Speaking of sweet dogs, I saw a sad sight last weekend that broke my heart. On the drive down to Seagrove last Saturday we stopped to gas up at a corner gas station on 78 in Jasper. Three medium sized dogs (part black labs) were walking around the gas pumps greeting people; two of them were females who had obviously recently given birth, but the pups were no where in site. Assuming they belonged to the gas station owners, I walked inside and asked about them. The attendants said they'd been dropped off weeks ago and just hung around the area. They said they feed them as much as possible and sometimes the dogs wander over to a nearby WalMart for food. I asked why no one had called a dog shelter; the attendants looked at me as if I'd said somethine terrible! They said a local humane shelter came by once to try to pick them up but the dogs ran away so they gave up. Not sure I believe that story, because one of the attendants then said if they were picked up by a dog shelter they'd be put to sleep. I bought a couple of bags of beef jerky for the dogs and went outside to check on them again. I noticed one of them walk around to the side of the building so I followed her. I was absolutely stunned by what I saw! There were at least a dozen dogs, several of them injured, just lying in the grass. When they saw me with the beef jerky all but one of them headed towards me hungrily! They quickly snatched the beef jerky from me. They were amazingly well-behaved..none of them jumped on me, but rather waited for me to toss the jerky to them. I tried to walk over to one who was lying in the grass, but she was obviously too sick to want to eat. One of the attendants who'd followed me outdoors said she'd been hit by a car a couple of days ago and had injured her leg. A couple of others had obvious previous hip and leg injuries; one of the dogs had a broken jaw but a sweet personality and seemed to be eating fine. She didn't appear to be in pain. I felt helpless at that moment. The attendant repeated that they were feeding the dogs and giving them water and didn't want to see the dogs put to sleep. I replied that I understood that, but it would be much more humane than watching these poor dogs starve to death and continue to suffer from injuries because they continue to run out between vehicles! I drove to WalMart and grabbed a bag of food and took it back for the dogs; I also gave the attendant some money and she promised to buy more food for the dogs. I left with a sick feeling not knowing what else to do. On our drive back on Tuesday afternoon, I stopped by the station with more food and treats for the dogs. This time I only saw 4 of them, and there was food and water next to the building. None of them seemed too hungry, so I left the treats for them. I'm sure the rest of the pack was out scavaging somewhere nearby.
I can't stop thinking about these animals. I know the gas station attendants mean well, but these dogs are very much in harms way....they have such sweet faces..I hate to think of what will happen to them. The gas station is so busy with vehicles flying in and out. I asked about the puppies and was told they were last seen in a field behind the gas station.
Anyone have any ideas of what I should have done/should do? I'm back in St. Louis now, but I feel guilty over just walking away from a sad situation like this. Surely the local police are aware of the situation - it's impossible to miss in this small town!
I can't stop thinking about these animals. I know the gas station attendants mean well, but these dogs are very much in harms way....they have such sweet faces..I hate to think of what will happen to them. The gas station is so busy with vehicles flying in and out. I asked about the puppies and was told they were last seen in a field behind the gas station.
Anyone have any ideas of what I should have done/should do? I'm back in St. Louis now, but I feel guilty over just walking away from a sad situation like this. Surely the local police are aware of the situation - it's impossible to miss in this small town!
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