CHOOSE: ITS EITHER YOUR DOG OR ME! IVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS MONGREL! DECLARED HER HUSBAND. SHE CHOSE HIM, DROVE THE DOG TO THE WOODS BUT THAT EVENING, HE SAID HE WAS LEAVING HER FOR ANOTHER WOMAN.
Sophie adored her husband, Matthew, more than anything. Theyd been married for five years. There were no children yet, but she had Charlie an old, faithful Labrador shed rescued as a puppy long before meeting Matthew.
Charlie was more than just a pet. He was family clever and loyal, always understanding her even without words. But age had begun to take its toll on him: his joints ached, he gave off a rather musty doggy smell, and his fur was coming out in handfuls.
Matthews patience wore thin over time. The final straw came when Charlie, unable to hold it, had an accident in the hallway right on the new wood flooring.
Thats it! Enough! Matthew bellowed, pushing the old dogs nose towards the mess. I live in a kennel! Theres fur everywhere, the house stinks, and now hes peeing everywhere! Sophie, decide: its me or that decrepit mutt!
Matthew, where can I take him? Hes twelve, Sophie sobbed, wrapping her arms round Charlie, who blinked back at her with guilt.
To the shelter! To the woods! Have him put down! I dont care! her husband snapped, cold as stone. If hes not gone tonight, Ill leave. I cant live in this filth, picking up after your mangy ‘son’!
Sophie felt powerless. She was desperately afraid of being alone terrified of losing Matthew, the man who provided for them and with whom shed dreamt of holidays and a new house.
She chose her husband.
She took Charlie out of the city.
The old dog struggled into the car, wincing with stiff pain, but licked her hand as if they were going on a lovely walk.
She cried the whole way.
She left him in the woods, some fifteen miles from town. Sophie tied his lead to a tree, so he wouldnt chase after her car.
Im so sorry, Charlie forgive me she whispered, unable to meet the gaze of those gentle eyes now dimmed with age.
Charlie didnt fight back. He just sat and stared at her, understanding everything.
Sophie left a bowl of food and hurried back to her car. In the rearview mirror, she saw Charlie forgetting his aching legs for a moment lunge after her, straining on his lead, barking hoarsely and desperately.
That raw, tortured bark echoed in her ears all the way home.
She returned to their flat shattered, her eyes puffed and red.
Matthew was there, packing his suitcase.
You what are you doing? she stammered. I did what you asked. Charlies gone. I took him away
Matthew looked at her with an icy smirk.
Good job. You didnt waste any time. But you know what Im leaving anyway.
What do you mean?! Where are you going?!
To Emmas. You know, the one from accounts. Weve been together six months. Shes expecting, he said, matter-of-factly.
Sophie slumped into a chair, the whole world spinning.
But you gave me an ultimatum The dog or you Why?!
I wanted to see if you had a backbone, Matthew retorted carelessly. Thought you might finally stand up for something. But you you betrayed your friend for a pair of trousers. Frankly, I find it frightening to stay with you. If you could abandon a dog who adored you for over a decade, youd toss me aside even quicker if I fell ill.
He zipped up his case.
Goodbye, Sophie. And by the way Charlie was the only proper man in this house. You youre just a traitor.
When the door slammed behind him, Sophie howled with grief.
Thats when she realised what shed done. For a man who didnt truly care for her, shed broken the heart of the one being whod loved her unconditionally.
Grabbing her car keys, Sophie sped back to the woods.
Night had fallen. Rain hammered down in sheets.
She found the tree. The lead was bitten through. The bowl overturned. Charlie was gone.
Charlie! Charlie, where are you, my boy! she screamed, running through the dark, wet woods, her face stung by brambles.
She searched for three days, putting up posters and posting on dog rescue pages. She barely ate or slept.
On the fourth day, her phone rang.
Hi, you were looking for a Labrador? Theres one matching that description by the A303 Hit by a lorry.
She rushed out for identification.
It was Charlie.
Hed bitten through his lead and made for home. On those frail, aching legs, pushing through pain and fear, hed run towards the person who had abandoned him and died at the roadside, still waiting.
Sophie buried Charlie herself.
Two years have passed.
She lives alone. She hasnt remarried cant trust people, nor herself.
Matthew is happy with his new wife and child, having forgotten Sophie as if she were a bad dream. For him, it was just a test a convenient way to leave while laying all the blame on her.
And Sophie? Sophie now volunteers for an old dogs rescue. She cleans their kennels, scrubs up after them, treats their wounds. Shes trying, in her small way, to atone for her mistake.
Every night, she dreams the same dream: shes back by that tree, and Charlie is watching her. She calls out to him, but he doesnt come. He just looks at her without anger, just a deep, unending sorrow.
And in that look she finds her judgment.
Moral: Betrayal is never forgiven. Never sacrifice loyal friends for those who force ultimatums upon you. Someone who truly loves you would never make you choose. If they do perhaps theyve already abandoned you, and by complying, youll only regret it more deeply.
