Dreamer

I left the house at about 9:30 PM to pick up my husband from work. Driving down the alley behind the house, I saw a black Labrador roaming free. Now it always bothers me to see a dark colored animal at night on the roads without a person nearby to control them and keep them safe. Cats and dogs don’t understand that cars can kill them. They have no instincts to avoid them. I stopped the car and got out, thinking that I had never seen this dog before. I said “Hello” and she came right to me, tail wagging. Typical Lab who loves everybody because she’s never had a bad moment with people. Total trust. I knew I couldn’t just leave her in the alley knowing that she would wander further and probably into the very busy streets. No telling how long she had been out-and-about. Probably thirsty, too.

I opened the rear door of the car and she jumped right in. I decided that the husband could wait a few minutes longer and put the car in reverse to go back home. Let her out of the car and she calmly walked with me to the back gate, through the yard, waited for me to unlock the door. This section of the house was kind of like a “mud room”, and I called it “the rear hallway”. I left her in there to go get a bowl and fill it with water. Locked up the house with her in there and got back into the car to fetch the husband.

I would guess I was gone for at least 45 minutes, but it was probably longer. Looking back now, I think that all the other critters could sense that she was there. Driving back home I told the hubs all about this sweet girl I found. Well, all the things I knew about her.

Got home, opened the door, and there she was standing patiently. Not barking or acting silly trying to jump up on us. Very well behaved. Opened up the second door into the kitchen, and some of our cats and other dogs were waiting there for us. Very calmly they all said “Hello” to each other. Absolutely no drama. It’s like she belonged, this is where she was supposed to be and everyone knew it.

The next day when I let all the dogs out into the backyard I discovered how well-trained she was. I decided that she was at least 1 1/2 years old and damn smart. She was already perfectly trained and responsive to all the basic commands of come, heel, sit, stay, and lay down. I threw a ball and she ran to get it and bring it back. I was in love. She was everything I had ever wanted in a dog and so I named her “Dreamer”.

For a solid month I tried to find her owner. She had been so well trained, she was so obedient, she must have been loved by another family. Every day I would search through the newspaper and online for anything even remotely resembling any description that could fit her. I put ads in the “lost and found” and never had any response. I didn’t want to give her back, but it was the right thing to do IF her original people were looking for her. This was before micro-chipping became “a thing” so that was not an option. And judging by the scar on her belly she had already been spayed. No tattoos on her ears or anywhere to tell me she was licensed and registered as a purebred Labrador. So when the one month was up, I gave up trying and admitted to myself that she was mine after all. Thank You God was all I could thing of to say. Went to the vet for her shots and for the doc to agree that she was “fixed” so that the license would be cheaper.

She was the dog of my childhood dreams. And she was mine for 12 wonderful years.

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