2025: A Betrayal

A Tale about loyalty.

This story is a lot deeper than you think it is and I suggest you read it many, many times.

Running the terrible risk of sounding like the incoming United States President Donald Trump (or more accurately, second coming), loyalty is a huge thing with me. On my bathroom mirror is a handwritten note that says: “if you ain’t got loyalty, you ain’t got nothing.” Of course, there are exceptions, caveats and limits pursuant to the situation at hand but for the most part I will take loyalty over so-called “love” any day of the week.

I guess that is why I adore kids and dogs.

Kwanzaa ended two days ago, on New Year’s Day, and I will be writing about it most prolifically in the next few hours and days. As the new year has manifested itself, I find myself deeply concerned about humanity and the fate of the Earth. In my six decades on this planet, I have never seen such domestic and global consternation, danger and turmoil.

If you are foolish enough to think you know where this is going, you are in for one hell of a surprise.

Yesterday, I arrived at my residence to find a large white German Shepard strolling around the parking lot. I have always lived in a house and find condo/apartment complexes unnerving. But, when one is a single parent, has had to put a child through college and is straddled with medical debt, compromises must be made.

The canine was a big dude, about 70 or 80 pounds. He was very mellow and it was clear that at some point he belonged to someone, or someone belonged to him. At first glance he was intimidating but I felt no fear of him. I suppose this is as good a time as any to inform that there are two legends about me in what remnants remain of my family: “he doesn’t sleep” and “he is the Dogwhisperer.” Seriously.

For some inexplicable reason, dogs and children gravitate to me, and I to them. In fact, these two beings are solely what makes me think I have some remote chance of entering heaven were there to exist such a thing. Albeit lamentably, deductive, inductive and assumptive logic taints my remote hope to non-existence for only the divinely pious and/or the fool believes in heaven.

Hell is far more a possibility, but I digress.

The complex is large, configured of 20 buildings with four units per building. Across from me are two lovely young women that I am most fond of and they, too, are animal lovers. One of them called me rather alarmed and told me about the dog. Now, another neighbor has a big white female German Shepard, of whom I am the Godfather, that looks identical. Ergo, the panicky young woman that has a small dog and several cats thought it was the other neighbor’s dog. Knowing that I have close association to the dog, she called me to tell me “Snoh” was running around, but it wasn’t Snoh.

I immediately went outside to investigate and texted Snoh’s dad. Right about the same time, the stray dog approached me and I could see a significant schlong. Clearly, it wasn’t Snoh.

My white friend, the four legged one, started following me around from the time he saw me. We communicated immediately. He was neither tense nor fearful, but he possessed the wariness that only age might bring. It was clear that he at some point had a collar on as there was a slight imprint around his neck that indicated so (read the italics again). Though it looked like he had not eaten in a day or two, he was not gaunt and his coat, aside from filth, seemed to be in good shape. It was cold last night.

Being a mature male, he knew exactly where other dogs were; especially females. My dog is an 18 pound Cojack and there are several other dogs around of both genders. Nonetheless, he was cool, but it was cold. He kept trying to go to the upstairs units because it was warmer given heat rises. Though an existential reality for him, it made several of the neighbors nervous. Were the confines not what they physically are, I would have taken him in.

I went back out a few hours later and did not see him. Since he is an urbanite, and given his maturity, I had little fear of him being hit by a car or some such thing. Urban dogs cross the street better than their idiot humans oftentimes. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen them, literally, walk within the lines of the crosswalk at a busy intersection.

When I saw him last night, I gave him a Slim-Jim and patted his head as he walked aimlessly around seeking warmth…of some kind. This morning, I did not see him and was glad. My hope was that he was found by his human pack-member.

Not so.

Later this afternoon I saw him again. Given that it was daylight a lot of folks were walking their small dogs, and small kids are out on holiday, some of them freaked out. I tried to calm their fears but the reality is that he was a large dog, no one knows his vaccine history, he had no identification and, depending on stimuli, no one could know what might upset him.

He saw me and came to me, though ever cautiously. I rubbed behind his ears and rubbed his chest. He walked off.

Then, I called animal control.

Officers came out within a couple of hours. He was frightened and I know that feeling. The most dangerous animal in the world is a frightened one; especially a man. They corralled him easily enough. If you have ever seen an “animal control truck” they are basically rolling prisons. They put him in the cage and he looked at me.

That motherfucker had to look at me.

In this venue he will face the death penalty in 96 hours. I thought my actions served the “greater good.” But did they? I have felt terrible all day because I feel I betrayed that dog. There is no greater loyalty than that which children and dogs render. They are loyal to the point of almost being pathetic creatures, which is why they are the best creatures. Because if you ain’t got loyalty, you ain’t got nothing.

Worst of all, I never knew his name.