"...why hast thou forsaken [us]?" by Dick Brooks

"...why hast thou forsaken [us]?"

by Dick Brooks

why hast thou forsaken [us]? PSALM 22 (Revised Standard Version) * It all began last Monday when I went to a nearby library to send an email, as my computer is still boxed following relocation. Pulling into the treeless parking lot, the car came to rest close to a group of pine trees bordering the rear of the property. Though the temperature was already in the eighties and climbing, the AC was doing a heckuva job keeping us cool; us being Squirt, a female pit mix whose alpha-dog status remained unchallenged over the years; Goldie, a diminutive mix breed who tugged on everybodys heartstrings, Hey Girl, an affectionate yellow lab, the most recent addition to the group; and me. Unmarried, with two grown children, these girls were now my immediate family; as loving and expressive a furry threesome anyone could ever hope to have. With the car in park and locked, I left with the engine running and the air conditioning going full blast, satisfied that my canine friends would nod off in the coolness of the automobile, awaiting my return; a routine that we had down pat for the last three summers. About 45 minutes elapsed and I returned to the car to give my buddies a break. As they saw me approaching there was the customary barking and three tails awaggin. Ten minutes later, having done their business in a field behind the library, and having quenched their thirst (always carry water), they happily returned to the polar-like conditions in the car. Realizing the temperature was still climbing and the humidity already oppressive, I returned to the computer and cut the message short indicating that it was just too hot to leave the dogs unattended much longer even though weve been through this scenario scores of times over the past two summers. As I was preparing to leave and print out some documents, I remembered I failed to send another email. Still seated, I was quickly going through my copy-paste-and-compose routine, when I was interrupted by a concerned stranger who asked, Do you have dogs in your car? I replied I did but not to worryits running and the AC is on. Apparently satisfied, he left and I resumed typing. Another fifteen minutes elapsed and with the second email on its way, I went to retrieve the documents from the printer. As I was gathering the material the same individual returned and said rather sternly, Your car is NOT running! In a flash I was out the door and racing to the rear of the parking lot. A sense of foreboding took hold as I approached the vehicle. He was right. The engine was not running and there wasnt any movement within; not one tail wagging, not a bark. As I unlocked the door, none of them were in their customary spots on the seats, front or rear. Instead, Hey Girl was lying on top of Squirt; both fifty pounders crammed on the floor between the drivers seat and the foot controls, while Goldie was gruesomely contorted on the floor in the rear - all dead! Having spent the better part of my life with dozens of pets and large animals, it didnt take a vet school graduate to realize that I had perpetrated a terrible and irreversible tragedy upon those I loved and adored. Purple tongues and gums, glazed eyes and non-existent heartbeats told the whole story. Predictably, the direct mouth-to-mouth resuscitation I applied to each one proved futile. I literally loved my best friends to death. I drove out of the parking lot in a state of shock. Mindful that an automobile as well as its air conditioning system are mechanical devices, I thought I had done right, having had the car serviced regularly and the AC recharged just weeks before in anticipation of the upcoming hot weather. Lulled into complacency by the success of our routine the previous summers, I failed to consider that any of the services (ignition included) could be disabled by an exuberant pet and didnt feel the urgency to check on their well-being every ten minutes or so. Although Ive benefited from their unconditional love, un-abiding devotion and no-questions-asked-friendship, I failed to reciprocate responsibly. They certainly deserved a better fate. Even though my tears have dried, this calamitous memory will remain indelibly etched in my very being for the remainder of my life. I have buried other friends who have succumbed to injury and illness. This threesome, however, was cremated Sunday, together, just as they lived - romping and enjoying a lifestyle of freedom and camaraderie. They now occupy an urn at my bedside, which will serve as a daily reminder that loving anyone or anything requires a constant mindfulness that things can go wrong and to take the proper precautions to avoid possible tragedies. Love and continuing displays of affection are simply not enough. Ive been told that I would be foolish to submit this confession to the press, that I would be an easy target for a fine or sanctions by the appropriate authorities. And that Id be the object of scorn and ridicule by animal lovers everywhere. I acknowledge these possibilities. But there could be no harsher punishment than living with the tortuous images of my loved ones seeking to escape the inferno in that automobile. To remain silent as to their fate would be a cowards way out. As the heat of summer engulfs us, if this letter prevents just one pet, OR ONE CHILD, from suffering the same agonizing fate, then retelling this tragedy will have borne some fruit. May God bless their souls and give me the strength to correct my inexcusable failings. ------------------------- * "why have you abandoned [us]?" PSALM 22 (Good News Bible) Respectfully submitted, Dick Brooks Stow Creek, NJ 856-451-3331 EPILOGUE TO FOLLOW

Comments would be appreciated by the author, Dick Brook