Big Black Dog Syndrome

At the first of October, when I moved back into this building, I changed my route to work. I had been going through Bush Hills to get to the Lincoln building, but now that we are back at Wilkerson, I get off on the Arkadelphia Road exit. The first morning that I came back, when I pulled up to the light at the exit, sitting to my left side on the grassy medium, was this really cute, big, black dog. He (it looks like a "He") had curly hair, almost like dread locks, and huge eyes- I said, and yes, I said this out loud in the car by myself- "You better find you somewhere else to go little doggie, because if you stay in this place, you will be dead by afternoon." That was 5 months ago- guess what, "Arky", as I refer to him, is still happily living on the green grass at the Arkadelphia Road exit. I can hardly believe it when he is there every morning. He has stolen my heart, along with the hearts of many kind people. He is fed every morning by at least a dozen or more kind people (and, yes, I add to that on occasion). When I pull up to the light I take inventory on his food. Some mornings he has bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits from McDonald's, some mornings he has traditional dog food, lovingly placed in a pan. One Monday he had the left-overs from a wedding, or funeral- not certain as there was no cake. Needless to say, Arky has gained about 25 pounds since I have been watching him. I am not certain if he would come to you or not- and I have discussed "rescuing" him, but his fate at my house would certainly not include biscuits and gravy from McDonald's. People that take the Arkadelphia route to work have learned to watch for cars pulling over to feed Arky. You know, I guess TEARS would come get him, but his little doggie life would not be as happy. I fear that one morning I will pull up and Arky will be gone, or worse yet, dead in the road. Watching him has been one of the highlights of my drive to work. So, if you are ever bored, take a trip to the Arkadelphia Road exit and check on Arky. He will make you smile.

P.S.- The title of the post came while I was searching for a picture of a big black dog (I could not find one that had hair like Arky). Did you know that big, black dogs are the least likely to be adopted from a shelter- interesting.