OMG, ok, so Tanya and I had this interesting conversation last night at the crisis line and it prompted me to write about it today. Tanya and I often bond over our small town upbringings-she in Nashville, Illinois (where back in the day my grandpa was "kidnapped" by Aunt Delli and had to be "re-kidnapped" by his own mother. True story-just ask him.) and I in Salem, Mo (the Mother of all small towns).There is an interesting phenomenon that happens out in the country. If you are easily horrified-stop reading now.
You will often have stray cats and dogs just show up at your house. They'll find what looks like a nice and cozy place and set up residence, often to the dismay of the homeowners. In fact, this is how my parents got Stubby (more on that later). 
Another phenomenon related to this is stray animal dumping. Now, it may sound cruel, and I'm not a fan, but I'm sorry, that's just how we roll in the country. Stray animal dumping looks like this: you take the unsuspecting cat or dog and you drive it miles and miles away, preferably down a gravel road.....and you leave it there. The other option is to take it to the local vet, who will charge you a fee and will most likely euthanize it. Sure that may sound like a better and more humane option, but let me tell ya, the volume of animals that show up at your house would be quite expensive throughout the years....Which brings me to the story of how Stubby came to be the family pet. When she was a puppy, she showed up at my parents house one day, my mom thought she was a possum, my dad wondered what that ugly little thing was in his yard....this stubby little dog had decided she'd found her home. Well, my parents had taken ownership of two puppies and our beloved Spaz had just passed away, so my dad didn't want any more pets.....so, he loaded this little possum-looking dog up into his truck and off he drove.....hours later, my mom says "dear, I thought you dumped that stubby little dog down the road?". Dad says "I did", then mom says "well, why is she sitting there on the deck staring at me?". Seems Stubby (as she will forever be called) was meant to live at the Davidson house. Ever since, she has been a regular member of the family, in fact, she may actually be treated BETTER than everyone else (it may have to do with her abandonment issues and the fact that she is a princess). 
(this is our Stubby girl...I think she's cute!).
Another phenomenon related to this is stray animal dumping. Now, it may sound cruel, and I'm not a fan, but I'm sorry, that's just how we roll in the country. Stray animal dumping looks like this: you take the unsuspecting cat or dog and you drive it miles and miles away, preferably down a gravel road.....and you leave it there. The other option is to take it to the local vet, who will charge you a fee and will most likely euthanize it. Sure that may sound like a better and more humane option, but let me tell ya, the volume of animals that show up at your house would be quite expensive throughout the years....Which brings me to the story of how Stubby came to be the family pet. When she was a puppy, she showed up at my parents house one day, my mom thought she was a possum, my dad wondered what that ugly little thing was in his yard....this stubby little dog had decided she'd found her home. Well, my parents had taken ownership of two puppies and our beloved Spaz had just passed away, so my dad didn't want any more pets.....so, he loaded this little possum-looking dog up into his truck and off he drove.....hours later, my mom says "dear, I thought you dumped that stubby little dog down the road?". Dad says "I did", then mom says "well, why is she sitting there on the deck staring at me?". Seems Stubby (as she will forever be called) was meant to live at the Davidson house. Ever since, she has been a regular member of the family, in fact, she may actually be treated BETTER than everyone else (it may have to do with her abandonment issues and the fact that she is a princess). (this is our Stubby girl...I think she's cute!).I fully realize you city people will not understand this, and that's ok. Please don't call the Humane Society or the ASPCA on us.......thanks.
7 comments:
OMG...it still makes me laugh just thinking about the conversation. I'm sure the animal lovers at the call center were horrified. But KD is totally right, that is how we roll. And the ironic thing, is that the ones that came back end up being the favorite pet. Ours was Stokie, please his soul! Citi folk just don't know....
too funny, I was LOL reading this. Didn't some comedian do a bit on how growing up people didn't buy dogs, they just found them? Seriously there are probably 800 cats and 37 dogs making their home on any given farm in mid america.
Rob-I knew you'd get it, being from I-O-way and all..... :)
I get it and I'm only half country. That's how we got my dog Blossom. She just showed up one day at the barn and wouldn't leave. We even saw the people stop and throw her out of the car. We took pity on her and kept her. And you all know how much I ended up loving that dog. One time we had a pet rabbit show up at our house. That was interesting...
There isn't a dog that's more loved than Stubby. She is a total princess. She is asleep on the couch right now with her head on a pillow. Awwwww.
We would have ate that rabbit.
From my co-worker Julie:
Ok, so I just caught up on your blog and have to tell you that I totally know about the pet dumping that goes on. At my parents house, they currently have a cat that has adopted them. This cat repeatedly gets knocked up, has kittens, the kittens grow, get knocked up, have kittens...You can see where this is going. My mom was feeding like 10 of these cats at some point. As they live out in the country though, the numbers have dwindled (some have been hit, others may have been eaten by larger animals, etc). Right now they have 2 cats and 1 kitten (3 generations). Mom has not seen the momma cat (Sally) in quite a while though so their numbers may stabilize. I think my mom likes taking care of them, but my dad is kind of ready to kill them...
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