Poorer Relations
We recently drove past the new county animal shelter without realizing what the building was. When we saw the sign, Mrs. Orr and I both exclaimed, “So that’s where it is!” We had heard that a new, badly-needed shelter had been opened and that many cats and dogs were up for adoption.
For some mysterious reason, I decided today to look at the shelter’s website. I scrolled through the photos and read some of the descriptions. Then I was brought up short by one dog for whom the shelter is seeking what they call “a forever home.” The dog was described as a female blue heeler mix, about 2-4 years old, about 50 lbs, with a sweet disposition. And the pictures accompanying the description included these:
I sat and stared at the screen, and voice began playing in my head.
“His sister’s even better lookin’ than he is. Looks just like him, but different markin’s.”
This was the voice of Jinx’s former owner, when he had been chatting with me about the dog I eventually took off his hands.
Jinx’s sister.
The dog in the photos above was described as a “stray, awaiting owner to claim.” She was found without a collar on a road just a few miles from our farm. Which is very close to the house where Jinx was born.
Jinx’s sister.
I really have no doubt that this is her.
Mrs. Orr and I Have discussed this, and we are torn. The largest part of me wants to drive to the shelter tomorrow, hand over thirty bucks, and bring her home with us. But I am no longer young, and age has eroded my boldness and my impetuosity. What if she’s not really his sister? What if they hate each other? What effect would the presence of yet another new, larger dog have on poor Dixee? What if she’s not housebroken? And so on and so on and so on.
If I were retired and able to stay home every day, I would go get this dog tomorrow as soon as the shelter opened. But I don’t have the time to devote to such an undertaking, and I won’t task my wife with the lion’s share of the work. And I don’t want to disrupt the relative peace in our home. Dixee hates Jinx for the most part, but they’ve reached a sort of uneasy canine detente. Bringing this dog home, even if she is Jinx’s sister, would be to open a family-sized can of Chaos (“Now mit incontinence und biting!“). And so I suppose we must leave the little lady where she is, but pray hard that she is adopted by a family of loving hearts. You’ll not I did not say that we will pray that she’s reunited with her “owner,” because if he’s who I think he is, I don’t want her or any other dog under his control. Him and his drunk ass and his steak knife colostomy and his slurred words.
But oh…I can’t stop myself from sweet daydreams of Jinx and his lookalike sister romping in the woods and fields here at our little place.
How sad to be separated from one’s sister without a reunion. A heartbreaking tragedy in miniature, at least to those who fret about such things.
So dear readers, please pray for the little dog I believe to be Jinx’s sister. Pray that she is freed even tomorrow from the noisy, smelly animal shelter and placed in a home where she will know only love and peace, naps in the sunshine and clean water and plenty of food and perhaps someone to scratch her on her soft, diamondless head and give her a tidbit of bacon.
If I adopted her, I think I would name her Caprice. A good fit with Jinx, no?
Pray for this little girl, won’t you?
~ S.K. Orr
12 Comments
Brian
What a quandry you’re in!
Kristor’s comment about the Holy Spirit makes me want to tell you a funny story.
I have been working on my old garage, on my sprawling one-thid of an acre here in NJ. I did an old-school, slavish day of work last week that resulted in an aching back. It’s happened before, but I was much younger and was able to get up and running within a day or two. This time I had trouble walking, sitting, standing…..I’m flat-out, gimpy.
We went to church on Sunday, and for All Saints Day, my pastor likes to have us pick little, devotional, “saint cards” out of a basket. He said something like: “Maybe your Saint will pick you”…..SK, I think you know that I take these things pretty seriously….maybe a little too seriously.
I got: Blessed Herman the Cripple.
I am starting to feel much better today and it seems that I will be fine in a few more days.
Blessed Herman, who I never heard of before Sunday, is the author of the Hail Holy Queen (a prayer that I love), and a beautiful prayer called The Redemptoris Mater (“assist your people who have fallen and strive to rise again”)……which seems fitting in these crazy times.
