The Viewer Viewpoint
Human Animal Bond
The Jim Willis Collection

Continued from page one...

Half Again As Much Copyright Jim Willis 2001

The blaring horn behind her startled her out of her trip down memory lane and as she looked up she saw the animal control truck was long gone. She stuck her hand out the window and waved the other driver around her. She shook her head and chuckled to herself.

"Lord, you sure do work in mysterious ways. The next time you might pay me the courtesy of not dropping the solution directly in the road in front of me!"

Mae put the car in gear and drove off in the vague direction of the animal shelter. It took her three attempts to find the right road and she drove up the gravel driveway and parked in front of the small brick building. A chorus of howls and wails greeted her arrival. She turned off the ignition and sat there quietly for a moment.

"Okay, Lord, I'm here," Mae sighed. "You just point out the right one and then you'll have to forgive me when I explain to that daughter of mine that you made me do it!"

***

"Can I help you?" a tired looking woman asked from behind the front counter as Mae walked in.

"Yes," Mae answered, trying to not let on that the animal shelter smells were making her lightheaded. "I'm looking for a good dog for my grandson. He's nine."

"Dogs aplenty we got," the woman said and pointed in the direction of the kennels. "Any preference for breed or size?"

"Somethin' that won't get too big. I saw your truck picking up some kind of terrier over on Eldersville Avenue just awhile ago...is that dog here?"

"That's Buster," the woman laughed. "Buster's a regular visitor. His owner will be calling in a bit, looking for him. Darn dog can climb a six-foot fence! But we got plenty of others...let's go look."

Mae followed the woman with trepidation. She hadn't expected that there would be so many dogs to choose from and she sure hoped the Lord was paying attention.

"I don't want a little puppy necessarily," Mae explained. "Too much work and the boy's mother has enough on her plate already. Somethin' sweet-natured and playful - a boy's dog, somethin' that will get him out of the house."

She wasn't sure the woman was paying attention, as she'd stopped in front of one pen and was making kissing noises, trying to get the little dog in the corner to turn around. The dog slowly turned its head and looked at the two women apprehensively. Mae squinted trying to get a better look at the dog. All she could see in the dim lighting was bits of brown and white and black, and one long ear.

"It's a hound of some sort, isn't it?" she asked the woman.

"A Basset Hound," the woman nodded, "a very unusual one. About 9 months old. C'mere girl," she called and bent down, making more kissing noises.

The dog slowly stepped down from her wooden palette and walked calmly to the front of the pen where Mae could get a good look at her. Mae put a hand to her mouth and let out a low whistle.

"My Lord!" she exclaimed. "What happened to her other ear?"

"Born that way," the woman replied. "Her breeder couldn't sell her, couldn't even give her away, so she brought her here. Nothin' wrong with the ear - she's not deaf or anything - it's just shorter than the other one."

Shorter, indeed - a full six inches shorter, Mae figured. She also figured the Lord was in fine form today.

"That'll be the one then," Mae nodded. "I'll take her."

She felt the warmth of the dog as she carried her in her arms and followed the woman back to the office. Her nose told her the pup could do with a bath. She filled out the paperwork and signed a spay agreement, wrote out a check for $25, and toted the dog to her car. She made a pile of bedding on the back seat from a bag of clothes intended for the church rummage sale and gave the dog a reassuring scratch behind the ears. "You got somethin' important to do now, girl," she said to the pup. "Somethin' real important."

She arranged herself in the driver's seat and composed herself before starting the car. She glanced into the rearview mirror and saw the Basset pup looking at her with complete trust.

"Lord, ain't you somethin'?" she thought. "For your next miracle, I suggest a good case of laryngitis for that daughter of mine."

She laughed to herself as she pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road.

***

Mae maneuvered into a parking space in front of the shopping center pet supply store. She considered leaving the puppy in the car with the windows down for air and decided against it when she saw other people walking into the store with dogs on leashes.