Frankie was a basset hound a neighbor had given us and Pinkie was some kind of hound mix. These were my first two dogs as a child. I loved them so much and remember playing in the backyard with them when I was 5 years old. Then one day something happened that taught me how I would feel about animals my entire life. We were so poor that we didn’t have enough money to feed our dogs. This was 1973 and my parents had different values then. I’m positive they wouldn’t make the same decision today.
I came home from school and the dogs had been taken to animal control without the chance for me to say good bye. Still, to this day I remember that terrible, sad hurt. I still remember exactly where I was in the house and how I was sitting when I found out their fate.
Last year I realized I hadn’t talked with my Mom about this choice made so my years ago. I brought it up to her and we were both upset during the conversation but it felt good to, as an adult, 40 years later, talk to her about it. She said she was very sorry.
This was my first real memory of being connected to animals. Thankfully, I’ve had many happy memories since.
-Janet
Lucky Buddy Petcare, Inc.
