The Dog Who Suffered When Nobody Was Paying Attention

Life is busy and things, important things, are often overlooked in the midst of the frantic day to day activities.

"Things," like a dog who lives outside on the end of a chain.

The dog who sometimes is thrown a bit of food, and occasionally gets some water.

The dog who exists in a life of utter loneliness and neglect.

That dog, who day after day, week after week, year after year, is in the same place, can become part of the landscape - easy to overlook, easy to forget.

One dog, named "Harvey," suffered this pitiful existence.

This week, someone called animal control to let them know about a dog who was chained up in the backyard of a house.

The dog was in the dirt, he had fallen and was unable to stand.

It turns out that his "family," a term too kind to use because it somehow implies that there should be a semblance of caring, had moved away and left him where he had been chained for years.

Those people left him without food, water or shelter.

They left their fourteen year old dog to die alone.

The dog, covered in fleas, dirt and maggots, was in pain and suffering.

But in his last moments, he was not alone - for the first time in his life, he was touched by the hand of someone who cared.

She writes of those final moments:

I named him ♥ Harvey ♥ and stood by his side while he took his last breath and petted him and told him what a good boy he was and that he would no longer be neglected or suffer. He looked at me with such pretty brown eyes as to say “thank you” and then he was gone.

Life is busy, but it is crucial that everyone remain vigilant to what is happening around them.

Harvey is not the only dog who was forced to live a torturous life on a chain.

Whoever finally picked up the phone to call the authorities likely did not notice that no one was coming out to give the long-neglected dog food, or water.

Whoever that person was, had likely grown used to the sad dog that sat in the back yard of a house.

All the while, Harvey suffered, while nobody was paying attention.

Rest in Peace Harvey.

·         DECEMBER 11, 2012

·         BY: PENNY EIMS

I am human, if you see a typo, please let me know. Questions, comments or story ideas can be emailed to Eims1@live.com.

Suggested by the author:

·         I am a dog, not a thing