We “saved a baby”

I was awakened a recent Saturday morning by an intrusive irritating screaming from somewhere outside the second floor bedroom window. June said it had been going on all night, but I only became aware about 6 a.m.

She said it sounded like a puppy, which created a sense of empathy and urgency I resisted for about 10 minutes, before dressing and going to investigate.

I went past the outside of the window and seeing nothing suspicious, but continuing to hear the regular constant cries, barely a second apart, I went into the neighbour’s backyard. From there I thought it sounded as if from the houses on the street behind.

So I went around the block and up that street. The sound was less, but I went into one backyard. The sound slightly increased although still seemed to be coming from our side of the block, so I returned.

Still it did not seem from my side of the high board fence. Back in the neighbour’s back yard, it seemed be coming from my side. I moved closer to the boundary fence and was getting “warmer”. There were several garbage cans and large green city compost bin used to put vegetable waste to the curb.

I lifted the top and the mystery was solved. Huddled at the bottom, in about two inches of extraordinarily stinky sludge, was a small animal.

It was turned away from me and despite the light from opening the top there was no change in behaviour or acknowledgement of me. It was shivering and continuing to cry.