Dog Gone

 

by Pa Rock

Animal Lover

The house that my oldest son and I share was home to the two of us and two dogs for several years.  My little Rosie has been a permanent resident almost as long as I have lived here ( I had been here just under six months when she arrived), and when Nick joined me here a few years later he brought along his senior citizen Boston bulldog, Riley.  Rosie and Riley learned not only to tolerate each other, but they gradually formed a strong bond of friendship and Riley, the big dog, became very protective of little Rosie.  Riley passed away from old age a couple of years ago, and we have been a one-dog family since then.

Gypsy (Nick named her) showed up a little less than two weeks ago and was quick to insert herself into our domestic situation.   She was a young (about a year old), beautiful, lean and powerful, white dog with black spots and a bulldog face that evoked memories of Riley.  I assumed she was some variation of a pit bull.  Pit bulls have a reputation for being aggressive, but Gypsy was gentle and playful, and she was very curious about Rosie, the house, and the farm.

It was obvious that Gypsy had been very well cared for, and Nick did the proper thing of trying to find her owners through Facebook, but to no avail.  A friend suggested that her owners may have moved and inadvertently or intentionally left her behind, so that sort of became the assumption that led to us gradually sharing our situation with her.    Gypsy presented as playful and curious, and she was completely housebroken.  A rare find.

Yesterday began as an exceptionally good day.  Rosie had finally accepted that she was once again sharing her house and space with another canine, and Gypsy napped, and played, and spent much of the day exploring our large yard.  My son was at work, and the two dogs and I enjoyed our time together.

But when Nick got home in the early afternoon I sensed something was wrong.   Gypsy went to join him at the truck, and as he walked to the house he started talking to her and calling her "Marley."  Nick said he had been contacted over Facebook by Marley's owners who had almost given up trying to find her but had spotted his message and her photo earlier in the day.  She was a family pet who had wandered off and gotten lost.  Her owners would be out to claim her later in the day.

Marley was one-quarter American bulldog and three-quarter red-nosed (red-snout) bulldog, and there were children in the family who missed her very much.

The young couple, obviously working people who drove a good car and were decently dressed, showed up at around five in the evening - after work.  Rosie and I went outside to observe the reunion and to make sure in our own minds that things were on the up-and-up, which they were.  Marley was obviously ecstatic that her people had found her, and she bounced form one to the other (the kids were not there) standing on her hind legs and hugging them with her front legs and paws.

Rosie and I waved from the house as the happy threesome drove off.  We were happy for our friend, but in a very melancholy sort of way.

Have a wonderful life, Marley - and don't forget us.  We love you, too.

(Post Script:  It turns out Marley disappeared from her home on December 7th and had been gone for 23 days when her people finally located her.  That's almost enough time to qualify for a Disney movie!)