Hook hooks our hearts

I’m afraid we have a new dog. As always, we didn’t go looking, but this past week when temps were toying with the high end of the thermometer, with humidity that made it feel hotter than the Devil with a mouthful of habaneros, I looked out the window and saw a scrawny white bulldog looking in through the glass. 

His tongue was dangling out one side of his mouth, and he’d been going around to the water containers in the front yard looking for a drink. Jilda had her shoes on, so she quickly stepped outside and filled all the containers with cool water. The critter looked at her withthankful eyes.

We thought at first he belonged to someone down the road, and perhaps he ran out of water at home. But he didn’t leave. He was so thin I could trace the outline of his ribs with my finger, so I poured a small scoop of dog food in a bowl and placed it under the water oak at the end of our walkway.

Later that evening, our great nephew Jordan walked over to howdy up with us. The dog, which is ghost white with a black patch over his right eye, ran to greet him as he walked up the hill.  We sat down on the front steps and he began petting the bulldog. “He looks like a pirate,” Jordan observed. The dog laid his head in Jordan’s lap to facilitate the petting process. “What should we name him?” he asked as he petted.

I quickly told him that he wasn’t our dog. “What should we name him?” Jordan persisted. “We could call him Patch,” he suggested. I paused for a while before saying, “Why don’t we call him Hook?” “Yes. That’s perfect because he reminds me of Captain Hook,” he said as he petted.

I did some investigation, hoping to find the dog’s owner, but no one knew anything about him. 

We discovered Hook was deaf, and I got a sinking feeling that he wasn’t a lost dog at all, but an abandoned dog, or one that someone dumped at our house. After all, who wants a deaf bulldog that is full of fleas and a touch of mange? It’s a sad tale that’s told too often. Animal shelters have their hands full trying to place abandoned dogs. Often the critters are euthanized because no one steps forward to take ownership. It makes me sad to think someone would discard one of the most loving and loyal creatures on the planet as if it were a piece of garbage.

Jilda began feeding Hook, giving him medicine for heartworms, fleas and ticks. But we have two other dogs to consider. Neither of these purebred dogs is warming up to Hook, but he seemed to understand that his future depended on finding his place in the pecking order. 

I thought at first that with him being deaf, I wouldn’t be able to communicate with him, but he watches our every move and responds to hand signals. The other night he was barking at someone walking down the road in front of our house. When I stepped onto the front porch, I guess he sensed the movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked at me, and I pointed to the screen porch. He immediately ran back onto the porch and laid down.

The next step is to take Hook to the vet to see if he has any other serious health issues, but it’s looking more and more like we’re getting a new critter. I guess you could say we’ve been Hook(ed.)

Rick Watson is a columnist and author. His latest book, “Life Goes On,” is available on Amazon.com. You can contact him at rick@homefolkmedia.com.