ISLAND LIFE #9
She was kept alive by the oxygen canisters they rolled down
her narrow driveway each week. Little did they know that her dogs
- two large pit-bull mastiffs - had acquired a taste for the gas
and the other junk they were feeding into her
to keep her breathing and propped up in front of the TV set.
The effect of the gas on the dogs over the years
had made them bigger, stronger and when deprived of the juice,
meaner. Much meaner.
When the drug supply stopped so did the wagging tails and sloppy kisses
and what replaced them was a wall of teeth.
The hapless Real-Estate agent sent around to scope the property
was the first to arouse their ire. When she failed to gain entry she rang the Local Council
who dispatched the dog handlers, the dog handlers called the police,
the police called the Fire Brigade and eventually it was left up to the major incident squad
to sort it out.
When they finally reached dear old Marie there wasn’t much reason to call an
ambulance. Put it this way, she was never going to have an open casket.
The silver lining to all this is that both dogs have found a loving home on the island
and by all reports are adapting well to their new environment.
her narrow driveway each week. Little did they know that her dogs
- two large pit-bull mastiffs - had acquired a taste for the gas
and the other junk they were feeding into her
to keep her breathing and propped up in front of the TV set.
The effect of the gas on the dogs over the years
had made them bigger, stronger and when deprived of the juice,
meaner. Much meaner.
When the drug supply stopped so did the wagging tails and sloppy kisses
and what replaced them was a wall of teeth.
The hapless Real-Estate agent sent around to scope the property
was the first to arouse their ire. When she failed to gain entry she rang the Local Council
who dispatched the dog handlers, the dog handlers called the police,
the police called the Fire Brigade and eventually it was left up to the major incident squad
to sort it out.
When they finally reached dear old Marie there wasn’t much reason to call an
ambulance. Put it this way, she was never going to have an open casket.
The silver lining to all this is that both dogs have found a loving home on the island
and by all reports are adapting well to their new environment.
Alan Jefferies is a poet and children’s author born in Brisbane and raised in Quandamooka Country, the Redlands. He started writing in High School and publishing after moving to Sydney in the mid-seventies.