BLUE COUP D’ETAT

A pit bull has been tied to a fence and left there for about a week now. The poor girl barks at anyone who passes by, barks in fear. The resident bum of my street, a vaguely Hispanic man with a beard and a drinking problem, told me that she was his dog and rather defensively added that she eats well and he treats her much better than the others. Every time I walk by this dog I feel as though I’m betraying her, I rebel against the filth and suspicion of the neighborhood, the cruel children with their bird calls and the thugs shouting, drinking, and playing dominos. They hate this dog that barks in fear, they want her to shut up, to go away, to disappear. They throw shit at her, provoke her, slap her. She was gone for a couple hours today and her corner was soaked with water or blood. I want to help this animal, I went outside at four in the morning and sat with her, she growled and barked and when I did nothing she quieted down and watched me suspiciously. I moved closer and then someone passed by and she started barking again. Finally the bum appeared and quieted her down, told me she’d probably bite me. I figured that pit bull was the only real friend that guy had and I forgave him and didn’t have the heart to tell him that it was terrible to chain this magnificent animal to a fence all day and feed her rice and beans. Leaving her at the mercy of children and drunks, the city dirt . . .