A Tale of Unwanted Dogs

By BETTY CROPPER

My name is Betty Cropper. I'm a retired junior schoolteacher living in Lincolnshire.
A late Christmas shopping trip is planned but the weather is terrible. I take a chance and catch the bus into town. Little did I know it would be the start of something that would change my life completely.

A little Border Terrier called Joey comes into my life and my world is turned upside down. The following events are not only strange but quite unbelievable.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BETTY CROPPER
• Release date: Aug 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223203896

Book preview

A TALE OF UNWANTED DOGS

BY BETTY CROPPER

PREFACE

My name is Betty Cropper. I’m a retired junior schoolteacher living in Lincolnshire.

A late Christmas shopping trip is planned but the weather is terrible. I take a chance and catch the bus into town. Little did I know it would be the start of something that would change my life completely.

A little Border Terrier called Joey comes into my life and my world is turned upside down. The following events are not only strange but quite unbelievable.

Chapter 1

I open my eyes and see a young woman dressed in a blue tabard looking through my purse and reading my bus pass details. I must have surprised her, and she remarks

‘So you’re Mrs Betty Cropper, don’t leave; I’ll fetch the Doctor’.

She slipped through the door and returned moments later with a big smile on her face. The man now behind her was also smiling.

‘So, you’re awake then, let’s look at you’

He leans forward and feels my pulse. Then with his first finger and thumb opened my left eye wide

‘I can confirm, you are with us’.

This all seems so surreal, and I question myself. Where am I and what’s going on?

I lay there for a few minutes and a woman enters the room. Moving closer to me I realised it was Hazel, my daughter

‘Oh, thank goodness I’ve found you and what the hell have you been up to Mum?’

Not having a clue, was unable to answer straight away. I gave it some thought and offered my last recollection.

‘I was in town doing some late Christmas shopping’

‘Shopping in town, then why are you here?’

‘Well, I do remember something else’

‘It was very windy, and a man’s hat was blowing along the road, I went to pick it up but was knocked backwards’

She shrugged her shoulders and noticed my head was bandaged.

‘So, looks like you bumped your head’

She tried to comfort me, but I knew she would think I was a silly old fool. This was not the first time I had fallen, usually when feeling dizzy. Maybe while I’m in this hospital they could sort me out. Over the next few days, they took armfuls of blood, prodded me a lot, and asked daft questions. They found nothing and concluded I was just getting old. I already knew this and was glad when they agreed to let me go home.

Several days later, Hazel called at my bungalow, and we talked about living alone. It had never bothered me before but recently there was the occasional moment I could do with some company.

‘Why don’t you get a dog’ she proposed.

‘That sounds like a possibility but I’m not sure’

‘Well let me know if you decide and I will take you to the local rescue centre’

We finished our tea, and both cleared up.

‘See you next week then, and she kissed me goodbye’

Time passed quickly and she was back at the front door banging harder than ever.

As I let her in, she lambasted me.

‘Are you going deaf as well as everything else?’

‘I was in the back garden, don’t be cheeky’

Settled with a cup of tea and a slice of the carrot cake I had made we continued our previous conversation. Dog or no dog, that was the question.

I had thought about it and agreed maybe it was worth a visit to see what dogs were available. Hazel couldn’t wait and within minutes was driving her little car with me feeling it was all a rush.

Upon arrival the car park was full, so she parked on the grass alongside the side of the building. The entrance doors opened automatically, and we were confronted by a large collection of animals of every type. Dogs, cats, a caged parrot and what looked like a goat, but I wasn’t quite sure until it went ‘baa’. We explained why we were there to the receptionist, and she asked us to wait as the staff were all occupied with the weekly free veterinary practice. Within a few minutes, a girl came over from another room and suggested we all go through to the kennels at the rear.

‘Do you have a particular type of dog in mind or are you just looking?’ she asked.

Hazel was quick to answer and explained I needed to see what dogs were available as I was still unsure. We walked along row after row of wire cages, some with more than one dog and I commented to the girl.

‘They all look so desperate to meet us with wagging tails and barking madly’

The girl whom we now know as Carol suggested they are mostly friendly, but some need more than most new owners can cope with.

‘What do you mean? I asked.

She went on to explain some dogs had been offered to families but were returned sometime later. Some dogs have had a bad past and find it difficult to settle into a new environment. We finally reached the last cages, and a door was opened which led to a large concrete yard with about 10 dogs of varying sizes. Unlike previously these dogs just looked at us and did not attempt to bark or move towards us.

‘What’s wrong with these dogs?’ Hazel asks.

‘Well these are our long-term residents; some have been here for over 2 years as nobody wanted to take them’

‘Why are they all together and not separately caged?’ I ask.

‘They comfort and support each other, or so our centre manager has suggested’

I could see the logic in that and asked more about the reasons that they couldn’t find a new home. Sadly, some of the reasons were horrifying to hear. Neglect, starvation, and ill-treatment left the dogs scarred and without normal behaviours. So here they stay.

‘That’s awful’ Hazel remarks.

I felt upset and asked if we could go home. Hazel agreed and we were soon driving back. We didn’t speak much on the short journey and Hazel dropped me off