Dog On A Chain

Before I write what I wanted to write, I want to plug my cousin’s blog. She is actually my cousin's wife and writes about the books she’s read. http://www.jcbookblog.blogspot.com/

I visited my family during my kids’ spring break, and as I was talking to my siblings, Baby Sister brought up the subject of the dog that lived in the yard beyond our back fence. That was when we had moved to the small town from Suburbia.

The kids who lived in the house back there, were named Chip and Harvey, and being the consummate cartoon lovers we were, we started calling them Chip and Dale. When they had a dog, they kept it chained with a small-link chain in the back yard. What was eventually to happen, strained our relationship with Chip and Dale for a long time afterward.

Everyday, when any of us would come out of our back door, Chip and Dale’s dog would bark and bark at us for as long as he could see us from his yard. One day, I was out in the back with my siblings when this irritating barking began. I went to the fence and the dog increased his barking and strained at the limit of his chain.

I ran to one end of the fence and the dog followed as far as his chain would allow. Then I ran to the other end of the fence and he moved toward me. I began to run back and forth to each end of the fence while the dog frantically barked and followed me. This process began to wind his chain shorter around the post so that his reach was shortened as he ran.

This amused me as the dog threw himself bodily against the restriction of his chain trying to get closer to me. What I didn’t realize at first, was his chain was also winding around this neck.

By now, he was throwing himself as hard as he could against the limit of his chain and began strangling himself, and his barks came more hoarsely. I walked away and even went into the house thinking the dog would calm down and unwind himself. After all, I never touched him or entered his yard.

A little while later, I had to come out again and as soon as the dog saw me, he began his barking and lunging again. He hadn’t even unwound himself. After a few lunges without my conscious provocation, he began making strangling sounds.

This time, one of the Chip and Dale duo was in the yard and began trying to help the dog. I became concerned as he began crying and the dog was making more pitiful sounds.

I think it was Harvey. He knew enough that I had probably provoked the dog and was becoming angry with in his frustration to not be able to help the dog.

I jumped the fence and came up to the dog. I slowly reached out to the animal and caught him and held his muzzle in case he thought to bite me. He was beyond the ability to do me much damage and I took a look at the chain wound around his neck.

I was horrified to see that the chain was imbedded in the dog’s neck. I tentatively tried to unwind the chain, but there was skin pinched between the links of chain and I was not willing to rip the skin of the dog’s throat. I said to Harvey, “You better get your mom or dad.”

I hopped back over the fence as Harvey’s mom came outside. She was understandably angry with me and began to deal the with dog’s dilemma.

Baby Sister remembers seeing the blood on the towel after the dog was freed from the chain. He was kept inside for a few days, and I’m pretty sure they didn’t use a chain to tie up the dog anymore after that.

We weren’t in that family’s good graces for the longest time after that. They had a tally of our offenses including the dog incident and all the BB gun dents in their siding.

So, not only do I have the blood of a chicken on my hands, but I am a dog tormentor as well. I really did feel bad about the whole thing, but some things can only be given time to heal.

I have a beautiful shepherd/black lab that I know I wouldn’t want anything like that to happen to. I am more kind to animals now and I stay away from live chickens.