Killer

The question is: Why on earth didn't she run?

She was only a foot or two from the fence and could've scaled it easily enough. She was within an easy sprint of a massive oak tree and the dogs hadn't seen her yet. She had the time and the space to run. And she didn't. They attacked with a killer fury and she fought back like a mini tigress but a 10 pound cat against 150 pounds of psychotic pit bull isn't much of a contest and even as I beat the dogs into submission and got her away from them, I knew she had no real chance. I wrapped her in a towel and for the 2^nd time in as many days, but with no illusions of saving her life this time, headed for the vet's. The only thing I could do was put an end to her suffering. She died shortly after we arrived and I was left shattered and still asking myself, why didn't she run?

If I were a stray cat in a yard where I knew there were dogs that could turn savage in a nano second and they hadn't seen me, I'm reasonably sure I'd head for the hills. I found myself re-thinking the death of the stray kitten the day before - at the time, I'd assumed it had been an owl or a hawk or one of the alpha male ferals that live in the neighborhood. I go with the dogs when I let them out and I couldn't imagine them attacking a defenseless kitten and my not noticing but then I got to thinking that if he'd no chance to run or fight back, maybe they could've killed him without a commotion. And maybe, just maybe, the adult female they'd gone after so mercilessly now had been his mother. Maternal instinct is a powerful force and I couldn't think of anything else that made any kind of sense. To be sure, I scoured the yard on both sides of the fence and explored under the house but found no sign of kittens.

It amazes me to see the old pit - the most mellow, mild mannered and patient of dogs - turn into a frenzied and vicious predator. I can't comprehend it's the same dog who lays his head on my lap and gazes at me with such love and devotion. How is it possible that this fat, arthritic, and clumsy old cast off who is terrified of storms and loud noises is also a lethal killer.

Perhaps it's just that we all change faces depending on the circumstance. Even dogs.