So there’s this dog… she’s smart, but she’s a biter. She likes to bite. She doesn’t do it to be mean; she just likes to bite. It makes her feel better to bite. So every time her owner — and best friend — we’ll call her Matalie, comes to feed her she bites her. Matalie takes it because she knows biting is all the dog knows and she doesn’t want to hurt the dog by trying to make her stop. So she bandages the wounds and moves on. This goes on for seven years, each time the biting getting worse.

One day the dog bites too hard, latches onto her arm in a way that’s just excruciating, and doesn’t let go. Matalie acts out in pain and kicks the dog to get her off of her arm before it breaks the bone. The dog scampers off, whimpering. Matalie goes inside to call The Doctor.

As the days go on, Matalie continues to come out to feed the dog, having forgiven her and moved on. The dog won’t come. She’s cowered in the corner howling in apparent pain. Matalie calls to the dog, “Here, girl! C’mon, girl.” The dog still won’t come.

A week later, Matalie comes again to try to coax the dog out. The dog still won’t come. She calls and calls, but the dog won’t answer. So Matalie leaves the dish by the door and goes back inside, hoping the dog will eat if she’s not there.

She’s worried about how the dog is reacting to the kick. “Maybe there’s something wrong with her”, she thinks. So she calls The Vet to see if there’s something she can do.

The Vet says, “Just give her time. She’s just startled by the kick. She’ll come around.” So Matalie waits, still putting food out for her every night and hoping The Vet was right.

Another week passes and the dog still won’t come out from her hiding place. Matalie is starting to get really worried. So she calls out the dog again, this time letting her know she’s not mad about the biting anymore. The dog won’t come. Matalie says to the dog, “Please, come eat. You need to eat. And I miss you.” The dog just growls. Matalie asks what’s wrong. The dog cries out, “You kicked me!”

Matalie rolls her eyes and says to the dog, “You bit me. We’re even. Now come get something to eat. You look famished.” The dog wails, runs back into the shadows, and Matalie calls The Vet again.

… to be continued…

I just realized this sounds really bad if you know the story behind the story. But… before you yell at me for calling my mom a dog, she finally responded and the last thing she said was “I’m weary of being the dog you like to kick.” I laughed out loud because — and maybe you have to know my mom here — it’s so melodramatic, not to mention false since this was the first time ever that I “kicked” stood up to her. However, I realize where she’s at in her reality and as much as I disagree with it, I’m praying for her. The “dog” story is just my way of venting and keeping some bit of anonymity for her.