The Dark Place In Your Mind II: More Strange Tales

The Black Dog

The following story is complicated. It's sad, eerie, and somehow cathartic. It'll make more sense later, but understand that I know how crazy it sounds. If anyone told me the same thing, I wouldn't believe them either. Anyway, here goes....

I moved into an apartment two years ago, and for the most part I enjoyed it there. They asked me about having a pet, to which I told them "no." That's because I didn't have one, but the question always lingered in my mind. Near the end of the first year when I started thinking about renewing my lease I thought again on the pet policy. So I began thinking really hard about it, and finally decided I would get a dog.

I made sure to ask them all the right questions, making sure I understood everything correctly. Unfortunately, the way it was written in the agreement made it sort of vague so I talked to them extensively about it. When I felt satisfied enough to make a decision, I decided I would adopt a dog. There were plenty of great dogs out there in shelters who needed a home, and I could provide that safe space for them.

I was excited as I began perusing the kennels and reading the information on the dogs. Not being too picky or too lenient, I eventually made my decision to adopt Lara. She was a black pitbull with the most beautiful eyes, and I instantly felt some connection when I took her lead and escorted her to the play yard area.

She seemed a bit shy at first, but that all changed when she got to run and play outside. There was no aggression and little to no behavioral problems, leaving me wondering how she ended up there. Apparently the owner dropped her off there because she didn't get along with their other dog, which I couldn't believe considering her sweet disposition. After visiting her one more time, I made it official and began signing paperwork.

"You got her just in time." The woman at the desk said.

"What do you mean?" I responded, already knowing the answer as the words escaped.

"She's been here for a while, and it was close to her time. I'm glad to see she got a home."

"That's so strange to me, her temperament is good!"

"I know. Unfortunately, she has two things going against her. One is the pit bull bias. The second thing is the fact that she's a black dog. Statistically she had very little chance. I'm so glad you got her. I've considered her myself but I've adopted more than I ever planned myself."

"I'm sure that's easy to do here."

So I brought her home and registered her with my apartment, gladly paying the pet deposit fee. It took a little adjusting, but Lara fit right and was loving her new life. My family got to know her when they visited and loved her too. Especially my younger sister, who loved dogs and always wanted me to have one since my parents didn't have one. Lara was a regular part of the family.

The only thing that I hated was people's obvious fear of Lara. She was a well-built dog as pit bulls are, but she wanted nothing more than to love on people. Whenever I took her for a walk some people would shy away, seeing her excitement as a sign of aggression. The misconception was even worse than I ever thought. I only mention this false bias so much because it led to me having to give her up.

After nine months of having my lovable dog, I got a phone call from the apartment office telling me that there were multiple complaints regarding my dog. It seemed most of them were from two people, claiming that my dog "acted aggressive" and "felt dangerous having a pitbull around." When the manager read me the claims, I hoped she would dismiss them as completely bogus because there was nothing solid showing my dog was mean. What's more is both claims were anonymous, meaning that I couldn't even talk to these people and explain to them how kind my dog was.