Thread: Joe Gets Another Hash Mark

My voice was their alarm clock.
Morning whimpers meant
where's breakfast.
But today they were a funeral dirge.
Tossed tidbits hadn't been enough.

An uncaring sun
beat upon filthy fur
as a few flies sampled the taste
of staring eyes and arid tongue
clenched between yellow fangs.
A skeleton on his side,
tail nestled in the remnants
of a scant last meal.

Pools of two day old vomit
dried by July's rays
peppered baked concrete
as she, who hasn't a name I know of,
unless hey you classifies as such,
nudged his neck with her nose
again and again.
I watched dumbfounded
until she sought a patch of shade
and pants replaced whines.
A sinister silence was restored.
This couldn't be, last night at eleven,
he'd devoured the hamburgers I'd tossed,
deftly skirting both puke and waste
to near the house for a better catch.

He shared the fate of Amber
a short two summers before.
I watched as flies buzzed invites to friends
and ten became one hundred.
Bile made a beeline for my mouth
and tore me from the window,
eyes rivalling Niagra Falls.
Joe had another cadaver
credited to his neglect,
making the tally three,
one human, two canine.

ASPCA had been out thrice,
but were as effective as aspirin for plague.
Ears on high alert
caught the sound of the sadist's return.
Miss Noname ran to the window
as the sash was raised
and the gravelly voice
that makes me gag boomed
"Rocco", followed by a whistle.
Did he think air forced through pursed lips
resurrected the dead?
Every dog's favored lunch,
a half loaf of stale Italian bread,
hit the cement.

Door squealed and out he came,
white gloved and carrying a Hefty
plastic coffin.
The tip of a dirty workboot
lifted Rocco's head and then
let it smash back onto sidewalk.
How I wished the sunburned bald spot
on the top of his head
came equipped with a bullseye.
He slipped off heavy chain
from a neck stiff with rigor.

He struggled bagging him,
surprising, for the dog had long ago
siphoned off all fat and muscle
to survive,
and only skin and bone remained.
As he tied vicious knots,
I could look no more
but winced at every thump
as he dragged the body
up wooden stairs.
I have no idea where Rocco went next
nor do I want to, garbage pickup
was that evening.

I will pray nightly and with fervor
that Joe does not procure another pet.
Bricks are plentiful
at the construction site up the block
and I don't really need a bullseye
to hit that bald spot.
Tossing food into starving mouths
from a second story window
makes one's aim impeccable.





I apologize for the length, but this piece is one hundred percent factual and I thought it should be told in its entirety.

Dear Lord, Joe has a lot to answer for, doesn't he? I'm going to have to come back to this one when I can see without a red haze.

Oh Lisa, I know the story behind this one and reading it put into poetic words makes me even angrier. I nearly cry at those commercials by the ASPCA and have decided when they come on I'll be turning the channel. Your's is a powerful poem and not too long at all for such a subject! Before I go into a full blown rant, I'm going note a few things.

white gloved and carrying a Hefty
plastic coffin.

I got chills!

Tossing food into starving mouths
from a second story window
makes one's aim impeccable.

Such a powerful ending..


My only nit is the word "mimicking", here. I don't have any suggestions on hand. But I'd say tinker a bit

both eyes mimicking Niagra Falls.

Lisa, you really know how to grab a heart. Laurie

Dear Cindy, I knew this would make your blood boil. Watching what goes on rips me to pieces, and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it, save for feeding them as much as I can, or rather her, because she's alone now. I think it may have been dehydration, he's cheap with water, too. Or it could have been a virus, he was so depleted, he was fair game for any opportunistic pathogen. I am so angry, and once I have this hopefully last surgery in September and recover, I'm outta here. When I have another apartment secured, I won't hesitate to confront him. I hope he takes a swing at me, my son's hockey sticks are in the hallway and they don't imprison you for self defense. Sorry for ranting, but I am practically irate. I look forward to your opinions regarding the technical stuff once you have a moment. Thanks for your support, yes, he does have a lot to answer for and his replies will be so lame.


Dear Laurie, When I told you the story, I told you I would have to write a piece about it. I had to vent somehow, although my reply to Cindy suggests it wasn't as effective as I had hoped. How I hate this animal (Joe, not the pups). That the hefty bag gave you chills makes you a member of the club. I got chills when he used it for Amber, I fully expected it with Rocco. I'm happy you liked the ending, I actually saw myself do exactly that and had a hard time not opening that window and raining a pot of boiling water down upon him like retribution from Heaven. I agree mimicking is a bit odd, what do you think about rivalling instead, I'm not sure and don't want to change it unless I'm improving it. I'm honored I was able to grab your heart, I just wish it could have been with a more pleasant piece.

Thank you my dear ladies. I apologize again for the ranting, but being impotent to save innocent animals has me tied in knots.

All my best, always,
Lisa

Lisa, I think "rivalling' is a good replacement word. And this poem was not rant. It caused me to "feel" (what good poetry does) and caused me to want to want to rant. Big difference. You need hugs to be near this monster and having to wittness his atrocities (((HUGS)))

You ladies are not going to believe this. I went in the kitchen to make a sandwich and guess what, there's another dog out in the yard. Here we go again. His name is Moe and he look like a pit bull, but definitely not purebred. Joe finally cleaned up the puke and poop (it was still there at sunset last night) so maybe he's reformed. I sincerely hope so. If not, I'll be getting a burlap sack to do some brick collecting and then it's headhunting from the window. Seriously, I really hope nothing happens to these two pups, I couldn't stand to see another Hefty interment.

