In the mercy of strangers (An evening with kale)

I wanted to write about these events 3 nights ago, on the night it happened. I and a friend of mine were waiting for a mutual friend to arrive at his house. That night, a stray dog, kale, started making grueling cries outside his home. It was the first time I heard the ominous sound from him and it struck a chord within me.

     The story of kale began a few months ago, when he suddenly appeared in our neighborhood, overnight he became the top dog, given his big size. He was twice as big as the dog that previously held the top dog position in our neighborhood. Street goers and other dogs soon got scared of him and with fear came anger and he got the street treatment from other dogs and idiots alike. In a few weeks, he began to show scars over his body from his mistreatment of this new territory.  Although his quiet way at the very beginning was indicative that this was no ordinary stray, it soon became clear kale was abandoned by his owners and left here. This unwelcome guest on new territory soon got a reputation of a biting dog and people stayed well away from his path. Kale has had a chance to bite a friend (severely) and me (slightly), although with no fault of his own. It is fair to say nothing in his outlook indicates his true innocence. But if ever I saw a dog that was too adamant in his ways, kale was it. After his arrival, he soon got into the habit of seeking shelter inside my friend’s compound. This wouldn’t have been much of a problem on its own but my dear friend owns a pet dog and a barking session from his dog was inevitable when kale got in, so it became a clear nuisance. A series of foods would then be required to get kale out of the compound all the while my friend’s dog got jealous of us feeding another dog right in his own home. At times, we have given up and let him rest inside for the night. Soon after that, I am told he began to cry through the night when left outside. He then made a habit of getting inside the compounds of other neighbors too whenever he could. Foods would be required the same to get him out and sometimes even that would not be enough. He was looking for a place to stay rather than food to eat, it seemed. 

On the night in question, I and my friend got inside the gates as quickly as we could and kale who was fairly behind got left outside, soon after that he began to shriek and scratch on the metal gate and my heart sank with his cries and unsuccessful attempts. I got some biscuits from my friend’s mother to feed him, which he refused to eat. After his firm refusal to eat and further cries, I recognized in me the pain he was pouring out. He simply wanted to get inside where it was safe from all the darkness of the night which held uncertainty for the poor fellow. He felt alone, afraid, and all the while helpless in the state that he was in. All that pain came out in the clearest of cries I ever heard from an animal. I have been occupied with his predicament ever since and have been looking for a solution to his problem. I wonder now, in this morning if he cried for his past, the home he misses, or for the betrayal of his trust, or was it the present he cried for, for he is now truly in the mercy of strangers.