A little Peruvian boy, Abraham, visits us because he loves playing with dogs and his family cannot afford one. Abe chants Mac Attack Mac Attack whenever he’s around the Cairn Terrier, Mac, who visits us twice a week. We’ve gotten used to thinking of “Mac Attack” as the song a boy sings to a fury little pal.
Yesterday, while Mac was visiting, the neighbor’s 60-lb dogs, Sammy & Sarah, broke through the fence and ravaged him. When I stopped the fight, their mouths were full of bloody tufts of fur, which one dog tore from his head and the other tore from his belly.
Yesterday, while Mac was visiting, the neighbor’s 60-lb dogs, Sammy & Sarah, broke through the fence and ravaged him. When I stopped the fight, their mouths were full of bloody tufts of fur, which one dog tore from his head and the other tore from his belly.
Sammy & Sarah aren’t bloodthirsty dogs with aggressive genetics. In fact, both mutts are extraordinarily sweet and eager for approval, but the most fun they have in life is running along the fence barking at dogs on the other side. Yesterday, they burst through the fence.
Now, Mac has multiple puncture wounds, serious muscle and internal organ bruising, spinal torsion, and frightening memories. He’s on antibiotics that destroy good bacteria along with the bad, increasing the likelihood of problems created by “leaky gut” syndrome. He’s on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), increasing the likelihood of gastric ulcers and liver disease. His tissues are turning the color of punk cosmetic red blue green & black. His joy with just being alive has been displaced, and he would not be the model dog to trot alongside Dorothy on the yellow brick road.
Should Sammy & Sarah be punished for robbing a dog of jeu de vive? Should the family who owns Sammy & Sarah be punished? No. Punishment doesn’t help--not Mac, or Sammy, or Sara. We are not in favor of punishment. What we are in favor of is prevention and keeping dogs active and engaged. Alas, this has not happened. Sammy & Sara’s family accepted the veterinary bill, but they haven’t changed the lives of their dogs except to lock them in the backroom.
Now, Mac has multiple puncture wounds, serious muscle and internal organ bruising, spinal torsion, and frightening memories. He’s on antibiotics that destroy good bacteria along with the bad, increasing the likelihood of problems created by “leaky gut” syndrome. He’s on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), increasing the likelihood of gastric ulcers and liver disease. His tissues are turning the color of punk cosmetic red blue green & black. His joy with just being alive has been displaced, and he would not be the model dog to trot alongside Dorothy on the yellow brick road.
Should Sammy & Sarah be punished for robbing a dog of jeu de vive? Should the family who owns Sammy & Sarah be punished? No. Punishment doesn’t help--not Mac, or Sammy, or Sara. We are not in favor of punishment. What we are in favor of is prevention and keeping dogs active and engaged. Alas, this has not happened. Sammy & Sara’s family accepted the veterinary bill, but they haven’t changed the lives of their dogs except to lock them in the backroom.
Other than the carpenter who repaired the fence, no lives have changed for the better. All Mac's suffering is for naught and what used to be a boy’s sing song chant Mac Attack has become a two-word headline in our list of life’s bad memories.
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