This is a song that describes either abandonment in general using a fictional story to express it, or the lyrics actually just simply describe a story in which someone locks up someone’s dog to die (which is a possibility, given the subject matter of some songs on Comfort and Magnified). Maybe it’s...
Found a dog downstairs
Locked him with the bikes
Cried 'til he went hoarse
Scratched the door to shreds
Did no one tell you how
She'd leave you in this town
With her dog trapped downstairs?
He'll die with no one there
Locked the dog back in
Turned the heater on
Smelled the sour milk
Felt the floor above
Did no one tell you how
She'd leave you in this town
With her dog trapped downstairs?
He'll die with no one there
Crawl, 'cause you can't limp
Howl, 'cause you can't speak
Leave, 'cause you don't care
Run, let the dog die
Found the note upstairs
Torn up in the trash
Said she'd flown to Spain
Special one-time fare
Left with some old friend
Always just a friend
Crawl, 'cause you can't limp
Howl, 'cause you can't speak
Leave, 'cause you don't care
Run, let the dog die
Did no one tell you how
She'd leave you in this town
With her dog trapped downstairs?
He'll die with no one there
Crawl, 'cause you can't limp
Howl, 'cause you can't speak
Leave, 'cause you don't care
Run, let the dog die
Mange was written by Ken Andrews, Greg Edwards.
Mange was produced by Ken Andrews.