A Voice Unheard
I died today. Yet few people even noticed. If you think it's because I was sick and suffering, you'd be wrong. I was healthy, full of life and love. It wasn't my time to go. So, why did I have to die? They said it was because I had no home. No one wanted me. But I had had a home, and a family. I loved them with all my heart. They were my whole world. And I thought they loved me too. I don't understand what happened. All I know is that I went for a ride like I had many times before. Only this time, we stopped at this scary place. The place was called a shelter, but I knew even before I entered that I wasn't safe. My master spoke to a stranger and handed him my leash. I pawed and whimpered at my master, begging him not to go. My heart broke as I watched him leave without me. All I wanted was to go home. I wanted to curl up at the foot of my master's bed, like I'd done since I was a baby. I watched the door, crying, hoping my master would return. I waited and waited, but he never came back.
I was led to a noisy room full of my own kind. They barked and pawed through their cages as I was led passed them. Like me, they desperately wanted out. I was put in a cold, empty cage at the end of the room. Scared and confused, I cowered in a corner to hide, and I cried. What did I do wrong? I promise I would have done better, if only they'd given me a chance. Was I too old? I know I slowed down, but my love and loyalty never wavered. I would have loved them until I took my last breath. Were they too busy? Any time they could spare would have been enough for me. All I needed was their love. Were they moving? I didn't need much space. I would've been happy anywhere as long as I was with them. Were they sick? I would've showered them with love until they felt better. Was it the new baby? I promised to love and protect it like my very own. I would have died to protect my family. Why did they leave me?
My cage was tagged "to be destroyed." I needed an adopter, a foster, or a rescue in order to be saved. The shelter was full and the odds were against me. Despair set in. No one ever came.
When the stranger took me from my cage, I knew it was bad. I struggled not to go. He put a leash tightly around my neck so I couldn't get away. Then I was dragged to that terrible room, the one that smells of death. I didn't want to die, but what I wanted didn't matter. My fate had been decided, and I was helpless against it. I cried and fought with all my might as they held me down on a table. I was terrified. There was no way to escape. This was the end. I felt a sharp poke then horrible pain. The pain stabbed at my heart until it slowed to a stop, and my last breath escaped. I watched from above when they tossed my body in the garbage on top of all the rest. I'd been betrayed by mankind. All the years of unconditional love and loyalty I'd given, and my life meant nothing to them. But it had to me. I should've died from old age, comforted by my family at my side. Instead, I left the world too soon, terrified, alone and unloved.
An angel was waiting for me at the end of the rainbow bridge. She was surrounded with the other animals that had gone before me. I asked her what I did to deserve this. She told me I had done nothing wrong, that I had been a good boy.
"An animal's love is a gift," she said. She looked upon me with sympathy. "Sadly, some humans can't see it." Then she wrapped me in her embrace, and we wept together.