A Christmas Message to the sad people of the world from a family of stray dogs.
Silent Samaritans- Christmas Message from a Family of Stray Dogs
by
Regino L. Gonzales, Jr.
We are a family of stray dogs- my mother, my brother and I. Mother gave birth to me and my brother on a roadside near a roofed bus stop, far from any place where food is easy to come by for strays like us.
When I was still learning to fend for myself, I remember that Mother leaves us in our birth spot at dawn and comes back before sunrise for us to suckle her milk. I came to understand now that Mother then goes to garbage areas in far places where uneaten scraps of food were dumped by nearby households. I also learned that Mother regularly visits her food vendor friends who give her scraps of unsold food.
For a quite some time, I wondered why Mother did chose to give birth to us far from where food can be found. I understood only lately that she selected a place where there will always be People.
Our place, which we now call Home, is always teeming with people from morning until late evening. Here, they wait for a bus to ride on, disembark from one, or just sit down in one of the benches to rest. When late evening comes, there will be fewer of them and fewer vehicles passing. And we can sleep in peace, shielded from occasional raindrops by the bus stop’s roof. .
I and my brother are now in our third moon and we have learned a lot from Mother. When she is hungry she just sits still and smiles pleadingly at people. Passers-by with food packed in paper bags spare her some almost without fail. I have never seen mother growled in anger and she has never engaged in a fight with anyone of our kind, like some I saw a few times across the highway. With Mother’s quiet guidance and example, we grew up emulating her, living without fear, not much want, and being friendly with people.
Our days of youth were days of learning and fun. I like observing moving objects and people. I am always amazed at objects that move faster than we can run on land and carrying lots of people and those that float and move on the air without wings that flap like that of the birds’. I guess these objects carry people too, people from across vast spans of water and mountains. My brother spends more time exploring the surrounding grounds. When we are not hungry, Mother, my brother and I spend our time playing around our little space.
Of people, Mother taught us that they are generally kind, at least those who drop by our place, the bus stop. Show them respect and obedience, and they will respond with kindness and compassion, even those with menacing countenance. Some of them who regularly pass by our place have become our close friends. They always bring food for us. Few of them pat my forehead while feeding me, a pleasant delight I always look forward to.
In own my way, I discovered few things about our people friends. Except for rare occasions when I discern happiness, most of the time I sense sadness in them. My canine intuition enabled me to feel their inner struggles, the burdens of living borne in their hearts and minds. As most of those who are close to us are the sad ones, I now understand that our Maker gave us an important task of providing them solace while on their way to discover the Maker’s reason for their worldly existence.
Unknown to most humans, we are endowed with a gift of giving back simple joys to those who care about our seemingly sorry state. As we cannot express ourselves the way humans do, we projected into the mind of this writer, distinct images of our wishes for a Merry Christmas to all compassionate care givers not only to our kind but to all living creatures. It is our fervent hope that they will soon realize the noble roles that the Maker has reserved for them.
Regino, you are such a gifted story teller/writer.
The narrators voice of this work is told with an unfound gentleness and grace filled with such loving descriptions.
It is always a sheer pleasure to partake of your work and the way it unfolds is awesome.
Thank you for sharing friend,
Take the best of care of yourself~Gwendolyn
This story tells me that it is quite possible that you experience our animal friends and their visions much like I do.
God Bless you for sharing their story, making it so clear and easy to understand.
From the Caribbean Sea to Machu Picchu in Peru, and from birds to flowers and butterflies, Reflections and Treasured Wonders offers a collection of images gathered from around the world.
