Spread
the Love…
I’ve
watched over the past few weeks, while
driving in to town, a beagle
puppy with no collar run up and down Hwy 197. He was the cutest thing,
his little legs going a-mile-a-minute. I immediately fell in love with
him and wondered why I kept seeing him? Didn’t this darling puppy have a
home? One day I asked a lady who lived off the highway if she knew
anything about the puppy as I was very interested in taking him home with me.
She said, “I wish you would because he chases my cats and eats their
food!” I definitely had her blessing but she also stated, “Good luck
catching him!”
Hwy
197 is a very curvy, busy road and not conducive to pulling your car
over or parking on it. Yet, I did just that several times in
attempt to lure the spotted, floppy-eared puppy into my car. With
his tail between his legs, he’d just run
the opposite direction. He was frightened and not trusting. Then two
days went by with no sign of the dog. Alarmed, I called the local shelter
and, sure enough, a beagle had been brought in that morning. I went to
the shelter (a heart-wrenching experience itself), but much to my
surprise, it was not the roaming beagle off 197. Disappointed I could
only hope that someone else had rescued the little fella. Yet, I
kept my eyes peeled for him.
Living
in the mountains/country, we have what are called “convenience centers.”
This is where you take your trash and recycling materials. Our
convenience center was located off 197, near where I had seen the puppy. Lo and behold, one morning about two
weeks after my shelter experience I
was taking my trash to the
convenience center, and I spied my beagle! The worker at the
center was throwing food to him from inside his office. I approached
the man and asked him about the
dog, saying I’d like to help the puppy find a home. He told me he
had been feeding him for several weeks and had to do so from his office or the
dog would run off. He, too, gave me his blessing and “wished me
luck” in catching the frightened puppy. I sensed the man would be happy
for the beagle to have a home, but also would miss the relationship the two of
them already had established.
I
attempted to slowly approach our four-legged friend with food, calling him with
my feminine voice thinking that would differentiate me from the man’s failed
attempts to catch him. Of course, Mr. Beagle took off faster than you
could shake a stick. I left feeling defeated but also, as I look at many
things in life, thought… “If it is meant to be, it will be.” But I wasn’t going to sit back
passively hoping to rescue him either.
I began thinking of nets and other strategies. This puppy was in my
thoughts and heart more and more with each passing day. I knew freezing
temperatures were approaching and I became very concerned about his well-being.
Yesterday
morning, on my way to an important meeting, I turned a sharp curve and there
was my furry friend but this time, lying off the highway as if in a deep,
peaceful sleep. I abruptly pulled my car over as others laid on their
horns while they angrily passed me by—I didn’t care. I ran towards
him hoping I was not too late. I found him with his eyes shut and his
breath so faint that it was barely noticeable. I bent down and looked into
his face. His eyes opened while he left his body. He had frozen to
death.
I
was devastated! The “If only….’s”
began rushing through my mind as fast as the beagle’s short legs had run from
me. I then embraced his frozen body into my arms and placed it in the
back of my car. My plan was to take him home and bury him on our
property. But I felt
compelled to stop by the convenience center not knowing if the same man who was
feeding our puppy would be on duty. He was.
I told him I found our furry friend just moments ago…. He was
visibly saddened. But when I told him I had the puppy in my car and
planned on burying him he brightened up and said
he had been blessed by the beagle puppy and
he’d like to bury him on his property which was close by. I agreed.
When he picked up the stiffened body he commented that he took great
comfort and pride that the puppy was so heavy. I said, “Yes, you fed him
well.” We parted with
tears running down both of our faces.
This
beagle was homeless, afraid, and struggled for his survival. Yet, I
strongly feel he knew at a certain level that he was loved during
his short time on earth by a convenience center worker and a determined,
some-what obsessed, lady. And without need of saying, he certainly knows
he is deeply loved where he is now!
His
life, to me, was representative of the loneliness, fear and struggles that lie
in each of us. There is no difference between any of us. We share common humanity with the
same feelings and emotions. Acknowledging and accepting our likeness should
allow not only compassion for others but for our own selves. We are all one in
the eyes of God and our furry counterparts are every bit as important as those
of us who walk on two legs. It is vital for us to know and remember our
inner-connection to one another and spread our love to each passing one we
meet; furry or not. I think my beagle buddy, if he could speak now,
would say, “Spread the Love…”
Denna J. Shelton, Copyright 2013
www.twentygemsworkshops.com
www.meditationforchildren.org
