Appaling!

For days now, I can't get this out of my mind. It's always coming back to it, and I wonder why? It's about an old man, I didn't know. This is his house, you see. It's a little story, which began when we moved here, almost eleven years ago.
He lived a few houses down the road, he no longer does.
It must have been over a week ago, when my son came home, telling me, that he saw the paramedics at this house, bringing someone out on a gurney. This someone must have been the old man, since nobody else was living there anymore.
There are lots of houses on this road, most of which I don't know anything about. This house and it's occupants stood out, because there was a dog living there. When we first moved here, a couple was living there with a little white dog. We would see them working in the garden. On sunny days they would sit on lawn chairs, and sometimes even fancier ones in the open garage, with the little dog on a long leash lying in the sun beside them. We would give a friendly nod, and a smile, and sometimes a "Good morning" or only a "Hallo!", that was it! The man smoked a lot, even walking his dog, he had a cigarette in his mouth, and he was tall.
When we would walk our dogs by this house and the little one was outside, he would bark his little head off, as long as he could see us. Even though he wasn't there anymore for over a year now, our dogs always stick around their heads expecting to see and hear this little white dog, they don't forget.
I don't know exactly when, but some day I noticed, that I never saw the woman anymore, only the man would sit in his lawn chair, and smoke, and stare, still keeping his front yard tidy and neat.
Then, he would sit there alone! I was sad for him, but soon I figured out, that his neighbors took care of his dog now. They've moved away though too.
So, it all came down to this old man, living alone in his house. Of course we think, he might be in a home now, but a couple of days ago, this gigantic blue bin appeared, and I think it's so sad to see, that somebody just let workers toss out the furniture and whatnot! He was living there for many years, happily or not, and all his things mean nothing to somebody else. Soon this house will be sold, I'm sure, and life goes on. But still, it's very depressing to see something like that. Makes me wonder, why we accumulate and hoard so many things. Of course, if there are children and grandchildren, some things might stay in the family and be treasured - or not!