The rain lashes down outside as a man pays for his food and leaves a small store. He takes shelter from the throbbing rainfall and finds himself standing next to a middle aged woman.
-How long have you been waiting? Says he
-Waiting for the rain to stop? She replies. About 10 minutes. But waiting for some significant and serious change in my life? About 4 years.
A different man is walking through a forest at eight in the morning and spies a cyclist up ahead, sitting astride a little log bench with his modern racing bike propped up against it. As he nears the cyclist, who is old, he sees that he is wearing tight black lycra, is reading a newspaper besides which sits a large bottle of beer. The man is smoking thin cigarettes in a yellow cigarette holder. Eight am in the morning...
With moments like this it’s always good to fall back on clichés. How could the first story be anything other than American, or the latter European? I am willing to bet the few stray pieces of fluff in my pocket that you could live in Poland for a century and never have a conversation like the one my brother had last night in Washington. A cliché is the body of a lie made up with small cells of truths. They help us find a place in the world and orient our judgement.
I promise, promise I'll crack on with some invasive public photography eventually. Oh and finally, if someone has space for a dog, I would love it if you could take Toast in from the Paluch dog place. I've posted notices around Las Kabacki asking for the owner to get in touch. It may be that he was just dumped in the forest, something which a number of people have said used to happen quite frequently in the 90s. To be honest, I can't see how that fits with the Polish national psyche - which seems to be a dog-loving one - but people assure me it's true. We also take count and discount cliches as we see fit, so I am hoping this one is wrong. But the thought of him stuck for ever in the Paluch centre really pains me. So if you can, please get in touch and let's find him a home. Thank you.
I saw your notes in Las Kabaty yesterday. Many thanks for taking care. Had to pass myself two kittens which I found in the forest to Paluch. I have already a dog and two cats in my flat.
ReplyDeleteCurrent count at Paluch: 2000+ dogs and 84 cats.
Still the people working there seem to be caring well and are friendly.
Martin
Thanks Martin, it seems like a lot of people have had similar experiences which I find surprising and a bit disheartening - but what can you do? Still trying to find him a home with someone now.
ReplyDeleteI saw on TVN that Paluch is now full and they have no more capacity, so it must be something about this time of year.
You're right that it is something about this time of year, it happens over and over again in the summer. What to do with a not-so-new-and-not-so-funny-anymore toy (which, by coincindence, is alive and has feelings) when you wanna go on summer vacation along with whole family and The Toy becomes a real pain-in-the-ass? Try to arrange a pet-friendly hotel? No. Ask relatives/neighbours to take care while you're away? No. Just dump him to the nearest shelter and forget? YES. Not to mention cases when a dog is just left alone in a nearby forest or something. Some people(?) just have shit instead of a brain, but that's how it goes on a year-to-year basis. Ręce opadają...
ReplyDeleteIt's rather sad but if what you say is true Chris, and it does appear to be, then it probably won't be the last time I find an abandoned pet or dog. Will have to get a harder heart or I'll be too affected by it.
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