Before and after a few days of food.
[Note: My apologies. This is the “real” post and the other has been deleted. The first notice went out when someone accidentally clicked the “Publish” button well before the post was readable.]
Marcia and Miriam, our landlady, have befriended a wild dog. In fairness, the animal they’ve taken to would now be better characterized as loud, untrusting and mischievous since Marcia gave her a name, Miriam made the once small hole in the back fence bigger for ease of entry and both ladies have begun to buy her treats and food.
Marcia’s got the food.
Jutta, that’s what Marcia named her for reasons that may never be known, was only days ago just one of many starving, unloved Jerusalem animals, most of them cats, exceptional only in her ability to avoid being seen. But the poor dog began to break our hearts last month as hunger prompted her to take more risks and she began to visit here regularly (with her tail tucked and barely able to walk) looking for something to eat. Though she only appeared at odd intervals and mostly after dark, her comings and goings eventually betrayed a pattern. She came and left the same way each time; in and out through either of two small holes in Miriam’s fence then across the back of the neighboring yard and off to who knows where through another fence-hole somewhere.
Gifts in exchange for food.
One morning, about 2:30 AM, Jutta woke the whole building with an awful, life-changing howl. Miriam got on her knees the next day and unrepaired the back yard fence to make the hole bigger. She built a small hutch to protect the food that she and Marcia agreed to leave for her, though only cat food that first day.
Marcia began to deliver proper dog food twice daily afterward, big portions, and though we never saw her eating, Jutta ate it all. So things seemed to be looking up for her until a second big winter snowstorm hit Jerusalem.
