People were astonished: a dog in an abandoned house was not feeding puppies at all
Edith Harris is trudging home from the shops with her heavy bags, her mind whirring as usual. Her knees ache again, her granddaughter promised to ring but hasn’t yet, and the winter has been an odd onesome days, biting wind and snow, others, just mud and slush everywhere. Lost in thought, Edith suddenly catches her foot and nearly goes sprawling across the pavement.
She glances behindan amber mongrel darts nimbly past her legs. The poor thing is skin and bone, fur matted in clumps, ribs poking through.
“Watch it, you daft mutt!” she exclaims, unable to help herself.
The dog doesnt pause for a second, sprinting ahead like its on a mission. In her mouth, she’s carrying what looks like a chunk of bread.
“Must’ve stashed her pups somewhere,” Edith mutters. “Springs nearly here, they’re always having more by now.”
She adjusts her bags and continues home, but an uneasy suspicion nags at her. Somethings off about this scene, she thinks.
The next day, it all happens again. The same russet shadow tears across the courtyard, the same scrap clenched in her teeth, heading for the abandoned house at the end of the rowold Mrs. Chivers place. It’s been empty and forlorn since she passed six months ago.
“Edith, lookyour friends at it again!” calls her neighbour, Linda, from her balcony. “Every blessed day its the same. Where do you reckon she gets food from, anyway?”
“What food?” Edith pauses.
“Shes got some in her mouth! Must be scrounging around the bins. Feeding her litter. Instinct, isnt it.”
“And youre sure its pups?
“Who else? Springs coming, isnt it. Nature knows what to do.”
Edith nods, but the thought needles at her. Pups make sensebut she cant shake the feeling something isnt right.
Again, the red-furred stray slips through the broken fence and vanishes into the old, deserted garden. Edith hesitates.
“What am I like, honestly? she scolds herself. “Might as well have a look. Everyone in the blocks gossiping anyway.”
She slips through the same gap in the rickety old fence, which creaks mournfully but holds her weight. Inside, nettles stand waist high, broken glass glints in the grass, and rusted junk is strewn everywhere.
From somewhere deep in the garden, a faint, plaintive whimpering drifts over.
Edith follows the noise round the back of a sagging shed, then stops dead.
There sits the ginger mongrel by an old kennel. Lying before her is a big black dog, muzzle flecked white with age, tied with a short rusty chain to the post.
Shes blind.
Her eyes are milky and opaque, body little more than skin and bone, coat fully tangled. She lies on her side, barely breathing.
The ginger girl softly lays the bread in front of her, nudges it with her nose, and waits.
The black dog stirs feebly, feels about and begins hungrily gnawing at the bread. The mongrel watchessilent, tail still.
When the food is gone, the ginger one licks her companions face gently, then settles beside her.
Edith stands frozen, eyes stinging with sudden tears.
“God above,” she whispers, “Shes feeding her. Every day. Starving herself and still she shares.”
She doesnt know how long she stands there before the ginger dog finally looks up and meets her gaze. Edith reads something familiar in her eyes: “Well? Stand there or help.”
“Hold on wait for me,” Edith whispers.
She spins and hurries home, quicker than shes moved in decades. Her knees complain, her side aches, but she doesnt stop.
Once home, she grabs all the food she can findsome cooked chicken, porridge, some sausage, snatches a bowl of water, and rushes straight back.
The scene is unchanged: the two dogs, together.
“Here you are,” Edith pants, kneeling. “Here, darling.”
She places the chicken in front of the ginger dog, but the stray ignores it, eyes fixed instead on the black dog.
“You silly thing, you need feeding yourself, youre nothing but bones!”
Then, the penny drops. Edith lays the meat right before the black dog. She wakes up properly, pounces, and wolfs it down.
The ginger one swallows but waits. Only when the black dog is finished does she, at last, take a small leftover piece.
“Thats right,” Edith says softly.
Both dogs drink deeply. Edith watches, tears streaming down her face.
“What are you crying for, then?” comes Linda’s voice behind.
She stands at the breach in the fence, wide-eyed at the sight before her.
“Look who shes feeding,” Edith says quietly. “Not pups at all.”
Linda says nothing, then sniffles.
“Who left her like that?”
“Chivers, likely. Kept her chained up. Then when she died, no one gave the dog another thought.”
“Half a year, nearly…”
“Shes been alone all this time. Except for this one. Comes and feeds her. Every single day.”
Linda sits beside her, strokes the ginger fur.
“You clever girl… you clever, clever thing.”
By evening, nearly everyone from the flats has gathered in the yard. Some have brought food, others old blankets. The men are struggling with the chainits too thick.
“Well need a grinder,” decides Mr. Collins. “Ill fetch mine tomorrow.”
Hes back the next morning with his toolbox, neighbours gathering again.
“Careful, Collins!” Linda calls. “Dont frighten her.”
The grinder whirrs, sparks fly. The black dog trembles, tries to get up.
The chain snaps.
“There. Done,” Mr. Collins sighs, wiping his brow.
