text: “Your boy ain’t right, Jane. You know it and we know it. It’s becoming more obvious by the minute but let’s be honest with ourselves here. He weren’t right in the head, even before he was bit by one of them rabid things roaming the woods. He’s always been a tad on the wild side but this, this is somethin’ else. It’s dangerous.” “Alright Martha. I’ll reluctantly agree with that, but he was always a good boy! He always minded me. Now, not so much. He’s become a lil’ monster I can’t control. I don’t know what to do about the situation!” “Oh, hon. No one’s disputin’ he’s a good little feller. We all like him. We do. He’s a real joy and blessing to you, and brought huge smiles to our faces when he was around. I’m just saying what the rest of us are thinking. There’s very bad things lurking out there. You know what I’m talking about, and you understand what happens after they get ahold of somethin’. The madness is irreversible, right? Something’s gotta be done about your little man, and ideally it should come from you. You’re his family. Even though it’s not his fault, you know what needs to happen. We’ve all seen the tear-jerker ‘Old Yeller’. We remember how that sad story ends and we know how this one is gonna end too. It’s ugly as sin. No doubt about it and there’s no cure. You just gotta... ‘put him down’, real quick like. I’ll be easier. The decent thing to do is to put him out of his misery and end his sufferin’.” “That’s simple for you to say, Mar. He ain’t your’n. You didn’t raise him from a little ‘pup’. It’s.. just so hard to let go. I love him to pieces and had so many hopes and dreams for him. He depends on me for everything. He’s gonna be sad when I...” “No, no. It ain’t simple for any of us to say! No one ever said doing the right thing was easy but it’s the only thing to do, in this case. It’s not fair. We all know that. We’ve approached you about it because we know how hard it’s going to be to take care of, and we want to support you in this terrible time. Your little ray of sunshine is depending on you now to do what’s best for him, and in the end we know you will. No one wants to deal with something so heart-wrenching but in times like this, it has to be done swiftly. Good folks stick together to help each other in times like this.” “Thank you Martha! I appreciate it. I really do. You guys are so good to me. I just don’t have the strength to pull the trigger. How do we know he’s really suffering? Like you said, he was already a little wild hellion child. Maybe he doesn’t feel any pain anymore. Surely being like this is still better than being... dea...” “No Jane. Noooo. He’s infected. He’s frothing at the mouth for heaven’s sake. Just look at him! He has spasms and violent mood swings. He’d tear you to pieces if you got any closer. Your boy is not himself. It’s highly contagious and he’s in immense pain. You can see that when you look into his dilated pupils. Plus, what if he bites you? One of us will have to put you down too, and none of us wants to have to do that. It would’ve been totally unnecessary and preventable. There’s no saving him, but we can help support you. Take care of your boy.” “Would you please, pretty please do it for me, Martha? You just said you are all here to help. I can’t do it. That would help me immensely if you or Earl would....” “We would take care of you because we had no choice. There would be no one else left to do it but that’s not even close to the same situation, and it’s not fair of you to ask us. Frankly, we’re worried your sick little feller will bite you, and then you could spread it to all of us. Doing this will make you a much stronger woman! Every person should take care of their own ‘mess’. I’m sorry to be harsh but this is yours, Jane. You must clean it up.” Jane Weaver looked around the room with a deepening level of realization. The real truth slowly slid out of their forked tongues. They weren’t nearly as supportive as they pretended to be. It was a more of a pushy confrontation than ‘loving support’. Resentment was building rapidly in her heart. She wanted to lash out at them but the problem of what to do about her infected hellion still remained. The thought of having to blow his brains out was unbearable. Meanwhile, they stood there with their cold, calculating eyes. “If any of you had been more diligent about eliminating those infected creatures lurking in the woods, none of this would be an issue! Then he would still be himself! You knew rabid skunks and foxes were dangerous, and yet you did nothing about them. That is YOUR mess, and you need to clean THAT up! Perhaps I’ll just let Ol’ Blue out of his containment pen, and then you’ll be forced to take care of my good little boy, yourselves.