Abandoned by those they Love Sam and Cosmo Find A Way

New Year’s is a time of hope, but it is also a reminder of the cruelty and uncaring nature of certain humans.  A couple, and a veterinarian, in Valparaiso Indiana, have personified both sides of the scale.

My parents told me, when I was particularly persnickety, about the dogs who did not sleep inside, had to lick frozen water bowls in the winter, and didn’t eat healthy kibble, so I would realize, and appreciate how privileged I was.

But, they never mentioned, and maybe could not comprehend, people so heartless that they would send a dog to the Bridge prematurely because of a human lifestyle change, or change of heart.

This is what happened to Sam, a pointer, and Cosmo a lab mix, from northern Indiana.  First, their life was turned upside down when their parents got divorced. The dad got custody of the duo.  He met a new woman who was allergic to dogs, then opted for a “convenience euthanasia,” and brought these two perfect souls to the vet to be put down because they no longer fit in his lifestyle.

(Note, as an angel,  I sometimes know, but cannot say, who is going to the Bad Place.  So, I am barred from naming the owner who requested the euthanasia, but, if you are reading this, and surrendered two dogs with matching names in northern Indiana, you might want to get used to the hot weather and to wield a  pitchfork.)

The blessed veterinarian refused to perform the euthanasia and talked the owner into surrendering the dogs to the Begin Again Rescue in Valparaiso.  The owner did not care if his companions lived, or died. He just wanted to be rid of these loyal souls. He left his two confused dogs with the vet.  Hopefully, he will never get another.

Poor Sam and Cosmo did not understand what was happening.  At first, they were part of a loving home; then their mom disappeared, then their dad left them at the shelter.  But, they knew they had one another.

The pair was given to the Peoples Animal Welfare Society in Tinley Pak Illinois. Knowing that Sam and Cosmo had led tumultuous lives the rescue did want to separate them.  Finding a family who would take them together made the adoption process slower, but the good people at PAWS knew they would find the right family for the two, charming but horribly mistreated dogs.

Eric and Tiffany Dybas of Lockport, Illinois, heard Sam and Cosmo’s lament and were happy to open their home to two adult dogs.  From the second the dogs entered the Dybas’ home the pups knew they would be loved for the rest of their lives and beyond. They had a yard to play in, and two parents to sleep with on the big bed.  Life was good, and their troubles gone.

The world needs more dogs like Sam and Cosmo, whose charm and tenacity kept them from being euthanized, and more parents like Eric and Tiffany, who opened their hearts to pair of older dogs, and less selfish, uncaring people like the dogs’ original owners
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Someday Sam and Cosmo will be at the Bridge, but only because they ran out of heartbeats, and their original owners will their too.  Perhaps, instead of going to the Bad Place the parents can become minions and wait on Sam and Cosmo hand and paw.

That would be a fitting eternal punishment for the people who tried to end the lives of such beautiful creatures. And perhaps, if their parents’ fate was known, no parent would ever try to do “convenience anesthesia” again.