a dog’s life

Alyssa is married with a two-year old son, Tommy, and life was pretty good until a stray dog mysteriously appeared in her life, turned it upside down and became the first issue between her and her husband.

"The stray dog followed Tommy and I home from the park one day and I tried to shoo it away," explains Alyssa, "but Tommy was so excited by the dog that I allowed it to tag along with us."

"When I got to the front gate I wouldn't let it through," says Alyssa, "and Tommy refused to come inside. He just wanted to stand on the other side of the gate talking to the dog!"

"I told him not to touch the dog -- but you know what two-year old kids are like," laughs Alyssa. "Tommy was putting his hand through the bars of the gate and the dog was licking his fingers and I was scared of what germs he'd pick up."

"The dog had no collar or identification and it must have been a stray that someone had dumped at the park."

"I felt sorry for the dog so I told Tommy I'd let it into the yard through the gate -- and feed it -- if he went into the house."

"With Tommy looking through the kitchen window I gave the dog a bowl of milk with buttered bread -- I had no meat -- and within seconds the stuff was wolfed up!"

"I gave him a second and then a third bowl of bread and milk and that was wolfed up too -- the dog must have been starving."

"I then put a bucket of water for the dog to drink near the front gate, left the gate open and hoped it would take off while Tommy was having a nap."

"Three hours later the dog was still there and Tommy was thrilled to pieces," laughs Alyssa. "At that stage I wondered whether it would be a good idea to keep the dog as a pet for Tommy -- and if it was still there when my husband came home I'd suggest the idea to him."

"My husband did object, vehemently," sighs Alyssa. "He hadn't grown up with a couple of dogs like I had, and since it was still hanging around the house when night fell I cajoled him into letting the dog stay the night. I gave it another feed and made up a bed for it in a laundry basket outside the kitchen."

"It was a warm summer night and the dog couldn't possibly have been cold," says Alyssa, "but all night long it howled and howled and howled and kept us awake -- and the whole street, too, and my husband was mad at me!"

"It didn't look like it had ever been a house dog -- and there was no way I wanted a great big dog like that in my house," says Alyssa. "So next morning we decided that the dog had to go. If a full stomach and a fluffy blanket in a laundry basket outside the kitchen wasn't good enough for the stray dog then it wasn't going to be the type of pet dog for Tommy that I wanted."

"My husband refused to take it to the pound because nobody would believe we weren't the original owners and he didn't want to be seen as a dumper -- and he didn't want the dog to be put down," says Alyssa, "so we agreed to take it back to the park in the hope that its owner may turn up or some other kid may fall in love with it."

"The stray dog jumped into the car like it had been in a car before and jumped out without a push when we got to the park," says Alyssa.

"Thankfully it was a Saturday and lots of kids were playing in the park when we got there," says Alyssa. "My husband threw a ball, the dog ran after it and then we took off."

"I looked back and saw the stray dog with the ball in his mouth running after us, and then we turned the corner and that's the last I ever saw of it."

"Sure it was a rotten thing to do to the dog -- but what was the alternative -- a lethal injection at the pound?"

"We told Tommy that the dog belonged to another little boy and that we'd get him a little dog of his own when he is older," says Alyssa, "and thankfully he didn't kick up a fuss. In fact, he didn't show an interest in any dog after that incident."

"If anyone was traumatized by the stray dog incident it was my husband and myself," laughs Alyssa. "We were the ones who lost a night's sleep -- and argued unnecessarily -- over it!"