I am afraid we have a new dog. As always, we did not go looking but this past week when temps were toying at the high end of the thermometer with humidity that made it feel hotter than the Devil with a mouthful of habaneros, I looked out the window and saw a scrawny white bulldog looking in through the glass.
His tongue was dangling out one side of his mouth, and he was going around to the water containers in the front yard looking for water. Jilda had her shoes on, so she quickly stepped outside and filled all the containers with cool water from the hose. The critter looked at her with thankful eyes.
We thought at first that he belonged to someone down the road, and perhaps he ran out of water at home. But he did not leave. He was so thin that I could trace the outline of his ribs with my finger, so I poured a small scoop of dog food in a bowl and placed it under the water oak at the end of our walkway.
Later that evening, our great nephew Jordan walked over to howdy up with us. The dog, which is ghost white with a black patch over his right eye, ran to greet him as he walked up the hill. We sat down on the front steps and he began petting the bulldog. “He looks like a pirate,” Jordan observed. The dog laid his head in Jordan’s lap to facilitate the petting process. “What should we name him?” he asked as he petted.
I told him quickly that he was not our dog. “What should we name him?” Jordan persisted. “We could call him Patch,” he suggested. I paused for a while before saying, “Why don’t we call him Hook?” “Yes. That’s perfect because he reminds me of Captain Hook,” he said as he petted.
I did some investigation hoping to find the dog’s owner, but no one knew anything about him.
We discovered that Hook was deaf and I got a sinking feeling that he was not a lost dog at all, but an abandoned dog, or one that someone dumped at our house. After all, who wants a deaf bulldog that is full of fleas and has a touch of mange? It is a sad tale that is told too often. Animal shelters have their hands full trying to place abandoned dogs. Often the critters are euthanized because no one steps forward to take ownership. It makes me sad to think someone would discard one of the most loving and loyal creatures on the planet as if it were a piece of garbage.
Jilda began feeding Hook, giving him medicine for heartworm, fleas, and ticks. But we have two other dogs to consider. Neither of these purebred dogs is warming up to Hook, but he seems to understand that his future depends on finding his place in the pecking order.
I thought at first that because he is deaf, I would not be able to communicate with him, but he watches our every move and responds to hand signals. The other night he was barking at someone walking down the road in front of our house. When I stepped onto the front porch, I guess he sensed the movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked at me, and I pointed to the screen porch. He immediately ran back onto the porch and laid down.
The next step is to take Hook to the vet to see if he has any serious health issues, but it is looking more and more like we are getting a new critter. I guess you could say we have been Hook(ed).
–
Rick Watson is a columnist and author. His latest book Life Changes is available on Amazon.com. You can contact him via email at rick@homefolkmedia.com.
