The Last Dog on Earth

The Last Dog On Earth

-- Hildegard Patton (written in 2005)

They were at the door. Her little dog was growling

softly. She tried to hush the sound. She knew what

they wanted. She felt as though her heart was being

ripped from her chest. She had managed to hide her

little friend for years. She shared her food and bed

with her. She had bought her on the black market. It

had cost her dearly but it was worth it.

She had been so alone. Nothing to love her or for

her to love in return. Her children had grown up and

forgotten her. Her husband had died two years

before she found Sweetie. Sweetie had been a tiny

black and tan ball of fur showing her Yorkshire

Terrier background. Of course, she knew that

Sweetie could not been purebred. There had been

no purebred dogs for years. There were few dogs

since the breeders had been slowly and methodically

beaten down.

When this first started, everyone sat back and said

they could not possibly be the breeders they were

talking about. After all, they loved their dogs and

they were not puppymills. They would never let

themselves be overloaded with dogs. Some of them

did not get overloaded nor did they breed more than

a litter or two a year. They were smug and secure in

that only the puppymills were being raided. The raids

were relentless. They would take place in one state

then another. The dog raiders got smarter with every

raid. They learned about warrants, the court system,

the law in different states and they used whatever

means they could to eliminate the breeders of dogs.

Some people thought the raiders were dog lovers

trying to save the poor mistreated puppies. Some of

them were dog lovers, at first. The well-meaning

rescue groups were used. The American Kennel Club

was used. They would revoke the rights of the

breeder who was raided. Kennel clubs were

infiltrated and destroyed from within. The very

fiber of the dog world was silently unraveled

one string at a time.

Everyone would rise to arms against every breeder

raided. Saying things like that terrible person

mistreated those poor dogs; that person had too

many dogs; and that person is crazy. If the truth

were not provoking enough they would lie and say

that person should die. They campaigned by e-mail,

petitioned the courts, and used political pull. Even

when common sense would tell them that they did=

not know the facts or circumstances, they persist.

They would see fat happy tail wagging dogs and

would say abused dogs. They no longer believed

their own eyes. The dogs tried to tell the truth

but no one could hear them.

True, there were cases of abuse, beaten, starved,

and sick animals at first. Then the tide shifted. Good

honest dog loving people started to be raided. Any

reason was used. Dogs were taken and the owners

refused rights to reclaim their dogs. The raiders

started to narrow the number of dogs which were

in violation. Any person with a dog became a target.

Dog grooming became a thing of the past. Veterinarian

services were performed out of back room under the

dark of night until there were no veterinarians. Dog

shows had long disappeared along with the American

Kennel Club. Children were told tales of the days

when every boy had a dog to run with through fields.

The stories of "Old Shep," "Ol'Yeller", "Call of the

Wild", "Lassie" and all those wonderful stories which

would bring tears to the eyes of grown men were

being forgotten except by a few.

But she remembered as a little girl the small dog who

loved her, followed her everywhere, and gave her

comfort like no one on earth could give. She just had

to find her that special warmth, the grateful lick-kiss,

something that loved her unconditional and a reason

for getting up in the morning. She found Sweetie

Now they were at her door to take the life that she

cherished. The warm little black and tan 3-pound

body that loved her as much as she loved it. And

there was no one to stop them.

The old lady with the last dog on earth.