…as he walked towards the town centre, he was overwhelmed
with the feeling of relief and freedom that came with not having a tight leash
around his neck, yet people still looked at him suspiciously. In fact, after a
brief glance in his direction they seemed to move out of the way; making his
confidence grow and his tail begin to rise and wag. There was no doubt that he
was enjoying his power to split the crowd instead of having crowds of bratty
children fighting to stroke, poke, jab and ruffle his fur.
I cowered in the shadow of an alleyway nearby, as I watched them scurry
away, unaware of the delight I felt at their carelessness. I silently hoped for
a hot chocolate and maybe a sandwich crust or two. Disapproving tuts fluttered
around me as I dashed to, what I saw as, the gold mine. Yes! There was a
lukewarm polystyrene ‘Starbuck’s’ cup right at the top! Eagerly, I picked it up
and rattled it to hear the pleasant swash of leftover dregs – I love the fact that
disposable cups come with lids nowadays so the last few inches of liquid remain
in the container! With a surge of excitement, I yanked off the lid and sure
enough there were at least two mouthfuls of warm, chocolate-y goodness lying at
the bottom. My freezing cold bones couldn’t wait any longer and I downed the
drink remains as quickly as I could. Spluttering at the shock of the harsh
taste of caffeine, I grinned to myself, ‘mocha, eh? I got more than I paid
for!’ With a final glance around, I took a last rummage in the bin, desperately
hoping for a stroke of luck. But there was nothing else, just soggy tissues,
empty wrappers and other unrecognisable goods.
The dog continued to trundle along, enjoying his new-found
effect on passers-by. He was a stray, a danger, ‘stay out of his way!’ but as
the crowd separated around him, they didn’t re-assemble a couple of meters
after passing – they left a gap for another figure to walk through, towards the
mongrel.
As I walked back to where my possessions were, the general murmur of
the public around me was interrupted by the impatient rumble of my stomach. Ignoring
this, I gifted people with a smile, perhaps a nod and sometimes a ‘hello’ but got
nothing back, so I gave up and transfixed my eyes on the floor, promising
myself that they just hadn’t seen me.
With great confidence, the dog tried to stay at the heel of
his target, swerving in and out of the constant stream of other people to not
lose sight of the man.
The soft sound of panting plodding behind me matched the rhythm to my
footsteps. I was being followed! Every now and then I slowed down until the
quiet pitter-patter of the perky dog amplified, meaning he had caught up. I
turned around to get a proper look, but something caught my eye instead. A mother, walking along with a small child;
she couldn’t have been older than about 3. Munching away at a sandwich, she suddenly
tripped over and dropped it. Her mother sighed and tossed it into a nearby bin.
My stomach outweighed the gentle plea of my dignity; one minute I was stood
across the pavement, the next minute I was licking my lips in anticipation of
the ‘gourmet’ sandwich in my unsteady hands.
I felt eyes on me. A stranger, an attacker – you could never be too
careful! I must NOT hold his gaze; that would be the deadliest of moves. But he
continued to sniff around my feet and as soon as my foot left the floor to give
the sneaky beggar a warning kick, I caught sight of the mutt’s face. I never
could resist a pretty face … Within a flash he had eaten the crusty edge
without a morsel of crumbs left behind and I once again fell victim to the
deadly temptation of his ravenous eyes.
The man carried on walking, smugly watching confused
onlookers. “Why him?” they arrogantly wondered, “what refuge can that tramp give?” as they saw him
waiting for the dog to catch up, chanting ‘here doggy! Come here!’ to the space
behind him.
Bystanders continued to watch the pair as they trampled
along the cobbles and then met, with great dread, a group of ignorant teens jeering
at him, adopting stances that made the man cower back in fear. “Don’t get
involved, that dog looks dangerous,” strangers thought, trying to justify their
passiveness as they hurried away from the dog, barking in protection; he was
the danger, not the youths, making death
threats and humiliating remarks. The deep bellow of the protective dog quickly
made the group dissemble without a final threatening word – a first for a man
who had battle wounds from too many other encounters.
My dreams were tinted dark. A figure; a hand; a gentle pull on his
scruffy tail; these nightmares blurred into one – the vision of waking up
lonely.
Ignorant passers-by did not realise how much the man needed
to be depended upon, as well as have something to depend on. As they hurriedly
walked past him, literally and figuratively looking down on him; they wondered
at his story. Cold, dirty and soggy from the splash of absentminded shoppers
who traipsed through puddles all-too-enthusiastically, how did it happen?
As the rainy night blurred into a crisp winter’s day, I wallowed closer
into his soft fur. I heard the loud footsteps of a couple trample past, fresh
pretzels in hand, making both me and my dog stir in response to the pleasing
smell. I moved my arm to give him a gentle pat in reassurance to the promise of
food and, at my release, he sprang into action.
With great confidence, the dog tried to stay at the heel of
his targets, swerving in and out of the constant stream of other people to not
lose sight of the couple.
His focus was clear – food, and nothing more.