Acie came into my life when I was 10. My parents had just got divorced and my previous dog died a few weeks earlier. I was sad, alone and confused. My father brother and I pulled into the big parking lot of the Humane Society. I couldn’t contain my joy, about getting a new dog. My father told me I must get an adult dog and not a puppy. The first room we walked into was a lobby, it was filled with collars, leashes and all sorts of animal necessities.
The next room was the puppy room. The fairly small room was full of kennels from the floor to the ceiling, and puppy of all shapes and sizes.I immediately looked around at a puppy I fancied. But my father dragged me along into the adult dog kennels. He insisted we look there. I unwillingly agreed and looked up and down at all the kennels. None of the adult dogs were to my liking. I then begged my father to let me get a puppy. He agreed. We walked back into the puppy room. I saw first a few dogs that I liked but my father repeatedly said no. I then stumbled upon a kennel with two puppies in it. One was grey and larger than the other one. The other was small and tan. I opened the kennel and picked up the small tan puppy and quickly checked his plastic collar for a name. He didn’t have one. This puppy was limp, and quite. I decided this would be my dog. My dad repeatedly tried to change my mind, but I stayed set on this puppy. We finally adopted him and took him home the same day.
The little puppy had many names before Acie, such as Spunky, Alamo and even Taco (hey I was 10). Acie grew up as a one person dog. He lived with me ate with me and even showered with me when he was a puppy. Acie spent most of his time in the back yard. That is when it happened, the addiction. He started to like the taste of Bufo toads (toads that when they are threatened secret a poisonous liquid from their back, and are very toxic to animals.)
Acie and I fought a downhill battle with these toads. We tried everything we could think of to get rid of them, nothing worked. Eventually after 4 years of damage Acie’s body began to deteriorate. He got skinnier, so skinny that all his bones were visible. Acie just got sicker and sicker. In his last few months of life he was always sick and in pain.
Then one day he just wouldn’t move anymore, he walked in pain with his head down and wouldn’t eat or drink. He stayed like this for 4 days and gradually got worse. Finally my father and I took him to the vet and had him put down. My whole family cried. Acie will live in my memory forever, as my best friend and support that kept
me living through those tough times.
It's funny how someone can come in and out of you'r life so quickly, yet leave footprints and
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| Acie |
| Melinda Keltz |