Tara Renner, Indiana
Saved Puppy Being Dragged Down the Street
Many years ago, I worked for the county health department. One cold morning, I was driving through my district—a very poor, run-down section of Indianapolis infested with gangs and drugs—when I spotted a group of young boys dragging a puppy by a string tied around her neck. She was all black and could not have been more than a couple months old. They were laughing and yanking her. I stopped my car and asked to whom the dog belonged. I don't remember much of the conversation but I managed to get her away from them. I untied her and she ran off behind a house. I was troubled but I assumed she belonged there.
Two days later, I saw the puppy again. The little thing was huddled on the front lawn of a house that I had to inspect that day. As I approached the door, the dog followed me. When the occupant answered, I asked her if the puppy belonged to her—she said no. When I left the house, the little thing was shivering in a lump on the corner of the porch, miserable, wet and cold. I looked at her and knew she didn't belong to anyone—and if she did, that person didn't deserve her.
I scooped her up in one hand and headed home for my lunch break. The little thing was so sick she could hardly hold her head up. She was weak, dehydrated and starving. She had worms, ear mites, and all the usual problems from living on the street. I spent months helping to get her healthy again.
That wayward and abused puppy grew to be a healthy 50-pound Lab mix, whom I named Kido. Kido won a Canine Good Citizen Obedience award and even helped me teach some dog obedience classes. She passed away last summer at the age of 15, and I miss her greatly. She was my baby.