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May
31, 2009
Unlike many DDB members, I do not often see chained dogs. I'm
blessed to
live in a liberal suburb near San Francisco, where the debate
isn't about
chaining but rather about the city finding new places for off-
leash parks.
The next-door dog roams around freely much of the time, leaving
her yard
only to come up to sunbathe on our front porch.
So I knew I needed to steel myself in advance of a recent trip to
Loreto,
Mexico, a small town on the Baja peninsula, where I knew I'd see
miserable
animals on virtually every corner. I packed some brochures in
Spanish and
kept telling myself I needed to be strong if there was any hope
enjoying
our vacation.
But of course I fell apart.
Encountering skinny, lonely, chained dogs every day (of course I
couldn't
stop myself from peering anxiously into virtually every backyard
and
courtyard) caused me more than a few sleepless nights. I kept
asking
myself: "How on earth do the DDB reps do it every day? I'd end up
in a
mental ward or arrested for murder (or theft at a minimum)."
Late one night, I found the questions giving way to resignation.
Loreto,
Mexico is a teeny, tiny spot on the world map. I kept thinking of
the
millions of dogs suffering throughout the rest of the country,
into Central
America, in South America, over in Eastern Europe .. and of
course all over
the United States. Oh God, and China! And on and on and on and on.
I got myself to sleep that night by telling myself I was done.
Finished. I
would go back to home and quietly get off the DDB email lists.
I'd just try
to forget about chained dogs for a while. After all, there was
really
nothing that could be done. The problem is just too vast, too
universal.
Plus, I needed my sanity. And my sleep.
But I still couldn't ignore the few dogs I had gotten access to,
namely
the emaciated sweetheart chained in the courtyard of our
babysitter's house
and the one-eyed rottweiler mix, still mostly puppy, staked in
the back of
a restaurant. These dogs' caretakers had gotten a brochure from
me and the
restaurant employees, who said they collectively own the one-eyed
puppy,
had gotten an angry earful from the crazy gringo lady, spouting
off in
English no less, about how it might be nice to give the panting
black dog
some freakin' water.
On our last day, I saw both these dogs one more time. When we
went to pick
up the kids at our babysitter's house, I snuck out back to check
on the
brown dog. Lo and behold she was off the chain! Still stuck in a
concrete
jail, alone, but off the chain nonetheless. And there was food in
her bowl.
I gave her a leftover hamburger and made sure her too-small
collar was
still on the last hole, where I'd put it the day before. It was.
A final stroll past Palapas, the restaurant where the rottie mix
was
chained, also held a surprise. The dog had food and water in her
bowls for
the first time I'd ever seen. And yes, they hadn't re-tightened her
harness. A waiter came out to greet the crazy "dog lady" with a
smile. He
wanted to assure me that the dog was only chained when customers
were in
the restaurant. It ate well. They had read the brochures. Was I a
vegetarian? We shared a laugh. Despite the fact that I'd done
everything
wrong, that I'd approached people in anger and without any
subtlely or
finessse, especially given that I was a foreigner in their
country, I was
left to believe -- to hope -- that at least a little portion of
the message
had gotten through.
Life was maybe a little better for at least two or three Loreto
dogs. At
least for a while. And surely other people had seen the brochures
I left in
various places around town.
Then, I understood. I truly realized, for the first, time, what
keeps the
DDB reps going. Yes, I had read that little "starfish" parable,
the story
about the boy throwing starfish back into the sea, even if he
could never
hope to save the millions that had washed ashore. But finally it
all
crystallized for me: Making a difference for even one dog
matters. It
matters a lot. Besides, there was surely a time in the US, not
that long
ago, where the notion of a law to limit or ban chaining was
virtually
unthinkable. Today, laws are being considered -- and sometimes
even passed
and actually enforced -- all across the country.
Maybe I wouldn't get off the DDB email lists just yet.
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