waslyinginthreeinchesofwater。WhenItouchedhim,hedidn’tmove。Ithoughthewasdead。Iutmyhandsaroundhischestandhoistedhimtohisfeet。Hestoodunsteadilyintheuddle,hisheadhunglikeaweightattheendofhisneck。Halfhisbodywascoveredwithmange。Hisfloyearswerejusthairlessiecesoffleshdottedwithoensores。
“comeon。”Isaid,hoingIwouldn’thavetocarryhisinfectedcarcasstoshelter。Histailwaggedonceandheloddedweaklyafterme。Iledhimtoanalcovenexttothebar,wherehelayonthecoldcementandclosedhiseyes。
AblockawayIcouldseethelightsofalatenightconveniencestore。Itwasstilloen。IboughtthreecansofAloandstuffedthemintomyleathercoat。IwaswetanduglyandtheclerklookedrelievedasIleft。Therace-tyeexhaustsonmyoldHarleyDavidsonrattledthewindowsinthebarasIrodebacktothebar。
Thebarmaidoenedthecansformeandsaidthedog’snamewasShe。ShetoldmehewasaboutayearoldandthathisownerhadgonetoGermanyandlefthimonthestreet。Heateallthreecansofdogfoodwithanawe-insiringsinglenessofurose。Iwantedtoethim,buthesmelledlikedeathandlookedevenworse。“Goodluck。”Isaid。Thengotonmybikeandrodeaway。
ThenextdayIgotajobdrivingadumtruckforasmallavingcomany。AsIhauledaloadofgravelthroughthecenteroftown,IsawShestandingonthesidewalknearthebar。IyelledtohimandthoughtIsawhistailwag。Hisreactionmademefeelgood。
AfterworkIboughtthreemorecansofAloandacheeseburger。MynewfriendandIatedinnertogetheronthesidewalk。Hefinishedhisfirst。
Thenextnight,whenIbroughthisfood,hewelcomedmewithwildenthusiasm。Nowandthen,hismalnourishedlegsbuckledandhefelltotheavement。Otherhumanshaddesertedhimandmistreatedhim,butnowhehadafriendandhisareciationwasmorethanobvious。
Ididn’tseehimthenextdayasIhauledloadafterloaduthemainstreetastthebar。Iwonderedifsomeonehadtakenhimhome。
AfterworkIarkedmyblackHarleyonthestreetandwalkeddownthesidewalklookingforhim。IwasafraidofwhatIwouldfind。Hewaslyingonhissideinanalleynearby。Histonguehungoutinthedirtandonlythetiofhistailmovedwhenhesawme。
Thelocalveterinarianwasstillathisoffice,soIborrowedaickutruckfrommyemloyerandloadedthelimmongrelintothecab。“Isthisyourdog”thevetaskedaftercheckingtheitifulsecimenthatlayhellesslyonhisexaminingtable。
“No,”Isaid,“he’sjustastray。”
“He’sgotthebeginningsofdistemer,”thevetsaidsadly,“Ifhedoesn’thaveahome,thekindestthingwecandoisuthimoutofhismisery。”
Iutmyhandonthedog’sshoulder。Hismangytailthumedweaklyagainstthestainlesssteeltable。Isighedloudly。“He’sgotahome。”Isaid。
Forthenextthreenightsandtwodays,thedog—InamedhimShe—layonhissideinmyaartment。MyroommateandIsenthoursuttingwaterinhismouthandtryingtogethimtoswallowafewscrambledeggs。Hecouldn’tdoit,butwheneverItouchedhim,histailwaggedslightlyattheveryti。
Atabout10:00a。m。onthethirdday,Iwenthometooentheaartmentforthetelehoneinstaller。AsIsteedthroughthedoor,Iwasnearlyflattenedbyajuming,wigglingmassofeuhoricmutt。Shehadrecovered。
Withtime,themangystarvingdogthatnearlydiedinmylivingroomgrewintoaneighty-oundblockofsolidmuscle,withamassivechestandasuerthickcoatofshinyblackfur。Manytimes,whenlonelinessandderessionhavenearlygottenthebestofme,ShehasreturnedmyfavorbyshoweringmewithhisunbridledfriendshiuntilIhadnochoicebuttosmileandtrademymelancholyforafastgameoffetch-the-stick。
WhenIlookback,IcanseethatSheandImetatthelowointofbothofourlives。Butwearen’tlonelydriftersanymore。I’dsaywe’vebothcomehome。
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