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posting from purgatory |
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07/09/08 The Dogs  As I was making coffee this morning, I watched Mini Toy cross the front lawn on his way to the park. In a flash, in my underwear, I was outside calling him over to me. The gate to the back yard was open. Someone had gone into my yard in the night; probably from the housing project that I back onto to retrieve something that ended up on my side. Frida was waiting at the open gate, Daisy was not in the yard. I sprinted into the house. She was already back in bed. There are not many circumstances that would find me outside in my briefs. The safety of our dogs is one.
All of our dogs are Mexican street rescues. We flew them to Canada, two in baggage one as carry-on, when we relocated from Mexico to Toronto. We were all cramped into a small one bedroom apartment. We could not afford to rent a house in Toronto. If it were not for the dogs, we would almost be certainly be living in the city now. Their well being was the tipping factor in the debate to move to my home town. We gave up fantastic restaurants, a vibrant night life, proximity to my closest friends, culture and all that a metropolis has to offer for a big yard.
Mini Toy was the first to find us. Seven years ago, he took refuge outside of our door in an apartment complex in Guadalajara during a thunder storm. He was not easy to coax in but was eventually won over with a slice of ham. We immediately bathed him and claimed him as our own. We found out the following day that he had been put out on the street by a woman who had recently broken up with her boyfriend. Mini Toy was a gift to her from him.
Frida's arrival was planned. We moved to a small town south of Guadalajara in the fall of 2003. I was working 60 hour weeks and Eddy was commuting daily to Guadalajara to attend school. Mini Toy needed company. Eddy found Frida at a street market. A saint of a woman, Anita of Anita's Animals, sets up shop every week at the street market in Ajijic with her abandoned dogs and cats in hopes of finding them homes. When we adopted Frida, Anita had more than 100 companion animals which she cared for with very little help. Frida and all of her brothers had been found in a garbage can and brought to Anita. If it were not for the thankless work of Anita, we would not have Frida in our lives. It's time for another donation.
Daisy simply followed us home. We were walking home from a small fish and chip restaurant that we briefly owned. Daisy was hanging around a taco stand that we passed by. I'm sure she tagged along behind us because we smelled like food. I tried several times to shoo her away but she would not be deterred. The walk was about 15 minutes and when we got close I said to Eddy that I would put some food and water out on the street for her and if she were still around in the morning, we would take her in. When we arrived at our corner, we encountered the large male German Shepperd that lived across the street. He took an immediate interest in Daisy. I scooped her up and brought her inside. That was the Spring of 2005. She has been with us ever since.
I could not nor would want to imagine our lives without the dogs. If I weren't sleepily looking out the window this morning while the coffee was brewing, this blog entry could have been much different.
G
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