If you think dogs can survive in the desert, think again. Too often, people dump their dogs in the desert believing that they can easily survive. The desert is filled with danger: plants, animals, no water, and extreme temperatures. Yet, everyday, people open their car doors, watch their dogs jump out with glee and drive off. No amount of words or statistics will change this behavior. Only when, we the people, believe that this form of cruelty should no longer be tolerated will it stop.
Saying Goodbye - It was a fluke that we found her. We had to pull off the road to check the tire. We had just gone through a pretty bad wash and wanted to make sure there was no damage. We pulled as far as we could to the right; it was mile marker 10. I climbed out of my seat and began to check each of the tires. Both front and back tires looked okay but for some reason I wanted to check the driver-side back tire a little more. I 
knelt down to take a closer look. It was over 100 degrees so I wasn’t much interested in repairing a tire so I hoped for the best. As I got off my knees something caught my eye. I studied the distant object not sure what I was seeing. Although hot, dirty, and certainly tired we decided to move and explore the object. We moved quickly then slowly and then to a stop. We both knew what we were seeing. Its chest was partially open – we could see its ribs. It looked at peace from one side until we walked around and saw the agony and pain on its partially torn and ripped face. We could not move as the image started to grow. Its fur was scattered all around, flies everywhere, and the smell was taking us over. It’s hard to say how long she had been dead. She still had a good portion of her fur; she was beautiful. All we could do was stare and wonder why. How did she come to this place? How long was she wandering? Why would someone leave her alone? There are no answers for her and we hope she is now safe and happy. 
We don’t know why or how we came upon her. We are just glad we did.
We buried her and said a few prayers. We told her she was now safe and that she would soon be with our friend Ari – a dog we had the honor and pleasure of knowing who also had been dumped and tossed aside. We thought about giving her a name and decided she did not need a human calling. Rather, as we covered her up, placed the desert dirt and stones on her, we wished her a goodbye. The human – animal bond is significant and it was never more apparent than on that hot summer day. We met her, we buried her, and we said goodbye. She will always be close by and every time we drive down that dusty desert road and pass marker 10 we will look over our shoulder.
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