Tails From Rainbow Bridge: Meeting Harambe

Rainbow Bridge has no end.  Next to where we dogs live is the humans’ area, and beyond that horses, and farm animals, and further out the truly wild animals like the lions and gorillas.  We dogs never visit the wild animal area and they never visit ours.

Until Monday.

I was curled up on a bank watching Romey, the fish.  He was reeling in a fish, swallowing it whole, then looking down into the water where the same fish magically appeared and bit his hook ready to be reeled up again.

“You know that’s the same fish,” I told him.

“I don’t care,” Romey says.  “Tastes good.

Then the ground began to shake.  We heard paws rapidly pounding on the ground.  We looked up to see a giant beast walking towards us.

“Big monkey,” Romey said.  “I am going to tell Smoochy.”

Before I could stop Romey, he was scampering towards Smoochy’s house.  The other dog were giving the gorilla a wide berth, but I refused to show I was afraid.  I walked up to him and asked him if I could help him

“I am new here,” the gorilla said.  “I am lost.”

“You want to head North, past the mountains, that is where you will find the jungle.”

He thanked me and turned to leave, but he had sparked my Yorkie inquisitive nature.  I asked him how he arrived.

He scratched his head.  “I was in jail,” he said.  “I don’t know why I was in prison.  I never did anything wrong.  But they still locked me up, in a terrible place, called Cincinnati.  My jailers were very friendly.  I ate healthy food regularly, I was treated kindly, and I had two female gorillas for conjugals, but I still dreamt of being in the jungle.

The worst part of my sentence was the humans who would come and stare at me.  Some would make monkey sounds; some would point and laugh:  It was cruel and unusual punishment.  There were some nice people, but I hated being watched all the time.

“Sunday a family was watching me.  The mother should have been watching her son.  I sure was.  The kid climbs through the barriers, and he falls into my pod.  At first, I thought he was going to break me out, but he just laid there crying.  All the people were screaming.  I grabbed the kid and tried to protect him with my body, but the child was crying, and the people were screaming.  I grabbed the child.  I walked him towards where he fell.  I was going to throw him back up.  It wasn’t my fault the kid couldn’t keep up with me.  I have no babysitting experience.  Then my keepers showed up with guns.   I thought they were going to shoot the whiney kid, but they didn’t.  They shot me and here I am.”

I told him how sorry I was and that he should not have been shot.  He laughed.

“I’m free!” he said.  “No more prison, no more keepers.  I can go wherever I want, eat whatever I want; it is paradise.  Those keepers did me a favor, little dog.  Now I just need to find the jungle.”

I began to give directions again when I saw Smoochy and Romey running towards me.  Smoochy grabbed the gorilla by the hand.  “I have monkeys, stay with me, you can play with monkeys!”

I chuckled, expecting the gorilla to say not but he smiled and said that sounded like a lot of fun.  I was going to tell him no but who am I to deny a gorilla?  I watched as Smoochy and the gorilla left hand in hand.

So now we have a gorilla in the neighborhood.

It could be worse.

He could be in prison.