Save the Puppies

“What will your dad do with six puppies?” I asked Ronnie.

“Put them in a bag and drown them.” He replied with the same emotion as if I had asked him to pass the potatoes.

Ronnie was a farm boy and on the farm every animal has a purpose. If an animal doesn’t have a purpose you deal with it. Ronnie had no problem taking an old dog out to the pasture, tying it up and putting a .22 bullet in its head. I saw him do it.

I saw Ronnie’s dad, my father in law, kick a chicken like a football when it strayed into the garden to feast on some newly planted seeds.

This was life on the farm, but it was hard for a city boy like myself to accept. So I decided things would be different this time. I would save these six new born puppies from a cruel death.

Marlene and I were only three days away from a two week vacation, so I had to act fast. I loaded the puppies into the car and headed for the city. We arrived home late at night, so the trip to the Humane Society would have to wait until the next morning. We had six whining puppies keeping us awake all night.

In the morning, I took them to the Humane Society to drop them off. The cute puppies would find homes with no problem.

“Have they had their shots?” The animal worker asked me. I was stunned.

“No, they were just born and I saved them from being destroyed. I just want to drop them off so they can find homes.”

“We can’t take any animals unless they have had their shots.”

“OK, where can I get their shots?”

“You can go to a vet, or we can do it here.”

“Great, why don’t you go ahead and give them their shots.”

“Sure, but it will cost you $50 for all six.”

“Fine – just go ahead.”

I watched as a veterinary assistant gave each puppy a needle.

“Thanks” I said “Here is the $50. I hope you have no trouble finding them good homes.”

“Wait a second. You can’t leave them here. They need to be in isolation for a week after getting their shots. They can’t be near other animals. Might be contagious.”

“You mean you won’t take them?”

“Not for a week until there is no chance of them spreading any disease. Also we don’t want them to catch anything. Takes a week to be sure.”

“But I’m going on vacation in a couple of days. I can’t keep them.”

“Sorry, we can’t keep them either. You will need to find a place for them.”

I took them home and called Dad. He agreed to keep them for the week while we went on vacation. He also agreed to take them to the Humane Society when the week was up. Problem solved.

Upon return from vacation, I call Dad to see how things went with the puppies.

“I took them to Humane Society after the week was up. They charged $50 as a drop off fee. Don’t worry, I’ll cover that. Then a week later they called to say that no one had adopted them yet, so they had to be destroyed because there wasn’t enough room.”

Together we were out $100 and a bunch of time and the result was the same as if I had never intervened. Some savior I was.