Three Times Too Big
Dia duit! Hello! And no, you cannot have my lucky charms! My name is Clancy, and if you can’t tell, my family is native to Ireland. If you must know a bit about me, let’s get this out of the way first. Contained within my downy white hair covered body is a heart literally three times larger than average, and this condition is further worsened by a rather sever heart murmur. But it doesn’t bother me much; I still jump around and play, and do so quite often. Now here is my story……
I was born in Babylon, and lived with the Irish family that had brought my mom with them. However, they were moving back to Ireland, and could not take my four siblings, my mother and I with them. We were all deposited off at the Babylon municipal shelter. It was there that my family was all adopted away, while I remained, being too scrawny and frail. After quite some time, the shelter deemed me un-adoptable, and planned to put me to sleep! We had all watched in terror as the old and sickly dogs in the cages nearby dragged from their dens, yelping and crying for mercy, only to be brought into the back room, where they were never seen again. That could not and would happen to me!
It was then that I was miraculously rescued by the saints from the North Shore Animal League. An employee named Steve had stopped by, and unbeknownst to me, he planned on saving some animals the shelter couldn’t take care of. The other dogs said that this guy saved animals from this shelter, so I tried to get his attention by wagging my tail, running around, and looking cute. I was so relieved when he was so impressed by my spunky attitude that he brought me out of my cage, and into the van going to the league. It was there that he had me evaluated by their veterinarian, and it was thanks to the Animal League that my condition was discovered and proper precautions and care could be provided to me.
Currently, I reside within the paradise that is the North Shore Animal League. I love to hang out and play with the humans, because who gets tired of playing and being pet? The other day, a family came by to adopt a dog; although they couldn’t take me home, I spent over an hour just playing with the kids. We played fetch and I sat, rolled over and begged for treats, but it was all too soon over. If only I had been physically able to go home with them! However, apparently I am eternally doomed to stay at the league, and will never have a family, because no one wants to adopt me.
I’ve been here for far too long and life is becoming placid. I am thinking about taking some risks, and enjoying the thrills provided by sneaking around. Something to eat other than the medication and special food that tastes rancid would be nice. They said it was the only thing they could afford, because they just can’t pay for decent food.
Hmm…..Maybe I’ll raid the staff room one day. I’m sure something good is in there, as I always see the humans go there to eat.
No matter how much time I have to live, the League still takes care of me. The staff always tries to keep me as comfortable and happy, and a play date every so often doesn’t hurt. My condition is never allowed to rule my life; I try my hardest to be just as good as any other dog, if not better. My heart is 3x times larger than normal, and it just means I can love you even more!
-Cristian Mendoza
