Farewell, Oogy

With sadness, I learned today that Oogy, a pit bull (or perhaps dogo) that had been abused and severely injured several years ago, passed away Monday. I had wondered why I was seeing occasional pictures of him yesterday in my Twitter feed. The following passage, from Abused and Abandoned, brought me to tears as I read it just now.

On a recent Saturday afternoon, Oogy was curled up on the couch asleep, his head in my lap, and I was thinking about how his life is now, as opposed to the way his life had been before: daily acts of unspeakable violence for no comprehensible reason until the ultimate, searing horror. Had he sensed he was dying as he lay in the bloody puddle of his life disappearing? Was he conscious when the police put him on a rubber sheet and took him to the hospital? He could not have comprehended the significance of the siren wailing the journey as his head was beaten with hammers. Oogy went to sleep in a world consumed by terror and pain and awoke surrounded by angels in white coats who put out the fire in his head, who were kind to him, who stroked him gently and talked softly to him. Instead of people who tortured him, he was surrounded with love and kindness and healing mercies.

I realized then that Oogy probably did not know that he had not died and gone to heaven. So I told him. I said, “Listen pal. You’re may not believe me, but it only gets better after this.”
~~Laurence M. Levin © 2008

As you may know, Dear Reader,  I am a strong advocate of adopting animals from rescue shelters and especially the city pound whenever possible. These beautiful creatures will fill your home with love at a fraction of the cost of whatever trendy pet from a breeder would be. They'll need extra love from you, of course. The Levins and their vet are heroes for turning the story of Oogy's life from a short, violent tragedy to a long saga of love, peace, and safety. Meanwhile, there is a special hell reserved for those who abuse the animals in their care, along with child molesters and people who talk at the theater.

~~~

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