Day 99: The girls next door

MONDAY
10 November 2008

Even though I’ve lived at Yvonne and Ed’s a while, I JUST discovered that if I go to the side of the house outside, I can see the two beautiful German shepherds that live next door.  There’s a small gap in the fencing/wall where I can reach over and pet them.  Bella and Chocolate.  Sisters.  Dear God, these are two of the most stunning specimens of German shepherd I have ever seen.  Just beautiful.  This is not a great picture (camera phone, you know), but here they are.  Bella on the left, Chocolate on the right.

Look at their faces!!  These dogs are desperate for attention.  A few weeks ago (before moving to WeHo for a short time), I had the privilege of meeting Chocolate out on the street.  She was the sweetest and most gentle creature, and again, so beautiful.  What devastates me is that Chocolate’s owner told me her family really doesn’t have time for these two dogs, which is obvious.

They are kept in gravel-lined pen on the side of the house.  There’s so much dog waste in the pen, they have flies landing on them constantly.  They are never walked, despite the fact that the neighbors have two teenage sons.  Dogs this size need exercise!  Is it any wonder they’re hyper when somebody walks by?  They also need love and affection, evidenced by the fact that Chocolate refused to leave my side that day I met her out on the sidewalk.  FINALLY, someone was paying attention to her!

It confounds me.  I’m not saying the neighbors are bad people, don’t get me wrong.  Like most, they’re just a family trying to get by, raise their kids, live decent lives, etc.  There is no judgment on my part, nor should there be.  Still, if they don’t have time to care for them, why have two big dogs like this?  And they are BIG.  I’m guessing Chocolate is 110 pounds and Bella is probably 100.  Look at their huge paws!  When they jump up on the wall (like in the picture), I get big wet kisses on my hands, arms and face while I’m petting them.  To some extent, I can tell they’re thinking, “What the hell is this guy doing?  Rubbing our heads and haunches and paws?  Scratching our snoots?  We’ve never experienced anything like this before!  Is this how it’s supposed to be?”

Before too long, I’ve got tears streaming down my face because these amazing creatures deserve better living conditions than this.  It further devastates me that I don’t have my own place to live.  Not even for me, but a place where I could give Bella and Chocolate lots of love and attention and exercise, and the family could be relieved of the responsibility they are seemingly unable to handle.  I know… I can’t solve all the world’s problems… that sucks, too.

I’m going to volunteer to walk the dogs for them, but what happens after I leave West Hills?  They’ll go back to confinement, flies and no attention.  Breaks my heart.