Uplifting Hollywood Endings Hard to Find

I remember being fascinated when the first DVD came out with a “choose your own ending” feature.  If you didn’t like how the movie ended at the theatre, you had several options from which to choose at home.  I sometimes wish life was like that, especially when it comes to dogs.

Within the past month, I have had dealings in one form or another with 5 dogs who have been dumped. The dogs have varied in age, looks, and temperament.  Some have been purebred, some have been All American.  The outcomes have varied as well.  I am passionate about animals, dogs in particular.  I lose  lots of sleep thinking and worrying about these dogs.  It is beyond my comprehension why  an owner would drive to the countryside, open the door, push out a dog,  and then drive away.  Do these folks even think twice about what happens to that dog?

Let’s take the best case scenario, Milly.  Milly is a purebred left on the street to fend for herself.  She is now on her third home.  Milly had tried the latest owners’ patience as she really had no clue as to how to behave or what expectations people might have.  She had no training.  This third family has a heart of gold and did not want to see Milly have to find a fourth home, go to the shelter, or be euthanized, so they committed to spending the time and effort to train Milly.  After 6 weeks, Milly is getting the hang of how to be a member of the family.  She’s far from perfect, but the owner tells me they can no longer think of the family as a whole without including Milly.   Great ending.  One I wish I could write for each of the abandoned dogs I’ve mentioned.

Let’s take the worse case scenario.  Max has been taken to the country and dumped.  Max sits patiently at the spot he was dumped, waiting each day for his owner to return. He checks each passing car just in case his owner has returned.  After two weeks, it appears that is not going to happen.  Wouldn’t it be nice to put the same ending Milly had on this story?  Unfortunately, that probably won’t happen.  Let’s take a look at all the alternate endings this story might have were it on one of the Hollywood DVDs.

Max is dumped.  He is hungry as he was placed far away from the city, not near any homes.  Max wanders from his lookout point in search of food and finds a nice farm with pigs, cows, and chickens.  He decides that one of those farm animals might help fill his stomach.  He kills a chicken, only to be seen by the farm owner who, to protect his livestock, shoots Max.  The farmer is following what the law allows – shooting a dog who attacks his animals.  Max will either be dead or he will live with an injury that will become infected, leading to his death.  Don’t like that ending?  Let’s try another.

Max decides to give up waiting for his owner, who apparently has gotten lost.  So he decides to begins the trek back to his home, following the road in the direction he thinks he came from.  A large truck comes along just as Max begins his journey.  Max gets hit and either dies on the side of the road or is injured so badly, he will die later in the woods.  Still not the ending you want?  There must be another.

Max is picked up by animal control.  The officer picks up Max and takes him to the shelter.  Max is not purebred.  He is older, maybe 7, and not neutered.  Max will be placed in the already overcrowded shelter and he will be cared for by the workers who are already overwhelmed.  Within a few days, a large litter of cute, small puppies arrives at the shelter.  The pens are full and resources are short, all the rescue groups are full.  The chances are these little pups will be adopted before Max, so in order to make room for them, Max has to be euthanized.  

These endings all keep coming out the same, don’t they?  Sad, but they are the most likely scenario.  Milly is a one-in –a-thousand dream ending. Most dumped dogs end up like Max.  These stories are true.  I do not know as of this writing what ending Max will have.  A good Samaritan has discovered Max and we are going to see if we can do something to save him tonight.  He will need vet treatment and a foster home.  Please remember, it is against the law to dump a dog. It’s also cruel.  Try to find him a home.  There is help out there, just look for it.   

Jan Casey is a positive dog trainer who owns Smiles and Wags Pet Services.