Last night I had a horrible dream...

sulanap, originally uploaded by kfoz.

in which someone stole Sula and killed her. I hate to even post this, but there is a point.

So someone stole Sula and Brando, and shot them. But then, because it was a dream, somehow Brando returned. I kept looking for Sula, and as I did, some reporters stopped me to ask if I would comment on something involving crime. "I can't," I explained, "someone stole my dog and killed her." As I said this, I anticipated their asking for more information, creating a report that would air on the news. But they didn't. It wasn't the story they were looking for.

Meanwhile, more facts emerged. At least twenty dogs had been taken--not just my own. But still, no one seemed to care or listen. At one point, Sula showed up, by then, within the dream, I knew that she wasn't really Sula, just some willful conjuring of her. My dog was gone, and I would never see her again.

And, as with most awful dreams, this is when I woke up. Brando was asleep at my side. Sula was with Zephyr in the other room. Why had my brain created this horrible narrative? Then I remembered a conversation I'd had Sunday afternoon, about the situation in Garfield Heights, Ohio:

A new ordinance takes effect October 24th that calls for pit bulls to be removed from city limits. The ban applies to any dogs whose blood line is that of a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, American Pit Bull or any dog "whose appearance or characteristics render it identifiable as partially of one or more such breeds." Owners who fail to comply face a third degree misdemeanor citation which calls for up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. The city also claims the right to have the dog removed to a shelter and if necessary to be destroyed (which is no doubt what will happen, since they won't be able to adopt them out.) And the first to go will be any dogs whose owners did the responsible thing by registering them with the city.