catch one of them. I took him home and gave him as much food and water as he could stand and he slept the afternoon.
I tried to talk gently to him and pet him, but he just hid his face. I don't know if he has been abused or just severely neglected. I don't think I want to know.
Around 9:30 p.m., I finally saw a little dried up tail wag once or twice. He's finally going to come around. He is starting to play a little, but most of the time just lays there like an empty shell of a dog. Even my dog nudges him trying to get him to get up. It breaks my heart to see him the way he is and knowing that a human made him this way.
I know I can't keep him, but I am working with him so he won't be so scared when I find him a home. I still haven't been able to catch the other one, but I will. I still go by every day, feed and water her and talk to her. Someone stopped by and told me they had been there for about three weeks and she had been checking on them. She said there were three, but the other one would try to come out to the car as if to plead for help. It was run over.
People, what if a higher being put you out on the street with no water, food or shelter? I guess that really happens all over the world, but you would have one advantage you can ask for help. Animals may be secondary beings in this world, but that doesn't call for us to treat them so. They live and breathe on this earth just like us. They will always be here because people don't get their pets spayed or neutered. If you're going to have a pet, treat them right. Do your part. They depend on you. If you can't do your part, ask for help or take it to a shelter. Please don't throw them away. They are not trash. They are God's creatures.
If anyone with a caring heart and patience is in need of a friend, please contact me. This puppy needs a good caring home.
Jennifer Perry
(601) 776-3726
via e-mail