Once there was a dog who lived with a woman. The woman was old and ugly. She worked too long and hard in canneries and on assembly lines. When she retired all she had was Social Security and a beat up old Honda.
The dog showed up outside her apartment one day. He sat outside her door very patiently and accepted food with good grace. It was hard to say what kind of dog he was. His coat was short and light brown, his muzzle long and serious, his eyes golden.
The woman wore old sweat pants and tee shirts with silly things printed on them which she got at Goodwill five for a buck. Her teeth were bad and she cut her own hair without really watching what she was doing.
She hardly went anywhere. Just watched TV and went to the grocery store once in a while. But every day she took the dog to the Free Dog area of a local park so he could run and play with his friends. She always picked up his poop and put it in the garbage because she was a law abiding person.
When other dog owners saw the aristocratic dog at the park they would look for his owner because they expected to see a distinguished looking person - maybe someone they would like to meet. When they saw the old woman they would turn away.
One day when she was driving to Goodwill to get some shoes, a photographer snapped a quick picture of the splendid dog sitting upright and dignified in the passenger seat of the dilapidated car, next to the old woman.
By happy accident the picture was a winner. The photographer was an amateur, but he sold the picture and it was used in an ad campaign for a computer company. The picture was on the back of sophisticated magazines and on occasional billboards. It was used discreetly in underwriting announcements on public TV.
The woman and the dog never saw the picture. But the owner of one of the dog's friends saw it. He recognized them from the Free Dog zone in the park. It so happened he was a lawyer, and one day he approached the old woman. She thought he was some sort of scam artist.
The next day the lawyer actually took time from his busy day to bring three magazines to the park to show the old woman. She was delighted. For all her bad teeth her smile was radiant.
``They should have paid you!'' the lawyer said.
``Oh no,'' she answered.
``Think about it,'' the lawyer said.
But the woman was watching the dog rolling ecstatically in the short green grass.
``Wish I could do that,'' she said.
``Don't you want a new house? A nice car?''
She shook her head and looked at the dog who was now sitting beside her looking senatorial.
``The only thing I want is that if I die first he wont go to the pound. He's old. No one would want him.''
The lawyer was a barracuda in a Men's Wearhouse suit. He already had a dog.
``You'll live longer than he will,'' he said, ``but if you don't, I'll take care of him. Don't worry.''
He had no ulterior motive. As he spoke he mentally reminded himself at all costs to repulse any other impulse of random kindness.