dumpster diving for dead dogs

01-15-00

Walked into the kennel this morning to find that one of the shelter puppies kicked the bucket overnight. I don't mean to be so crude, really, but after you've bagged a dead puppy while holding your breath and trying not to get cooties on your double-gloved ginger-fingers, it's really best to try to make light of the situation. Just wait, you'll see what I mean.

I was just checking to make sure of which dogs could go out and which cages to clean when I saw the tiny lab puppy sleeping against the door of his cage. I knew instantly that he was dead, but I didn't quite believe it. All the other dogs were barking like crazy, and he just lay there. Not breathing? I banged the door to his cage, and he didn't budge. I called Sherrie in and dangled the rubber gloves in front of her, but it's a big old game of Finders Keepers where dead dogs are concerned. Welcome to the world of veterinary medicine.

Bagged him, bagged the bag, and boxed the whole thing. Then I went about my normal business. I missed whatever transpired then, but apparently Dr. Figaro had his daughters take the trash out, and they tossed the dog with it. No big deal. The shelter would have done the same thing, since we all knew the puppy had parvo, a deadly virus if not treated. When the dogs come from the shelter, it's sometimes just too late to save them, and there's no way of knowing if they'll die until they're dead.

Aida called the owners, who'd probably only seen the dog once, when they picked it out. They came in to talk to the doctor, looking very defensive and pissed off. Strange, since they couldn't have known the dog that well, and it's widely known that dogs from that shelter are sick as, well, dogs.

To make a long story short, they wanted to see the dog. (??) Sherrie and I trudged off to the dumpster to try to pick the dog out. Ten o'clock this morning found me holding a ladder so Sherrie could climb up and jump, feet first, into the dumpster.

What do you tell someone who asks what you're doing? Looking for a dead dog? This is truly one of the more absurd situations I've been in.

You know what the most disturbing thing is? We couldn't find the dog. Sherrie poked through most of the bags and boxes, and the dog was nowhere to be found. Spooky.