Anyway, good luck with this decision. Something tells me that your “Pro’s and Con’s” list would be much more deeply considerate than the average one.
admin
Yes, Brian, a quandry indeed! My wife and I have been talking about it. The animal shelter where Jinx’s probable sister is housed is only open 900 am to noon on weekdays, and I can’t take off right now. But they’re open Saturdays from noon til 500, so we’re planning to go see her then. I called today to ask if she’s still there, and she is. I found another photo of her, and she looks so much like Jinx, especially her expression, that it’s unsettling. We’ve definitely got a pro/con list in action…
Blessed Herman the Cripple…that’s priceless. I will confess that I actually laughed out loud when I read your anecdote. I did not know anything about him until I looked him up just now after reading your comment. I love praying the Hail Holy Queen, and Redemptoris Mater is a deeply comforting prayer and a favorite of mine. I love learning these things about notable people in the Faith.
If WJT reads this, he’ll appreciate the symbolic thoughts I had just now after reading your comment. Blessed Herman and Brian’s Hurtin’. See what I did there? Thank you, folks. Hey, I’ll be here all week…try the veal!
I hope your back improves quickly and you get back to normal very soon. Aging is a humbling thing, iddnit?
Kristor
Dude. Dude. Read your post again. The Holy Spirit is calling you. You may not be able to see it in your post, but I can.
Go to the shelter, for the love of God. Take Jinx with you. If the dog in question is a sibling, they will instantly recognize each other, and their joy will be so intense as to convince you utterly that you *cannot* stand in the way of their reuinion and future life together. I have learned this with cats. I can’t imagine how much more intense it would be with dogs.
Believe me in this: if they are indeed sibs, your joy at their happiness together will make the trouble far more than worthwhile. Together, they will probably be less trouble than one of them alone. No kidding.
Your only true worry is Dixee. So your responsibility there will be to love her up intensely and give her a special place in your own lives that the other two don’t quite get. Jinx and Janx will give each other lots of attention, so you’ll have lots to spare for poor old Dixee.
And let’s face it, the marginal labor of another dog – once two are in the house already – is trivial.
Go for it. If you don’t at least check it out with Jinx, you’ll never quite forget your regret.
Heck, even the way you encountered the web notice of this poor stray just trumpets the sign of Providence. Go with it.
God bless you, and good luck.
admin
I’m amazed at how easily I discounted — or didn’t even consider — the supernatural in all this, Kristor. Thank you for pointing me back to it, Kristor. I can’t find a single thing in your comment which I can dispute. Again, thank you.
And now…
Carol
Just as I prayed (those months after Bonnie’s passing) that “the perfect dog for S.K. would find him..” –
– So, I am praying now that “the perfect owner for ‘Caprice’ will find her.”…
admin
Carol my friend, thank you for your prayers. I’m fretting about that little girl, and I’ve never even met her. I, too, pray that a saintly soul comes and claims her, and quickly.
JAMES
We have rescued dogs and cats from shelters over the years and always been told that if it doesn’t work out we could bring them back if it was within a week.
Just food for thought.
admin
I know, James. Man…this is tough for me. I can’t tell you how much I want to drive to that shelter and bring that dog home. But I worry that I would be introducing yet another element of chaos into our insulated little life. Plus, I fear that Dixee would lay in wait on the steps and trip me for stealing yet MORE of her attention. She’s never forgiven me for bringing Jinx into the mix after Bonnie died. I don’t want to have the young Telly Savalas look on my face, if you get my meaning, and I think you do.
James
Yes, I sure do. We have a dog and a cat, Gracie and Charlie. They are plenty enough.
admin
Here’s something interesting my wife read to me this evening. Remember Curly Howard, from the Three Stooges? Seems he was quite the dog lover.
“Curly’s contract with Columbia Pictures included a clause that allowed him to bring his dogs on set. The studio limited him to no more than two dogs at any given time. This was due to Curly’s pups making random unplanned walk-on appearances during production. Especially during some of the more raucous scenes. You can still catch those surprise canine cameos in some of the earliest Three Stooges shorts.
“Typically having several dogs at any given time, Curly was known to come home often with strays he found along his travels. He would foster the strays until he was able to find new homes. And when the Stooges were on tour, Curly made it a point to rehome at least 1 stray in each town they visited. It is estimated that Curly saved and re-homed more than 5000 dogs in his lifetime – making him a man before his time with his humane concern for man’s best friend.”
Craig Davis
She sounds like a good excuse to retire.
admin
Stop tempting me, Craig! I’ve been thinking all day about the dog, about retirement, about this life and this world. I am a target rich environment.