The Hard Luck Bunch (HLB) Part One

"I was old and covered in excrement."

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I crawled in headfirst because the window was so small. I had to press my arms to my sides, wriggling forward inch by inch toward the Doberman's mouths.

"Hi Red! Heidi! I'm here!”

I said their names with exclamation points and smiles, reminding them they knew me from next door. I was the neighbor who was going to save their lives.

"Heidi?!" I called as I noticed she wasn't around.

I wriggled through to my feet and immediately squished into the urine-soaked trash. The stench of feces and urine was unbearable and made my eyes sting. I was squinting in the dim light and sloshed my way further in. Red used to bark all the time, so they cut his vocal cords. He was calling out for help, and we heard him clearly. His vocal cords would grow back, so his voice would grow stronger after periods of raspy barking. We felt horrible about this and didn’t know what to do. They were breeding Dobermans; the three puppies left were not named yet. The boy’s ears were still in bandages and left on far too long; I counted two adult Dobermans and three Doberman puppies, but no Heidi.

Heidi was a gorgeous Doberman. She looked more like a deer than a dog. She used to stick her head through the hole in the fence and place her head on my shoulder while I promised her I would get her out of there. I would find her a home, and she would be safe and happy.

I eventually found the door to the bathroom, and there she was—eyes wild, mouth-frothing, and body leaping up and down. There was no food or water, and I wasn’t sure how long she had been there. Was this day three or longer? I had to get them outside. I had a key to the front door but couldn’t shove it open. I had tried opening the kitchen door but couldn’t because of all the trash in front of it, which is why I entered through the window.

I got down on my knees, and after the initial disgust, I blocked out what I was kneeling on and in and started to dig the door free. The dogs were crazy with starvation, lack of water, and light. They clawed me from behind, not meaning to hurt me, but very soon, my back was covered in scratches, urine, and feces.

When I could open the door enough, they raced out to the backyard, running and barking.  I found a bucket and filled it with water. They ran in full-speed circles, drinking the water and vomiting. There was no food, so I left them in the yard and went home to change clothes for the pet store.

Back home next door, I stopped at our front door, took my shoes off, rolled up my "soaked in urine" jeans, and walked on my tiptoes, heading to the shower.

Before I stepped inside, I looked around the room and noticed how clean and cozy our apartment was. To my right, as I crept by, looking an awful lot like the Grinch, Kate Middleton and Prince William were facing reporters and announcing their engagement. They were so clean and young. I was old and covered in excrement. I thought, "My life has turned out so differently from hers." It was November 16, 2010.

Less than an hour later, I returned to the house with food and bowls. The dogs were starting to calm down.

Un-named puppy being outside for the first time.

Heidi was sitting next to me and leaning on me – looking up at me, full of love. Suddenly, two puppies ran out of the garage with bones in their mouths. They were fighting over a skull that looked to be a Doberman puppy skull.  I stood up and stated aloud, "This ends NOW."

Our lives forever changed when we stepped in to help three years earlier. I had tried to extricate the animals the “proper way.” Now, things had ramped up to a whole new level.

(Continued in The Hard Luck Bunch - Part Two)