Gypsy Jan
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4275
Registered: 1-27-2004
Member Is Offline
Mood: Depends on which way the wind is blowing
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RIP Gentle Giant ? a lost dog in Baja
We saw her for the first time last Sunday, standing by the side of the road as we exited the pay road freeway. A severely emaciated Great Dane
female, black with a white patch on her chest and white marks on her paws. We looked at her and at each other and one of us said, ?Let?s see what we
can do about this.?
We returned with dog food and some leashes and strings to make a muzzle and a not very well thought out plan that was, ?Maybe if we feed her, we can
drop a rope around her neck or maybe we can lure her into the car.?
No, no, no, she had been lost too long, lonely too long, and, betrayed and frightened too many times. She looked at me directly with her cocoa brown
eyes, ate out of my hands and brushed her muzzle against my fingers, but when I reached out for her, she cried, a low squealing sound of need and also
of deep, deep despair, and ducked away.
Her fur was sparse from malnutrition, she was sunburned and her paws were sore and inflamed from road wear and foxtail infection, but when we tried to
corner her and drop a loop over her, she jumped and sped off in an amazing show of athletic ability and strength.
We left her there with a plan for the next day. Go to the vet, get some pills, capture her when she goes to sleep.
She eagerly came when I called her the next morning, watched me mix her breakfast with the medication and ate it from my hands with no hesitation. We
waited for her to lie down, and when she did not, reluctantly (because we didn?t want her to aspirate her food when unconscious) gave her more food to
keep her close.
After an hour, she dropped down about fifteen feet away and started to stretch out. When we tried to drop a rope on her, she sprang up and raced
away. We chased her for a long time, thinking, ?This dog has to lie down at some point.?
No, she stayed on her feet and led us all over the field, past several sleeping rattlesnakes. After a long time, we decided to go back to the vet and
get something stronger, feed her a normal dinner and try again in the morning.
When we returned at dinnertime, something was wrong. There was an empty feeling to the landscape and pasture where she had been living. I crawled
under the fence with her dinner to leave it near her den and when I returned, there was a local talking earnestly to my husband and he led us a little
further back on the road and pointed.
She had been shot and killed and then hauled off in those few short hours since we last saw her.
All that was left was a trail of blood and three shell casings.
[Edited on 3-25-2005 by Gypsy Jan]
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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Keri
Super Nomad
Posts: 1393
Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: La Mision, Baja Norte
Member Is Offline
Mood: muy contento
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I am so sorry. I saw her also
I put food in my car to take to feed her when I saw her again, I can barely see through my tears. What a loss. Who shot her? and why? This is one of
the few things I don't like about Mexico. They way they treat their animals. It just kills me. Thanks for caring.k PS I also think that people that
bring their pets here and lose them and leave them here to die should be the ones that are shot.
[Edited on 3-25-2005 by Keri]
[Edited on 3-25-2005 by Keri]
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Cyndarouh
Nomad
Posts: 237
Registered: 6-21-2004
Location: San Diego Mountains
Member Is Offline
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Some pet Owners
Keri, I also agree with you. This story breaks my heart. Gyspy Jan Thank you for your Efforts. Ospery Thank You for your efforts. I am also, brought
to tears. We do have people drop cats, dogs up here in the mtns also. I feel they sould be left tied to a tree in a snow storm. Cynda
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Frigatebird
Nomad
Posts: 215
Registered: 9-12-2004
Location: L.A. County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Soaring
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How one treats animals can be an indicator of how one could treat their own kind; in this case, another animal. 
Avatar courtesy of Herb 
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Bajagato
Nomad
Posts: 129
Registered: 4-19-2004
Location: Laguna Hills
Member Is Offline
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gypsy jan...thanks for being such a kind, perro loving human being, I too, cried, reading your story. I so often are so sad in Baja, at the sights of
dogs running wild, hungry and hurt. I applaud your efforts.
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15938
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
Member Is Offline
Mood: Everchangin'
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so much for guns being illegal
here's a heart warmer:
8 or 9 years ago my buddy Milt was in central baja surfing at "Spot X" and a young dog came out of the desert. totally dehydrated and HUNGRY!
after hanging around the campsite for a week and putting on many pounds, the dog had a new friend and was adopted by Milt. he brought the pooch back
home with him and gave the puppy to his neighbor who fell in love with the dog.
i was told this story, not when it occurred, but when i moved across the alley from Milton three months ago-and during the cursory-beer-in-hand walk
through of the property, i asked Milt if he needed a dog house (which the previous people left). he told me, "no". then told me the story of WHY that
doghouse was there...
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