Pant#SoCS

“Pant,” I heard outside my door. It was during our last month in Costa Rica. I looked out through one of the floor to ceiling glass panes of our living area to see this beautiful animal pacing the sidewalk that ran the perimeter of our home.

 

 

She was beautiful; but when I opened the door to say hello, she backed away, frightened. I could see she was undernourished and she limped. I managed to get her to eat a slice of Jamon (a lower grade of ham there) and put out a tub of water. She only licked at the water. I also noticed she never wanted to stop moving.

There is an animal protection group there in Manuel Antonio called PAWS, created by a group of Americans living in the area to try and clean up the overabundance of wild and homeless cats and dogs living in and around Quepos. I quickly found the number and called, leaving an urgent message for the head ‘guy’. Within half an hour he returned my call. When I described the dog he immediately knew the one I was talking about and said they had been trying to get her in for awhile. Apparently her owners moved back to the states, leaving her homeless and she had been wandering around since that time. She sometimes got scraps and at others was beaten away by careless and frightened homeowners. It broke my heart.

 

Within an hour this wonderful man showed up and helped me get her into the back of his truck and into a kennel and said they would do all the could to heal her and find her a home. Had we not been contemplating our own departure I would have loved to bring her home again to live with us. I felt as though she had sought me out for salvation.

 

While we attempted to visit her at the animal shelter a few days later, she had already been moved. But someone said she had been at the Feria where the PAWS folks sit every weekend to arrange adoptions and offer animal information and services to the locals. They were kind enough to share some photos. She looked so much better. She had developed a horrible mite problem so had to be shaved and her pads were rubbed raw from so much walking. She also had a problem with her hip, hence the need to keep moving while she was outside the house. I still longed to bring her home with me but was so happy to know she was going to be okay.

 

 

Now that’s a happy pant.

This post was brought to you by Linda Hill’s #SoCS prompt Check out her post for more great submissions!