None of them showed aggression. Seeing Lydia enter, everyone began to move the tail and approach her.
“Ma’am… since when are you here?” asked one of the policemen, lowering the flashlight.
“For almost three years,” she replied, drying her eyes.
Ovidiu understood at last: all that meat was for animals. Lydia told them that, after the death of her son, she had not been able to bear to see abandoned animals. It started with two dogs. Then there were five, ten, and more continued to come.
A refuge made with love and scrap
The ship was not luxurious, but it was clean. There were containers with fresh water, old blankets, straw and makeshift cages for sick animals. On a wall hung a notebook where Lidia carefully scored each rescue: where she had found it, what treatment she received and whether she had been adopted.
“He has given dozens of animals for adoption…” an agent muttered as he flipped through the pages.
“Sixty-eight,” she replied. But no one wanted them.
His pension was not enough, so he collected cardboard and scrap metal. Everything he earned was destined for food and medicine. He had not asked for help because he feared that they would take the animals to saturated shelters where the old and sick would hardly find a home.
The Community Response