I went with rivalling, Laurie, love, great call on your part, thanks so much. Very glad it didn't come across as a rant, I guess I spent myself stomping and yelling here in the house.

Wow this is insane! I cant believe people can do such things to animals. I took a jackrussel from the streets the other day because I could see she was lost and confused, wanting her master badly. She keeps me up every night at 3am with barking but I still love her, she tears up everything she can find but I never hit her. Despite all the bad things she can do she still radiates love every time she sees me and no animal deserves to be treated with little respect..

Originally Posted by ChestersDaughter

You ladies are not going to believe this. I went in the kitchen to make a sandwich and guess what, there's another dog out in the yard. Here we go again. His name is Moe and he look like a pit bull, but definitely not purebred. Joe finally cleaned up the puke and poop (it was still there at sunset last night) so maybe he's reformed. I sincerely hope so. If not, I'll be getting a burlap sack to do some brick collecting and then it's headhunting from the window. Seriously, I really hope nothing happens to these two pups, I couldn't stand to see another Hefty interment.

I went with rivalling, Laurie, love, great call on your part, thanks so much. Very glad it didn't come across as a rant, I guess I spent myself stomping and yelling here in the house.

Joe is like a serial killer, in my opinion. He kills them with neglect and starvation. Why do people like this even want animals? When you bring an animal into your life... oh, geesh! Let me stop now before I start preaching on my soapbox. I'm surprised animal control hasn't sited him and taken his victims away.

Lisa, I'm an animal rescuer. I don't have all four cats in my home, now. The other two both passed at age fourteen. I have my Sage and Marmie. Sage I adopted from a shelter. Poor Marmie, I found in a trapping cage on the property of man who I was dating! (He was very wealthy which will help make a point in a minute). His ex-wife lived on one of his his large properties near the woods and would set up these animal traps. Why? She never brought them to the ASPA because you had to pay a sum.. I heard (I wonder if she knows your neighbor). Marmie's nose was in full bleed from trying to get out of the trap. Who knows how long he had been there. He was just a kitten then.

At the time I had very little money. Not even enough to bring him to a vet. I told Roy to bring him to the vet, immediately. He was actually relecutant! Poor little thing was actively bleeding. He did, after all but was so stingy (how he probably amassed all his money) that he didn't have all the required tests done. I was furious. I told him I was taking Marmie in. So Marmie and I dove away and left the millionaire behind.

You're neighbor should caged with a tiger. Then he'll know what it's like to be on the other side.

Dear Shawn, Insane it is, and it makes my insides churn. Bless you for taking in that pup, you are a kind soul, but somehow, I already knew that. My best friend and I set up a bed on her porch (neither of us were allowed to formally adopt him) for a stray we named Spotty. We fed him, and brushed him and he followed us everywhere for about six weeks, then one day he disappeared leaving behind two brokenhearted girls of eight. I tried to convince myself he'd found a better home, but images of him being hit by car ran rampant in my mind. Your pup is fortunate to have you, and I'm sure she shows you her gratitude every chance she gets. There's no more loyal friend than a pet, I hope you two have tons of fun together.


Dear Cindy, Serial killer is quite befitting, and his murderous spree even extends to plant life. Every plant he puts in the hall dies, even though there is abundant sunlight from the skylight. He even managed to off a pine tree, and those things are so hardy it's near impossible to kill them. The ASPCA was here three times, they issued a summons and warned him the dogs would be removed if he didn't get them doghouses, poor things were out on sweltering days as well as days as cold as seventeen degrees for hours at a time. Pointless action, the dogs never use the houses. What Joe doesn't know is that I spoke with them on the sly because they rang my bell when he wasn't home. Why they never took them away, is a mystery to me, and both of them are dead now, and not from old age. On a much brighter note, he's scrubbed the yard with soapy water, pulled the weeds, and Miss Noname has put on some weight. He must be feeding them something other than bread because she's not whining for me and staring up the the windows waiting. Maybe he's changed, and when maybe's all you've got, you hang on tight. Seems my prayers just may have been answered.


Dear Laurie, I'm deathly allergic to cats, so I couldn't take one in no matter how much I wanted to. The kids brought home a kitten a few years back and tried to hide it, it wasn't even in the house two hours and I could barely breathe, so they had to fess up. We found it a home with one of the teachers from the elementary school across the street. I knew you had to be an animal lover because you are so kind with humans, the nastiest of all species of animal. You were wise to lose Mr. Moneybags, being indifferent toward an injured animal certainly indicates he was missing something inside, and who know if his stinginess would have also applied if you were ill. As the for the tiger, what a great image. I think I'll hold onto to that one if it's alright with you. But as I wrote Cindy, he seems to have changed, whether he'll revert remains to be seen, but miracles do happen, so maybe...

Thanks so much, guys, you've done wonders to help me through my anger.

All my best,