Cone - mutt

Cone's owner had been disciplining him by beating him and then when the man saw all the blood on his dog and all the blood all over his house, he decided he'd better rinse the dog down to make it less obvious. Then the man, not wanting a soaking dog running around getting his furniture wet, put Cone outside into the freezing cold.

A neighbour saw the dog outside, trembling, near hypothermia, and called the police. The police arrived, saw the abuse that was going on and contacted Toronto Animal Services and by the time Cone was brought into TAS, he was covered in blood again from his open wounds. His whole head was oddly swollen. His muzzle was raw and bloody. There was a soft spongy mass on the back of his neck near the base of his skull. And when he urinated, there was a stream of red. These were the obvious injuries.

The vet examined Cone and determined the mass behind his neck to be an air pocket, likely air leaking from a punctured trachea from the beating he had received. Full x-rays would have to be done to determine if the man caused any other injuries to his dog and what, if anything, could be done about them.

I look into Cone's sky blue eyes and I don't see any fear or hatred. He is not broken or cowering like most people would be after such an experience. In his manner, he is still looking for human acceptance and friendship, something he has probably never known but senses is out there - such is the faith of a dog.

There are no doubt many monsters who walk amongst us disguised as humans. I used to think that maybe it would be possible to teach the heartless how to have a heart but I'm not so sure anymore. I think the monsters only gain self-fulfillment through the suffering of others. They constantly reinforce their own desire for another's pain. They feel strong, they feel potent only when they make others weak.

I am angered by this, no doubt, but in our law abiding society, I must swallow my anger. The people who know about what happened to Cone console themselves by saying that what goes around comes around and while there might be a fleeting satisfaction in visualizing someone kicking Cone's owner until his internal organs burst and he starts pissing blood, that would do nothing for Cone or the multitude of other abuse victims out there, both human and animal. In fact, that might just make things worse. A terrible thing about monsters is that they so easily spread their contagion and they fill us with hate until hate pushes out empathy and we become monsters as well. I feel that struggle within me all the time and I'm not always sure which side will win.

Cone is safe now, as safe as any homeless dog can be. When he gets back from the vet, there will be a warm bed and food waiting for him at TAS-South and while a home in a cage is not ideal, it will hopefully only be a temporary one. Let's hope this new year will be a happier one for Cone.

For adoption information on these and other dogs (and cats and other animals), please visit Toronto Animal Services.