The Neighborhood Dog

It all began a few months ago. We saw the ambulance stop at our neighbor's house. They were new to our neighborhood and I moaned to my husband, "I never got over to greet the new folks and now one of them is being taken by ambulance. Why didn't I get over sooner with a pot of chili and a welcome? Now we may never meet whoever left in the ambulance and the woman who followed in her car."

They lived two doors down from us. Eric, the neighbor in between, told me that the guy was a veteran and the ambulance brought him to our VA. I fretted about the dog I had passed in the kennel behind their house on my way to the store. She would bark and snarl even when I tried to talk with her in a "doggy voice."

Now the dog was not the least bit friendly, but I worried that she was left alone in her kennel during the emergency. Eric told me that someone was feeding and watering the dog, but that was it. The caretaker asked Eric if he would walk the dog. Eric spent several days making friends with the dog. He brought her treats but was concerned about her temperament and docility if she were taken from her kennel.

One day Eric appeared at our front door with the leashed dog. Her name was Amber. Her coat was golden and she had brown eyes in a face that now looked sweet and friendly. Her tail wagged furiously, and off we went for a walk.

Amber is now a community dog. Some days Eric walks her and at other times my husband and I take her out. Each time we pass her in the alley she wags her tail, whines and jumps up and down with delight. She even recognizes our car when I drive by, roll down the window and spend a few minutes chatting with her.

She is so eager to go for a walk, but not having been obedience-trained, will tug at the leash. I struggle with bad-back issues, so when I take her by myself, I go to a park, take her into an enclosed baseball diamond and throw a ball until she is tired out. No matter how long she gets to run, she whines and jumps up and down when I bring her back to her kennel. It isn't easy to leave her for another day.

Eric brought her a dog house and sleeping bag in anticipation of colder weather. He has a kind heart.

Whey do we do what we do? Well, I, for one, cannot stand to walk past a lonely dog and ignore her pleas. But another reason is that the owner is a veteran. Since all of the government closures at our VA he had to go to Minneapolis for treatment no longer offered here and will be heading to another VA in Omaha for surgery that was once offered at our VA. His partner spends many hours on the road to be with him in Minnesota and still keep her job in Hot Springs.

Amber belongs to a veteran who once served his country. His benefits are being drained away, but his dog shouldn't have to suffer because of a stupid bureaucracy far from the front lines of veterans needing health care. This same government should not turn a blind eye. The officials will have superb health care for their lifetimes. Our veterans deserve no less.

Meanwhile, Amber will get her walks and a lot of loving while her owner is at a VA hospital far away.