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The Tale of Tabby
From Chicken Soup for the Soul: Me and My Dog
By Tammy Zaluzney
You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
It was a cold and rainy October day in 2003, when the animal shelter where I worked received an elderly, emaciated, blind, virtually hairless Cocker Spaniel. We did not hold out much hope that the dog we named Tabby would find a home, but we were committed to helping her anyway. Because Tabby was a stray, she had to be held for a period of time to ensure that her owner wasn’t looking for her. Based on her condition we were fairly certainly that no one would be coming forward to claim this poor little wretch of a dog.
Tabby received treatment from the attending vet and was then bathed, fed and settled into the quiet of the administration building, where we felt she would be less frightened and better able to heal. I should explain that the admin building was in an old house and therefore retained a sort of homey feeling. Tabby quickly endeared herself to our staff, who noticed that she appeared to be deaf as well as blind. She slept very soundly, and at about fourteen years of age, she liked her naps. She also quickly learned her way around the building and its various offices. With time and care she gained weight and grew in a luxurious coat of soft cream-coloured fur.
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