Just A Dog

Here in Texas, people think nothing of treating dogs like cheap security systems. Of course, not everybody feels that way, but too many of them do. These are the same people who take their dog into the backyard and put a bullet it it's head, rather than spend money on a vet. Plus a bullet is cheaper than the $100 cost of euthanasia. They leave their dogs outside in 105 degree heat with little water, and in 20 degree sleet. They may thow him a bale of hay when it's cold. These living noisemakers are nothing more than "protection" for the homeowner against the bad people who are lurking outside waiting to take over their house. You'd think a couple of shotguns in the hallway closet would be enough, but why wait till they get inside to blast them away, when the dog will work security for free? And what happens after the dog gets old or sick, mostly from being chained up outside or at least confined outside for years? A bullet in the dog's head in the backyard takes care of things. No need to waste money on vets or euthanasia. I've witnessed an irate dog owner at the vet, who was upset that the charge for euthanizing the animal didn't include cremation. That was going to be another $50, so after yelling at the staff, he asked for the dog's body in a cardboard box. I guess he wanted to take him to the pet cemetery to give him a nice burial, along with a fitting memorial. He complained about the extra charge for crmation and got into a late model monster truck that probably cost close to $30K.

There is no law that says a dog has to be treated like a member of the family. As a matter of fact, in many areas, the law says they're personal property, so if a neighbor shoots your dog, he's just responsible for paying you for your dog's value. That amount would be about $50 for a mixed breed.

I've read notes on the bulletin board in my office offering a dog or cat to a good home because the current owner is moving, got new carpets, has developed allergies, her boyfriend has developed allergies, they're having a baby, taking a vacation, or the dog has "separation anxiety." That condition isn't too surprising when a person leaves a dog outside all the time, or puts one in a crate and then goes to work and doesn't return all day.

Again, not everybody treats their pets like a budget security system or an object. There are people like Carlos and Ruby Chitty in Scott City Missouri. Carlos is 93 and Ruby is 88. They never had any kids and as their health deterorated, they moved into a nursing home, where they companion dog, Rocky wasn't allowed. So they wrote Rocky into the contract before they sold the house. Rocky had to stay with any prospective new owners, chain link fence and all.

Here's the story from CNN:

House contract carries long-term leash

New home purchase has catch for young Missouri couple

SCOTT CITY, Missouri (AP) -- Housing contracts can get complicated in a hurry. Just consider the clause that Jared and Whittnie Essner agreed to when they bought their first home last week:

"Rocky will be allowed to remain in home (with lots of love, care and attention) and negotiated visitation rights from current master. Chain link fence stays for him."

"In every offer, there's always something to be negotiated," said their real estate agent, Greg Lincoln. In this case, that something happened to be a beagle-mix dog named Rocky.

Jared, 20, and Whittnie, 19, were married last spring. They looked at more than 30 houses before settling on the quaint home at the corner of State and Mildred in this southeast Missouri town, about 100 miles south of St. Louis. The place made an instant impression on them when they toured it. So did the home's sole inhabitant: Rocky.

"We thought, there honestly can't be a dog here if there's no one present," Jared said. Then, Rocky came bounding toward him.

One thing about Rocky -- he's not shy. He is not much bigger than a football, but covers the distance from his doghouse to the gate in a matter of seconds. He nuzzles guests and stares up at people with big round eyes. Rocky seems to smile in the way certain dogs can, with his pink tongue hanging over his lip.

"He's the most lovable dog I've ever seen," Jared said.

The story of how Rocky came to occupy a 2-bedroom house by himself began three years ago. That's when a retiree named Carlos Chitty decided to get a dog.

Carlos, 93, and his wife Ruby, 88, lived at the house for years. They never had kids, and life got pretty quiet after Carlos Chitty retired as owner of Carlos Grocery in downtown Scott City.

"My wife said, 'Why don't we ever have any company?'" Chitty recalled. "I said, 'Didn't you notice that all our friends have passed away and we're still hanging around? That's why.'"

Chitty saw an ad in the paper for free dogs. He said he drove to a home at the edge of town, where more than a dozen dogs were up for adoption.

Again: Rocky's not shy.

"Man, that little dog came running across the yard. He about licked my face off," Chitty recalled.

Twelve years ago, Ruby Chitty was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Carlos watched her personality slowly slip away. By the time Rocky came around, Ruby didn't remember Carlos, or really remember herself, Carlos said. But Rocky was always there.

"I could talk to him. He would ride in my car. We were really buddies," Chitty said.

Earlier this year, it became clear Carlos couldn't take care of his wife any longer. "We'd just gone as far as we could go," he said. They moved into a nursing home. Rocky wasn't allowed.

Friends and family took care of Rocky for a couple of months before the Essners saw the house. The couple didn't want Rocky to be evicted, so they wrote him into the contract.

The couple seems to be living up to their end of the deal. Rocky spends fewer nights outside and sleeps inside the house's entryway on a big pillow. Jared Essner installed a night light by the pillow recently because he thought it was too dark at night.

Carlos Chitty visited Rocky last weekend. At the retirement center, his dresser includes four pictures: Two portraits of Carlos and his wife, and two portraits of Rocky.

Chitty said he wouldn't have given up the dog if he didn't have to. But it meant a lot to him when Whittnie Essner told him Rocky was still his. The couple were just dog-sitting.

"I thought, well, if anybody has the dog, I'd want you to have him," Chitty said he told her.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

And one other item:

Tribute To The Dog

The following speech was made by the late Senator Vest of Missouri in the trial of a man at Warrensburg, who had wantonly shot a dog belonging to a neighbor. Mr. Vest represented the plaintiff, who had demanded $200 in damages. As a result of this speech, the jury, after two minutes of deliberation, awarded the plaintiff $500. "Gentlemen of the jury: The best friend a man has in this world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it the most. A man's reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads. The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog. "Gentlemen of the jury, a man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens. If fortune drives the master forth an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies, and when the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by his grave side will be the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even to death!" Courtesy of The Daily Star-Journal Warrensburg, MO 1970