I was up early to walk Sweetie, then Fritz, then Gretchen and then Hansel. It was the warmest morning in over ten days, even though it had rained overnight.
I was walking Gretchen east down my street when I met Melissa, a neighbor who lives on S circle S Drive. She stopped her pickup to talk to me, saying she was concerned about Stephen and his two dogs. His two German Shepherd dogs, Clementine and Haddow, had gotten loose again Sunday morning and another neighbor, Lena, kept them in her yard. Both dogs were very thin and hungry. Jill H, a former animal control officer for the county, came by to take both dogs to her rescue, Zoey's Ranch.
Melissa and I exchanged phone numbers in case we heard anything about Stephen. Melissa said she would call in for a welfare check.
Two Cochise County deputy vehicles arrived by 9:30am. I could see them from my RV window. They were there for almost 90 minutes, with both vehicles running. Later Melissa texted me saying they found Stephen deceased and were busy securing his valuables.
The news bothered me. No one knew Stephen's name, nor the name of the dogs but me. Yes, Stephen was a reclusive curmudgeon who avoided other people. His neighbors across the street couldn't stand him because he kept his dogs outside where they would bark non-stop. He would walk his dogs off-leash up and down S Circle S Drive. Those dogs would charge my dogs if I wasn't paying attention. But instead of getting into a spat with him, or calling the county animal control on him, I simply avoided any confrontation. Stephen lived alone and his dogs were all he had. I didn't want the county to take the dogs away from him. I was his unspoken ally.
His death was on my mind all day. The man was only in his 60s but looked older. Perhaps he was suffering from a terminal disease and purposely let his dogs loose; this was the second time in as many months that both dogs were found roaming the area. If I had known the dogs needed food, I would have given him one of my big bags of kibble.
No one should die alone. His neighbors apparently didn't suspect anything, according to Melissa. I was so used to his dogs barking at me whenever I walked my dogs past the home. They had been missing for two weeks after they broke out the first time, but then were returned. A light was on inside the home one evening, so I knew Stephen was ok at the time. That was about two weeks ago.
It was a rainy. breezy day all day. I didn't get muck hiking done, either, other than a few laps around the 'hood. I was more concerned over where I placed my truck keys and made it my mission to get my Honda CR-V's battery and rear right tire replaced. The battery couldn't hold a charge and my rear right tire had a slow leak.
By 6pm I was back home to a car ready for tomorrow's school week. I like driving the Honda. Its engine is quiet and it maneuvers well, but boy does it need a good interior cleaning! I hadn't driven it since before Labor Day.
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