I am a census worker and am working in my area which is out in the sticks Arizona. Yesterday, I was looking for a vacant lot and ended up by the site of the new community well. Work has pretty much stopped there while waiting on a new water tank, so not only is this a remote area at the end of a dead end street, nobody except lost census workers has a reason to be there. It’s not even a good place to park and make out.
Except some asshole who left his/her Very Good Dog to wait for them to come back. When I saw VGD, she was laying in the middle of the work yard, no shade, 110 degrees, just waiting. She picked her head up and looked when I drove up, but didn’t seem interested at all, so I left her alone.
I’m not a dog person, so thought that maybe she was supposed to be there to protect the site or something, so I left her there.
At the end of my evening shift I went back and she was still waiting. She really seemed as thought this was all normal, so I left again. She was still on my mind when I went back out this morning, so I went and looked. She was still there, but this time she had moved into the shade and looked very hopeful when I drove up, then she put her head down because she was waiting for someone else.
I just happened to have a paper bowl (I thought I had grabbed 2), a baggie of cat food, a bottle of water and a piece of cheese, so I got out of the car and offered her the cheese. She had her tail between her legs, but came to me and carefully took it from my hand. (Like I said, not a dog person. I have since been told that hand feeding a stray dog probably isn’t the best idea I’ve ever had.)
She looked like she had been sleeping rough and had a collar mark around her neck. She also let me touch her on the head and leaned into an ear rub. When I produced the bowl and water bottle, her body language told me that she knew it was for her, but she didn’t rush me, just sat down and waited for me to put it down, then dove right in. I had to put the cat kibble on the ground, but I figured she would rather have dirty food than no food.
I finally figured out that she had been dumped and called the local animal shelter who sent someone out to get her. I got a call later saying that the VGD was getting sub q fluids for dehydration, but seemed leash and house trained.
So, this was my long windup to say this: to the fucking asshole who left that VERY GOOD DOG to die of heat or coyotes, I hope you end up homeless, on the streets in Phoenix and get mugged and have your clothes stolen after the person you loved stole everything you had, including your ID, but promised to come back really soon. Asshole.