Take Him Wherever You Please, Do Whatever You Desire with Him, I Can’t Bear It Any Longer!

15June

Today I found myself on a night shift when a colleagues voice drifted over the open office door. He was snapping at the phone, Take him wherever you like, do what you want with him, I cant take it any longer! My curiosity got the better of me, so I asked what he meant. He told me he was giving away a German Shepherd.

Why? I asked.

Its a nightmare, he shrugged. He howls through the night, breaks free from his chain, sheds like a flood, makes a mess in the garden and never guards the house.

I felt sorry for the poor dog, so I rang my dad and wondered if he needed a guardian for his rented property. After a few minutes of backandforth, he said I could collect the animal.

The day of the move arrived. We packed the car, grabbed a roll of gauzejust in case we needed to muzzle the wild beastand set off. When we pulled up, the colleague stood there with a gaunt, mangy shepherd, fur matted, blood staining a wound on his head and a torn paw pad. His eyes were so mournful they seemed about to spill tears.

The dog hopped into the boot without a growl. Beside him, my sisters husband settled in the rear seat, and the whole journey the animal lay calm and quiet.

Back home we first bought a collar and a leash and gave him a wash. Mum and my sister peeked out from the hallway, wary, as if we had brought a snarling predator inside. While we drove, Mum boiled a pot of beef porridge. When it was still warm she offered the dog a piece of stale bread. Watching him lunge for that scrap, his injuries momentarily forgotten, was oddly heartbreaking.

A healthy male German Shepherd should weigh about 35lb; this one was barely 45lb. He devoured the bowl in seconds and then flopped onto his designated spot.

A short while later Mum lifted his bowl to rinse it, keeping it behind her back. Suddenly the dog nudged it from her hands. He was called Max. He carried the bowl gently in his jaws to his corner and lay down, as if to say, Thats mine, Ill look after it myself.

We hadnt intended to keep a fiveyearold adult dog in a flatMum would have objected. Yet her heart softened, and no one could turn away such devotion. After a thorough bath and brushing, Max looked like a different dog. The next morning I took him to the local vet. They explained how to treat his wounds; I bought the prescribed meds and, over the next weeks, administered his vaccinations. I didnt blame the previous ownersperhaps he had truly run away and suffered on the streets.

When Max was fully recovered we enrolled him in basic obedience. In summer Dad would bring him to the country cottage, where he proved an excellent guard: no stranger dared approach the fence. Forty pounds of focused muscle commands respect.

Eight years have passed since that day. Max has endured two operationsfirst a hernia repair, then complications thereafter. He now suffers arthritis, but we keep him on pain relief, physiotherapy, and endless affection. Hes become a senior gentleman; Dad affectionately calls him son, and Mum spoils him like a child.

I cant understand how anyone could have discarded such a loyal creature. His devotion is boundless, his tenderness unmistakable. Caring for an animal takes effort, but none of us can now imagine a home without him. If Dad is away or one of us is traveling, Max sits by the window, refuses food, and waits.

A few years after Max arrived, our longlived house cat passed away after eighteen years with us. Shortly thereafter a stray kitten was abandoned in the stairwell by tenants. Neighbours fed it, but when the November chill set in I realised I couldnt leave it outside. We named her Eve, and she now prowls the flat with the same cheeky confidence she had on the streets.

People, be kinder to animals. They feel everythingpain, love, fear. Choose love, and youll never regret it.

Lesson: True compassion is a quiet, steady choice that shapes a life, not just a moment.