Irresponsibility
Tonight, my rather merry temperament turned sour after an upsetting evening. My neighbor’s irresponsibility and lack of basic human accountability were overwhelmingly distressing.
As my mother was throwing out the trash, she witnessed a violent event caused by our neighbor’s erratic and aggressive dog. My neighbor is a business owner and his building is staffed by his many attendants, gatekeepers, and warehouse workers. As he drove his car outside the building, his attendants opened the building’s massive, tall gates, letting out his enormous, adult dog whose breed I’m not entirely sure of. It’s definitely foreign and big, similar to K9s at the malls.
As the car exited the building, my mom heard choking cries and wails. As her sight wandered searching for the whimpers, she saw a cat being chomped on its neck by my neighbor’s dog.
The poor creature passed away on the spot. My mother, terribly upset by what she saw, uttered grievances to my neighbor at how heartless they were for letting out their violent dog and for letting it attack a wandering cat - unprovoked and just passing by. I wasn’t able to see what happened firsthand as I was upstairs, just picking up my wallet to get cash for my sister.
When I rushed downstairs, I noticed the commotion, with my mom, sister, and aunt distressed at what was going on outside. I was panicking; I thought it was one of my cats that was attacked. Fortunately, it wasn’t one of them.
My mom was almost shouting at the workers, jittery and perturbed at what she just saw. The workers weren’t able to say anything back. They were only able to stare, pick up the dead cat’s body into a sack. I also found myself shouting at how irresponsible they were for not being able to control and discipline their pet. An innocent, passerby cat probably just looking for food and shelter was killed by an aggressive and irrepressible pet that was set free on the streets. My heart breaks so bad for the puerile cat.
My mother mentioned to us that it was her first time seeing this cat, so it might be a stranger wandering in an unfamiliar neighborhood. Since the area might be new to it, it wasn’t able to anticipate a potential predator or find reliable shelter in case of an attack.
My neighbors are terribly ignorant and arrogant, even before this event. The dog attacked and bit a human passerby before, so they know that their dog is innately erratic, dangerous, hostile, and a threat to both humans and animals passing by in the street. My greedy businessman neighbor was also unwilling to pay for the victim’s anti-rabies shots, blurting out “I have no money, look at my wallet!”
But after the barangay’s pressure, the money-grubbing man finally gave in. Honestly, his unconcerned demeanor at the attack victim, who was also our neighbor, just speaks volumes about his character.
With his despicably nonchalant attitude, I could only surmise that they would be most likely apathetic to the stray cat that was killed with no owner. Such arrogant pet owners. I’m enraged with these twisted people. What if the dog bites a child or anything that moves once it’s set free again?
The hapless cat was just there, seeking ways to survive on its own, but because of someone’s irresponsibility, an innocent little one’s life was severed. It was a stray without a home, and it didn’t have an advocate who can serve justice on its behalf. The fact that it might not have experienced love and compassion from humans tears me down even more.
Don’t worry, wandering cat. Please cross over the rainbow bridge and find yourself in a land of treats, love, and care.