Furry Pigs

Yesterday afternoon, my work was devoted to reading on the highly uplifting and life-giving topics of gender-based violence and intimate partner violence. Since these were going to be a drag on my psyche, I decided I could at least do the article reviews on managing these issues during lock downs in a comfortable location, so I moved myself out from the basement where I've set up a temporary office, and onto the love seat adjacent to our front window. 

I was two articles in when something outside caught my eye. A car had just gone by... but it wasn't that.

It appeared to be a furry pig trotting down the street. 

Now, I admit I did not get a clear view, as I wasn't staring out the window but at my computer screen, but it was clearly a four legged creature with an extremely short or nonexistent tail... and it looked like a pig. 

So I did what any self- respecting quarantined woman would do. I jammed on my flip flops and went running out of the house after it, calling for Eric, who followed, having no idea what I was doing.

It had disappeared. And really, if it was a furry pig, there is only one thing to do in that situation.

Jump in the car and go find the pig. 

So we did. Eric asked me what I had seen, and I explained, with the "I'm not crazy" caveat of, "well, it was probably a dog, but it really looked like a pig."

And I was secretly hoping that, since it was most likely NOT a furry pig, that it might in fact be a bobcat, and I would see one in our neighborhood for the first time.

It took a full 15 seconds for all my fantasies about strange or wild creatures to be shattered.

It was a tail-less dog, and it was in front of my next door neighbor's house. We turned around and went back home...

Where I then went back up the driveway to investigate further. I mean, I didn't recognize this dog, and there HAD been that car that had just driven down and back out our dead end street. What if the dog had been intentionally abandoned? I mean, I can't do anything else during quarantine, so dammit, I am going to SAVE THIS DOG.

I found the dog, still at the edge of the neighbor's driveway. No collar, and definitely not from around here. 

So I called it.

It looked back at me. 

I encouraged it. 

It looked at me. 

I said "come on pooch, I'll help you!"

It barked at me.

I ran away.

Did I mention I know nothing about dogs and last month the neighbor's who just moved OUT of that house had their horrid little dog out while they were loading their Uhaul, and that awful little beast chased me and bit my shoe while I was running? 

I ran home, and Facebooked my neighbor, who, poor thing, probably things I'm nuts since she moved in during quarantine and we haven't actually met, really, except for a short, hollered greeting session from the road... 

It turned out the dog was with someone who had come to her place. However, she did confirm that she also thinks it looks like a pig. 

Epilogue: I told this to my friend Sarah, who instructed me to blog about this.... so here you go.