Zane & Shebah
From, The Risk Of Getting Hurt: Poems & Stories
Zane was never really a dog
person, but he always liked the
idea of having a dog, and he knew
that being a dog owner took time
and commitment.
Besides, he was a crazy
cat dad to the death.
Zane had two cats. Mikah and
Jesse. One he adopted from
the local animal shelter and the
other, he found in the park.
The cats pretty much run his
place and he would be lost
without their company.
One night, Zane was driving home
swimming in doubt from therapy.
He saw something he could not
un-see and almost wrecked
his car.
Zane blinked and tried to adjust to
what his headlights highlighted.
He couldn’t believe what he saw.
There in a vacant lot and tied
to a tree was a beautiful black
Labrador Retriever.
Some asshole kids were throwing
rocks and firecrackers at it and the
dog was trying to dodge the rocks and
whimpering in pain.
Zane stopped his car and got out
immediately.
“What the hell do you think you
are doing?” He yelled.
“It’s my dog. I can do whatever I
want to it.” a kid no older than ten
replied.
“How much?” I asked.
“What?”
“How much for the fucking dog?” Zane
said, raising his voice. He was furious.
“Not for sale. Birthday present.”
Zane pulled out his wallet. “I’ll pay you
two hundred dollars for the dog.”
The future psychopath of America
eyed him. “Make it three hundred
and the bitch is yours.”
Upon closer inspection, Zane could see that the
dog’s ribs were visible, and the animal was malnourished.
It was also caked with dirt and it’s muzzle was wrapped
in layers of Duck Tape. Zane was furious.
Zane was about to give his speech against
animal cruelty, but paused realizing
it would be wasted on this kid and his
no good friends.
The kids watched as Zane peeled three
hundred dollars out of his wallet, threw
the money at the kid’s feet. “Now, get the
fuck out of here before I kill you all.”
The monster children scattered, took
off with Zane’s money and and left him alone.
Slowly, he approached the dog that instantly
shrank away when Zane approached.
Zane sat on the ground with his hand extended
for over an hour. The streetlights came on and
he could see all of the hurt and terror in the
dog’s eyes. After sitting with the dog, he dug
through his emergency car supplies and pulled
out a stick of beef jerky.
With his pocket knife he cut the Duck Tape off
of the dog’s muzzle and Zane was surprised
when the dog began licking his face.
Zane fed the jerky to the dog who ate it in three
bites. The dog’s tail began to wag and allowed
Zane to stroke his dirty fur. The collar on the dog
was too small. Zane removed it and was shocked
to see the skin on the dog’s neck rubbed raw.
“Jesus.” He sighed and made a mental note to
get the dog to the vet tomorrow to be thoroughly
examined.
Zane stood up. The dog moved to his side, nudged
his hand with his head, looked up at his new human
and waited. The dog was now going to be Zane’s
responsibility to love and care for.
Zane named the dog, Sheba and helped it up into
the vehicle that would take her away from a life
of abuse and to her new, forever home filled
with heart and compassion.
During the car ride home, Sheba’s tail was wagging
and she rested her head on Zane’s lap. Through tears,
Zane drove through the city in silence with a new
friend who was now part of Zane’s family and
already providing more relief and comfort than
than his therapy session earlier that evening.
Zane smiled and glanced down at Shebah.
Her presence was radiating gratitude and Zane
thanked her for saving a day he could have lost to
the bottom of a bottle. A day triggered by his childhood
trauma and abuse that was discussed earlier in
therapy.
This story feels like one of those moments life throws at you when you’re already fragile, and somehow it becomes the thing that saves you.
The shock of Zane seeing that dog tied up and terrified hits hard, and you can feel his anger come from a place of deep hurt.
The way he doesn’t hesitate not even for a second says everything about the kind of person he is.
Him sitting on the ground for an hour, hand out, just waiting for Shebah to trust him, is one of the most human moments in the whole piece.
When she finally licks his face after the tape comes off, it feels like the first breath after being underwater too long.
You can sense how broken she is, but also how desperately she wants to believe someone won’t hurt her this time.
Their car ride home her head on his lap, his tears falling feels like two wounded souls recognizing each other instantly.
It becomes clear that Zane didn’t just rescue her; she gave him something he didn’t even know he needed.
There’s a quiet beauty in how their pain fits together, almost like they were meant to find each other.
By the end, it’s not just a story about saving a dog it’s about how healing sometimes arrives in the most unexpected, tender ways.