Skinny was a lovable, independent & a little sneaky, pet. Unfortunately one evening, he got out of the house and didn’t come back. We didn't go after him right away. After a few searches up and down the streets to find him later, he was not found until the next morning by the trash collector.

He only had on his flea collar, after receiving a bath the day before, his leash collar didn't get put back on and nobody knew who he belonged to, when they found him, that early morning before the students arrived at the cafeteria door for breakfast. He was hit by a car that night, not even two blocks away.
When the garbage men came to take the trash away, Skinny sat (yes he was sitting up) at the bottom of the dumpster… an elementary school dumpster. A neighbor that was asked if he knew who the dog belonged to, informed the trash collector and the staff members that came out of the school the next morning, of the sad events that had occurred the night before.

He told them of the two drivers that stopped wanting to help, but were discouraged by an officer that came on the scene who told them if they took Skinny that they'd be taking safety risks and possibly would have to pay for veterinarian services. This neighbor told the now, small crowd, gathering, that the officer took over that night and told him he would take care of Skinny by putting him out of his misery.

This officer I am sure was planning on doing just that, but unfortunately it was not what happened. Here is where the story really can wrench at your heart strings. It did mine anyway. He borrowed a pellet gun from another neighbor, shot him a few times and placed him in the dumpster, confident he was dead.
All night, not far from home, Skinny lay in the bottom of that dumpster. He was in earshot and when I went out to call for him I may have even heard his howl. I gave up the search and went to bed.

After the outraged citizens, that learned of our roving Skinny’s demise, got over most of their anger, the animal control officer was called, and Skinny was taken 50 miles away to the pound to be put to out of his misery. The cook at the school let Skinny use her coat to lay on, stroked his fur and hoped he had some comfort on his way to his final resting place.

Our son was on the lookout for Skinny the next day. That evening after receiving a phone call about a dog, by someone thinking this dog may have been ours, my daughter & I alone, moaned for our Skinny's pain that he must have endured. My spouse was hunting at the time, so the two of us were left alone to comfort each other.
This was very hard for the people that had to witness the events that occurred. Our neighbor took pictures of Skinny because he thought the officer should get reprimanded for putting a dog “out of his misery” with a pellet gun. The motorists that tried to help were very upset when they found out what was done to him. The poor trash collector had a hard time with this vision of a helpless little guy sitting there looking up at him.

Each family member has come to take ownership of the responsibility of letting this event happen and we are working hard to be better caretakers of loved ones. Should have, Could have, and Wish we would have then our Skinny would be here today. Please Spay and Neuter your pets... Don't let your pet wonder away. I am truly sorry Skinny.
RIP

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"You know, I think I'm the most patient man on earth." quoting Willard Wigan, sculptor of my avatar (cat on a hair strand) & other microscopic sized art wonders.

Very Touching post with GREAT advice!

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So sorry about your dog.

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Thank you, Cybergal & roadkill.

Unfortunately the story doesn't stop there. I took the drive solo to pick up our dog and bring him home. They gave me a black bag, I didn't want to see him.

I took him home & went up to the deer/elk camp to let my spouse know what happened. He came home the next day and when he dug a hole & we went out to bury him by the garden we had found that the dog we were going to bury was not our Skinny. It was someone elses wanderer!

I was shocked. All kinds of thoughts raced through my mind. This was just a nightmare, Skinny is alive somewhere, we need to find him. Well, we buried this little guy after the realization set in that we were not going to get a second chance with him.

So the story has an unfinished ending in a way. It is probably for a good reason. I hope I can convince one soul out there to spay or neuter their pet, or at least keep them in a fenced yard.

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"You know, I think I'm the most patient man on earth." quoting Willard Wigan, sculptor of my avatar (cat on a hair strand) & other microscopic sized art wonders.