Week 13 Theme

All I wanted were some new shingles on the roof when I approached my neighbor Randy the seat-of-the-pants contractor one cold autumn Sunday morning. He was outside his house fixing his old pick up truck with his friend and part time employee Ken. After asking about his schedule for roofing I got more than I anticipated.

“We went to that mexican resturant on Main Street in Rockland last night. I had a few good drinks there but it still didn’t straighten me out after what I done yesterday. I had to put down my dog myself,” Randy said. “She was howling somethin’ awful all last Thursday night.” He pointed to the porch of his rented house. “The way she was moaning I couldn’t sleep so I went out for a walk and saw the cop parked up at the pizza place. I asked if he would shoot the dog for me but he said it was against policy but they shoot deer if they’re thrashing around after getting hit by a car.”

“I’ve seen them shoot dogs that weren’t dead yet after an accident. I don’t know why he didn’t help you out.” I offered.

“Probably wasn’t sure if maybe I wanted to get back at the wife by shooting her dog or something.” He went on. “The cancer was all through her neck and stomach and the vet told us to put her down last June. But she could still hobble out the door to do her business so we figured why do it. We thought she would just go in her sleep, and we’d had her for 16 years. She was like part of the family. Besides, would you believe the vet wants $310 to put her down, and then another $110 to destroy the animal after that?”

His friend Ken took a drag off his cigarette and said, “Yup, it’s getting like a racket now.”
“And the vet put her on the scale and weighed her to give us the price for doing it. So much per pound.”

“They must have to put so much killing drug in to her for each pound” said Ken.
They were both a half-foot taller than me so I kept looking up and back and forth as they spoke.
“So I had to do it myself, 50 cents instead of 400 bucks,” Said Randy. He lit a cigarette and ran his palm over his 2-day stubble. “We dug a hole up at my brother’s house and laid her down in it on her quilt and gave her favorite little chew doll. She looked up at me with my rifle in my hands and then just looked away and I shot her. She didn’t suffer at all.”

Randy worked for about $15 an hour underthe table. It would have taken him the better part of the week to earn enough for the vet to do what he did for 50 cents. It cost him a bit more though, in the memory of shooting his family companion of 16 years and covering her with dirt. A night out and a few drinks can quiet the pain for a while but in the daylight it’s hard to escape feeling down and lonely.