Big Blue

Before I sat down to write this, I recalled a fact I learned a few years ago. Historians think that the relationship between man and dog goes back 15,000 years. This is a simple story, but it's allegorical to many things we experience everyday.

I have theorized (unscientifically) that the friendship started like this.  One night some guy and some dog met at a campfire in the woods both hungry and alone. They each thought about eating each other, until they came to an agreement that it might be better to work together for food, friendship and security and the rest is history.   However it happened, dogs and people like each other.

Which is why I wrote this today. This morning on our show, it was brought to my partner on WQMX Sue Wilson and my attention that someone had stopped off at Summit County Animal Control and basically dumped off two dogs that were about 9 years old.  And did so with little or seemingly no compassion at all. One small pooch named Misty, and one large pure Siberian husky named Blue.  As is usually the case, Misty, being small and easy was adopted right away.  But not Big Blue, he's 80 pounds and 9 years old with icy blue eyes, and a gentle demeanor.  But now clearly saddened, confused and scared.

Sue and I shook our collective heads and wondered quite frankly, WTH?  How is this possible?  Dogs this age, and pets, completely and unceremoniously discarded?   After a few minutes, I decided (and I think Sue did too), that we didn't really care how anymore, we just felt badly this pooch was dazed and confused.  In a single day, he went from a home, to a shelter, to a cage, and his companion pooch was long gone and he was now alone.  Being honest, I'd be confused too.

Irony was setting in. The very thing that was bred into Blue, his size, power and strength that was more than likely his top selling point at birth, was now coming back to haunt him. Big Blue, was just too big for many to adopt him, and that's a sad reality of pet rescue.  Big dogs are tough to place.  Built to pull sleds and survive harsh conditions was proving to be mere child's play compared to this fate, which I think by seeing Blue's face was going to be too heavy for even him to pull or carry unless someone came up big.

We talked about Blue on the show with our animal loving friend Goerjette Thomas as we do every Thursday and we felt that Blue was going to be a tough sell.  But what we found was Blue was destined to be in a new home, today.  And he is.  Someone with a heart (and a house probably) as big as Blue stepped up and took Blue home.  It's a good day.

Whatever happened to Blue, his former owner, or what happened between them is over and none of my concern frankly.  I'll even give the benefit of the doubt and say that maybe it could have been understood if explained.  That's what I want to think. But I will put virtually no thought into that any longer.  If it's not a good story, there's a special fate for those who do bad things to good dogs somewhere down the line.

Blue today has a new and better life.  As do we all now knowing that there are those out there to do big things, when big things are in the balance.  If it's a simple dog story, or something larger.  There are big people out there.

Live big, Blue... and long live you...Big Blue.