Letter: I wait at the gate but no one comes

The cases are out and the excitement grows, as all the children decide “which clothes?”

I feel a sense of overwhelming panic.

Am I going too? I try to ask, by means of a wagging tail, and an excited bark.

A day or two later the car is packed, and my family hit the track.

I wait at the gate but no one comes.

I am so afraid, and hungry too, and I search for water as my tongue feels like dry glue.

I am gripped by fear as I find none, and the dehydration has begun.

More than anything I am so sad, when my family returns I`ll be so glad.

A week passes by and no one comes. I am giving up. I can`t go on.

My death is slow and lonely too, and my heart is broken, I`m only 2.

I just pray that when my family gets back, another pet they do not get!!

I loved them so much, as dogs always do, but treat me well they failed to do.

* * *

This plea is on behalf of all the pets that suffer abandonment and die painful deaths.

Please folks, if you are going away, make arrangements to have your pets taken care of. For many dogs, cats, birds, and many other pets, there is nothing festive about the festive season. If you cannot make a lifelong commitment to care for your pet the way it deserves to be taken care of, then don`t get one in the first place.

I applaud all animal shelters and animal protection and rescue societies, as well as the staff at The Dog Box, (the SPCA retail store) and the many people that care for the feral cats in Ballito and surrounds. Thanks too to The North Coast Courier, who are always ready to print an article that is animal related.

Please don`t use fireworks that cause large explosive sounds. Your one minute of “fun” causes a lifetime of misery and even death, for many animals countrywide.
Merry Christmas to all the people that take good care of their pets.

Proverbs 10:3 “A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.”

JENNY STEIN 

Ballito