I still remember the day I met Malcolm. ( If you all want to see a pic of Malcolm check my photos. There is one there.) Malcolm was about a month or two old when he came running across the parking lot near my house. I reached down and lifted him up into my arms. I did not even realize at the time what I was holding was a pit bull puppy. He was so cuddly and happy and very energetic. He made me laugh as he licked my face. I then heard a voice say to me, Put him down. I looked up to see a young man coming toward us. I looked back at the puppy and said why? He said I want to make him mean. I laughed at him and said no chance of that. This pup will never be mean he does not have a mean bone in his body he will never be mean., but I put him down. When I looked at my arm Malcolm had scratched my arm, because he was wiggling and his nails were long.
In the next 2 years Malcolm's owner realized I was right. Malcolm had no meanness in him. Malcolm's nails were always long because his owner was scared to cut them. The one time he did cut them and accidently cut them too short and Malcolm bleed pretty bad. That scared his owner, so he never cut them again. Every time I touched Malcolm he scratched me, because he wanted to jump into my arms. Malcolm and I spent many nights playing behind our houses while his owner visited with another neighbor. It was great fun racing with him all along the block.
One day Malcolm's owner decided he was go big and active for our housing complex. He was afraid Malcolm would knock down one of the little kids that had moved in near his house. His owner decided to let his girlfriend's brother take Malcolm to his farm. I was sad to see Malcolm go, but I thought he would be very happy on a farm with lots of room to run around. Malcolm's original owner told his girlfriends brother if for any reason he did not want Malcolm to call him and he would come get the dog.
About 2 months later Malcolm's original owner gave me some sad news. He told me Malcolm was dead. I was heart broken. As I fought back tears I asked him what happened. I knew Malcolm was always in good health when he was with my neighbor. He told me his girlfriends brother starved him to death. I was so mad. He went on to tell me that her brother did not even call him and tell him Malcolm was gone that the call had came from the neighbor of his girlfriends brother. The told my neighbor that not only had he starved to death but he did not even have the decency to bury Malcolm. He threw his body on a dump. It was the neighbor that went and got the body and gave Malcolm a proper burial. When my neighbor confronted his girlfriends brother about why Malcolm had died, he had the nerve to say he forgot to feed him. I said to my neighbor that is not only stupid he is a liar. You do not just forget to feed a pit bull. This is not a fish that can not let you know it is there. This is a dog and not just any dog this is a hyper dog that would defiantly bark for attention if he was getting none. I told my neighbor I can nearly guarantee the girlfriends brother had the same plan for the dog that my neighbor did until I proved to him that the dog was too gentle and friendly. I am sure her brother was trying to make him mean by starving him into it. Problem is Malcolm had not meanness in him so no matter how you tried you would never be able to make him mean. My neighbor told me that her brother is no longer welcome at their house. He told his girl friend if he ever comes to his house he will beat him up.
It has been over a decade sense Malcolm died. What brought this to the service again now is I have been watching pitbulls and parolees, and last week they did a show where a dog was left to die, and it brought this back to my mind. I do not know how anyone can be so cruel to anything as cute and loving as Malcolm. I just felt this story had to be told. Malcolm brought so much joy to the lives of those of us that loved him and he should not be forgotten.