Suzie

Pets have always been a part of my life and each pet has changed me. I was reminded of this after a recent conversation with my mother. She reminded me of an incident in TX that still causes me great shame.

To bring the story into proper context, this was a time when leash laws were first written--and tested. Dogs that had once known complete freedom were now fenced in or tied to trees. Just as old west cowboys hated fences that injured their herd, the TX children on our block hated the fence law that kept their dogs from freedom.

As I talked about those days, my mother mentioned how hateful my friends and I were to the Latino family on our street.

"What Latino family," I asked, confused. "I think you're mistaken. I don't remember a Latino family on our block."

--But my mother insisted. "You remember them. They lived right across the street."

For the first time in years I thought about that family. There was a constant feud between all the children on the block and those three children, but it wasn't what mom thought. "I do remember them, all right! You jumped to conclusions if you thought our vendetta was a race thing."

"Then why did you chase them back across the street day after day?"

"Don't you remember what their dad did for a living?" I asked.

She didn't.

"He drove that horrible gray Rabies Control truck. He was a dog catcher," I explained. For a brief moment I was again an angry third grader. "It was probably the same truck that carted Suzie away!"

Suzie was a collie mix, my first dog. In the time when Lassie was still on TV, Suzie was a prize. She used to follow us along the sidewalk and was a part of our play time.

Then the laws changed!

Yes, the adult I am today knows the importance of responsible pet ownership. The child I was believed that there were people who could legally kidnap pet. One of those people lived across the street and taunted us with the gray prison on wheels in his driveway. That man broke up families by taking away helpless animals. All the children on the block agreed that this man had the most evil of jobs.

Fortunately, my dad rescued Suzie from dogie jail. Still, we all knew what happened when people couldn't afford to rescue their dog.

"That poor man was simply trying to provide for his family. He was doing an honest job. That truck might have been his only means of transportation to and from work," my mother thought aloud.

"--And we made them all feel ashamed." I said in agreement. What we perceived as righteous indignation was nothing more than cruelty. Our loyalty to beloved pets caused us to become insensitive to human needs. Righteous indignation is such a deceptive trap.

Suzie was a great pet. Her presence brightened a part of my world. If I were more like that collie, three children might have suffered a little less heartache.

My apologies.