A Dog's Tale

One of the reasons I like living in Morelia is that I can walk to so many places. Today, while walking home, I saw a cute little Yorkshire Terrrier crossing the street, a red leash trailing behind. It was obviously lost and as I stepped on its leash, my toddler protested, we don't like dogs, he reminded me. I bent down to see if the dog had tags. It did. As we walked back to my home, I looked down at the pup and remembered how much I like having dogs. Diego, our new four legged friend, seemed cheerfull and happy. 

At home, with a little help, I got the Diego's phone number from the tag and called. No answer. My older son was jumping with joy "maybe we can keep him!" I knew that would never happen: we live in a pet free home.

Diego the Dog

I put Diego in the back patio with a bowl of water and we sat down to eat. It wasn't long until Diego was barking and my sons wanted to play with him. So I let him into the house. Diego scampered about, I tried the number again. I got an answer. "Are you Diego's owner?" "Yes" a woman's voice replied. "I have your dog here, you can come by and pick him up whenever you want. Let me give you my address." The woman hestitated. Maybe she didn't want Diego back I thought. "You can call me back if you need to" I reassured her. "Yes, ok, please, that would be great." We rang off.

Fifteen minutes later the woman called back. "Could I have your address please? My husband is on his way to get the dog." My kids frowned. I felt bad. Diego bounced around, he barked at me, he wagged his tail. And then Diego did what no uninvited dog should do: he shit on the carpet. 

As the door bell rang, I felt relief that this canine miscreant, although extremely cute and cuddly, was going home. My son showed Diego's owners where he pooped on the carpet. They said nothing. "Thank you for giving us back our dog" they said impassively. "Maybe Diego didn't want to leave" our housekeeper said as she watched Diego be carried out onto the street. "Well, even if he didn't, I don't want a dog who poops on the livingroom carpet" I answered, even though secretly, I do love dogs, even if they poop on the carpet.