by Wendy Hunter
At the close of a long, hot summer, the appearance
of the pumpkin heralds the welcome arrival of autumn.
—Kari Spencer
A big bad “BOO!” to all you ghouls and goblins out
there. Right now, Dracula is sharpening his teeth, the Mummy roams the
roads, and every ARF dog is hiding from Frankenstein. It’s Halloween
weekend as I bang out this article, and tomorrow evening the children of the
night come out, donning their favorite costumes of super heroes, celebrities, rappers,
and undoubtedly, Brittany Spears. Screams and shrieks will fill the air, as
giant lawn spiders and bone-rattling skeletons come to life, scaring the
bejeezus out of unsuspecting trick-or-treaters. Goodie bags will be filled to
the brim as tykes make their way through neighborhoods decorated with sticky
cobwebs, blinking Jack o’ Lanterns, tombstones, and the occasional grinning
Grim Reaper. Yikes! But it’s all worth it when the booty is collected
and strewn across living room floors; Skittles, Sour Patch snakes, Swedish
fish, and Starbursts are just the sweet tip of the iceberg. Chocolate is the
ultimate prize in this game of ringing doorbells for treats, with Hershey
Kisses, KitKat, Peanut Butter cups, M&Ms, and Snickers. Dentists
unite!
Then autumn comes, with its first flush of youth
gone, but ripe and mellow, midway in time between youth and age, with sprinkled
grey showing on the temples. —Ovid
 |
| Zach |
And though All Hallows Eve may be frightening, there
are other things in this world that are just as terrifying. For example,
pineapple on pizza. Horrors! Stupid Tik Tok challenges. Appalling! And the hideous costumes Tyra Banks wears on Dancing
with the Stars. What in America’s Top Model
hell? It’s so bad, I can barely tune in every Monday night. [Hey, don’t
judge.] For some people, an eerie thought is getting
older. Unfortunately, the hands of Father Time never seem to slow down;
now, there’s a guy with an agenda. Hopefully, most of us will have loved
ones and close friends to help out when we reach our twilight years. They
will comfort us, hold our hand, and offer warm cups of tea and cozy blankets.
That’s a pretty picture for human beings, but if you’re a senior dog, the truth
can be somber. Like a good portion of elderly people in this country,
older dogs are treated as second-class citizens. They’re viewed as a burden,
and not worth the space they take up. And for one hapless dog named Zach, a
senior golden mix, he was also seen as an object to be bargained with; a pawn
in a menacing grudge game. Evil queen takes the king's best
friend.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
—William Congreve
Now, I don’t want to hold a microscope to anyone’s
marriage, let’s just say that Zach’s parents were unhappy. I was married
for about twelve minutes, so I get it. Spouses have issues, words are said
in anger, and soon both parties are at war. Who knows why? That’s
none of my beeswax. Maybe somebody just didn’t follow the shopping
list. Lord knows divorces have happened over dumber things than
that. “I told you to get Sprite, not Sierra Mist!” “It’s the same
damn thing!” “No it’s not, Sprite is fizzier!” “Your BRAIN is
fizzier!” And before you know it, someone is stuck with twelve packs of
soda and hurt feelings. For whatever reason, the wife got pissed off at Zach’s
dad, and surrendered the dog to a local kill shelter. Yes, instead of
taking the Carrie Underwood route and keying her husband’s car, she took out
her aggressions on the one innocent party in this power struggle. I can
only imagine what Zach was thinking. Why are you leaving me here? Did
I do something wrong? What goes through the mind of a pet who is suddenly
ripped from his home? Terror, that’s what. Even the Wicked Witch and
her monkeys could not be that cruel.
Spring blossoms are fairy tales, autumn leaves are
tragic dramas. —Mehmet Murat ildan
I am a flower made of various hues of autumn
leaves. —Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
After fostering Zach for a bit, the neighbors wanted
to find a permanent home for him, and reached out to ARF. Even though
Zach’s parents have made amends, and the husband loved his dog, he didn’t feel
the home environment would be safe. I don’t blame him; if the vindictive
wife would take Zach to the kill shelter once, who says she wouldn’t do it
again? I mean, that would be small and childish, and isn’t she a grown
adult? Maybe she’s learned her lesson from this experience, and now sees
the error of her ways. Perhaps she and her husband are making their
marriage work, and turning a corner in their relationship. Apologies have
been made, and the dust has settled. For all we know, life is all peaches
and cream again in their household. Then again, the husband might just
have a new ninety-pound hound named FANG.
If you’re
interested in adopting Zach, please visit our website arf-fresno.com and fill out an
application. One of our helpful volunteers will call you back to schedule
a meet and greet.
We are so excited about our
Celebrate a Senior Event this Saturday, November 6. Our doors will
be open for anyone interested in looking at senior dogs from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. If
you adopted a senior, we thank you, no matter who you adopted from!
Animal Rescue of Fresno
4545 E Dakota
Ave.
Fresno, CA 93726
Website: arf-fresno.com
Check out more
animal rescue stories in our Pet
Perspective section on Kings River Life, and the Pets section here on KRL
News & Reviews. Check back every month for another animal rescue adventure
from ARF. Advertise in KRL and 10% of your advertising fees can go to a local
animal rescue. Learn more about ARF on their website.
Wendy Hunter has been volunteering with ARF for four years.
She grew up in Fresno and recently became an Office Assistant with Fresno County. She has been writing all of her life, though never
professionally, and currently writes personalized poetry for birthdays, weddings,
pet remembrances, etc.
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