Edith drops to her knees beside the freed dog, brushing her head tenderly.
“Come on now, will you come with me? Thats it. Ill feed you, keep you warm. And your ginger friend too. Both of you are coming with me.”
The black dog gives the tiniest tail wag, as if understanding every word.
Edith tries to lift her, but cant manage the weight alone.
“Here, let me,” Mr. Collins offers gently, scooping the dog into his arms. “Where to?”
“Third entrance. Flat twenty-one.”
As they cross the courtyard, neighbours make way in silence, eyes following. The ginger dog trots close behind, ears back and tail tucked tightly.
“Dont be scared,” Edith murmurs to her, “Im taking you both.”
Outside her block, the usual old ladies are gripping their benches.
“Edith, whats this about? Bringing dogs into the flats?” one asks disapprovingly.
“I am,” Edith says curtly.
“Theyll be filthy! Covered in fleas! Smelly, theyll be!”
“Ill wash them.”
“And whatll the others say?”
“Say what?” Edith suddenly shouts, startling herself. “This dog’s sat chained up here for six months, blind and starving! No one noticed! Only this little one didshe noticed! And what did we do? Just walked on by!”
Her voice trembles and cracks. The old women fall silent, looking away.
“I didnt know,” one murmurs. “Chivers died and no-one mentioned the dog.”
“Thats just itno one said a word! No one cared!”
Edith wipes her face, turns and heads inside. Mr. Collins follows, ginger not far behind.
Edith spreads a battered old blanket on the lounge floor. Mr. Collins lays the black dog down gently.
“There you are,” he whispers. “Do you need a hand with anything else?”
“No, thank you. Ive got it now.”
When her door finally shuts, Edith leans against it, exhausted. The ginger dog sits by the black one, fixing Edith with a look so sincere and grateful her heart aches.
“All right,” Edith sighs. “Lets introduce ourselves. Im Edith. What are your names?”
The ginger dog barks quietly.
“Youll be Ginger, then. And you,” she looks at the black dog, “youll be Shadow. Deal?”
She brings a bowl with porridge and meat, places it for Shadow. The older dog sniffs nervously, but doesnt eatthe strange place unnerving her.
“Come on,” Edith coaxes, offering her a little piece by hand.
Shadow nibbles it gently.
“Thats it, lovely,” Edith whispers. “Eat, theres a girl.”
She feeds her slowly, patiently, gently. Ginger keeps watch, then unexpectedly lays her head on Ediths knee. At that moment, Edith feels the depth of their gratitudethe warmth of their trust.
That evening, Linda calls.
“So? How are they both doing?”
“Theyre alive,” Edith answers wearily. “Both fast asleep now.”
“And you, arent you resting?”
“I can’t. I keep thinking.”
“About what?”
Edith is silent a moment.
“That we humans can sometimes be worse than animals. This dogshe didnt forget her friend. But we just walk past, every day. We dont want to see.”
“Edith, dont beat yourself up”
“I cant help it!” Edith cries. “I cant! Im so ashamed. Do you understand? Ashamed of myself, for her.”
She hangs up, sinks to the floor with the sleeping dogs, hugs her knees, and quietly sobs.
A week passes. Shadow slowly regains strengthfirst only nibbling at meals, then attempting to stand, wavering but upright. Ginger stays by her side, a constant guide.
“Youve got the best guide dog, Shadow,” Edith tells her. “Theres none better out there.”
The story quickly spreads over the estatethanks to Linda.
“Have you heard about Edith Harris?” the old ladies whisper. “Shes taken in two stray dogs!”
“Yes, I heard. They say one was blind, chained up for half a year.”
“And the other came feeding her! Would you believe?”
“Never!”
“Its true! Linda saw it herself!”
When Edith walks the pair round the grounds, passers-by stop. Some give a warm smile, others shake their heads in disbelief.
“Well done, Edith,” says Mr. Collins one day. “Youre a true soul.”
“Oh, come on,” she waves him off. “Gingers the real human here. I just finally decided not to walk by.”
One evening, there’s a knock at the door. On the step stands a young woman.
“Hello, are you Edith Harris?”
“I am. And you are?”
“My names Megan. I heard about your dogs. How you saved them. And well, I thought maybe I could help? Im a vet. I can take a look at Shadow. No charge.”
Edith is flustered.
“No charge?”
“Thats right. Just want to help. May I?”
“Come in, please.”
Megan examines Shadow with care, then straightens.
“Shes old. Not in perfect health. Her sights gone, it wont come back. But shell livewith the right care.”
“What should I do?
The vet pulls out a bag.
“These are vitamins. For her joints, some ointment. Ill write everything down.”
“And how much do I owe you?”
“Nothing,” Megan smiles. “A giftfrom me, and from everyone moved by your story.
Ediths eyes well up again.
“Thank you.”
“No, thank you,” Megan says, giving Ginger a gentle pat.
When the door finally closes, Edith collapses onto the sofa. Shadow curls at her feet, Ginger next to her. For the first time in years, Edith feels needed by someonereally needed.
And that is happiness.
