When Life Isn't Fair to a Child
It's a Dog's Life.
My parents managed to save the dog. They brought it home to me as a present. I was unimaginably happy-ecstatically happy. I had never had my own dog before. I named him Brownie. What a grand dog! He followed me everywhere and always did as I directed. He was a happy dog and bothered no one. Then a nearby boy, a teenager, the local newspaper delivery boy, began the practice of using his slingshot on Brownie.
Brownie would yelp in pain every time that ignoramus shot him. Then, one day, Brownie was free and ran after the boy who peddled his bike as fast as he could. Brownie got him on the leg. I rejoiced! Fair is fair. The bully was found out. Hahaha!
Hahaha, nothing. Brownie was seized by the authorities and I was informed he was to be kept at the dog pound. Now I thought my parents said the dog pond, and that Brownie would be happy there, so I could stop crying. It wasn't until later that I came to realize the truth. My dog was destroyed. Done away with. Forgotten. While that kid would go on to who knows what kind of life?
Yes, sometimes life is not fair. Sometimes we lose some of the things that are dearest to us. What do we do? We go on. We continue trying. We keep going. What don't we do? We don't forget the things, the creatures, the people that we keep dear in our heart, forevermore.
Brownie is still number one to me. He always will be.
Published by Vincent Summers
My secular expertise includes 23 years of experience at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, with a share in NASA's extended Voyager 2 effort. I formerly wrote for Demand Studios, Bukisa, Suite 101, Exa... View profile
- Shared Parenting: Tips on How to Handle Joint CustodyTips on how to deal with shared parenting after divorce.
How to Tell the Difference Between Friends and AcquaintancesSometimes the people we call friends are really just acquaintances. Here are some ways to tell if your friendships are really as solid as they look... - Is it Abuse to Overfeed a Child?Weight issues and whether overfeeding a child can be considered as abuse.
- Circle of Life: What Goes Around Comes AroundAn ode to mother's everywhere
- Weighing the Facts: What Are the Right Reasons to Have a Baby? At some point in their lives, for a wide array of reasons, most women decide that they would like to become mothers.
- Book Review: Just Tell Me What to Say by Betsy Brown Braun
- What Not to Say to Your Child when They Go Off to College
- Learning to Live with OCD
- How to Choose a Guardian for Your Child
- Up against the Child Bullies
- What HcG and Progesterone Levels Mean to Pregnancy
- How to Plan a Baby Shower for a Pregnant Teen
39 Comments
Post a CommentYou are a wise man! You inspire, what to me,are true values.
His bad karma must have eventually caught up with him. People like that never succeed in life. The Bible plainly state that "What a man sows, he shall surely reap."
How sad!
Great story Vincent, it made me sad.
Wow, Patricia... Your pain is WAY over mine. There's just no comparing them. Please take comfort in this promise: "Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life..." - John 5:28, 29.
I feel your scars. My baby of seven years old contracted histoplasmosis - from sniffing the soil...it's what dogs DO. She was given 3-4 months and we babied her through 18 months before saying goodbye. You're right...life's not fair sometimes. Thanks for sharing.
Oh Vincent, what a horrible thing to have happen to both you and to Brownie. I'm writing this with my sweet dog lying beside me. The picture in your piece looks a lot like my dog. I don't think I could have lived through that. I'm sorry you had to endure it.
What a creep! I hope he got what he deserves!
I think we learn so much more from these personal stories than we do from the how to kind of articles that I have been writing most of my life. I've written lots of personal stories in blogs and on FB, and after all my years in journalism I thought they were merely tales, but I'm really changing my opinion. Your very personal story touched a lot of people. We all relate in some way, if only in the sense of loss and injustice. And that reaches so many more, and makes a much stronger point than the standard article. Very nice, Vincent. Thank you.
Oh, Vincent. This brought tears to my eyes. It must have been so painful for you. Being a dog lover, I can't imagine going through that. :-(