The wind blew strong that cold October night. The brisk scent of Autumn filled the air as leaves encircled my steps. The harvest moon lighted my way, a proper background for Halloween pranksters.
Picking up wrappers left by trick-or-treaters was not high on my list of favorite things to do, but it was a great night by my standards - happy little faces of clowns and monsters and rock stars and pumpkins, and enough candy to go around, with just a little left over for me to enjoy...I had secretly withheld the best of the chocolate and looked forward to settling in with my stash.
I had no idea how that night would change my life.
As I walked down the path, I remembered wistfully the days of my youth. We had grown up in a development where all the houses looked the same, defined only by their different colored shutters. How familiar it was back then, and how I longed for it now. A time of innocence, a time of kick ball and hop scotch, and being home when the street lights came on. How did life get so complicated? So impersonal?
High school sweetheart, marriage, kids. That was the order of things. But as time passes and Fate has her way, I found myself feeling alone. The kids had grown and had lives of their own. Seasons passed and time seemed to move more quickly now. Something was missing, a meaning or reason...my restlessness puzzled me, but my thoughts turned back to the job at hand.
Near the end of the lot by the overgrown hedges, stood the dumpster. I am not afraid of dumpsters, and I am not afraid of the dark; but as the moon cast willowy shadows, I thought back to the times of Frankenstein and Wolf Man and Vampires...my imagination inspired by the young visitors of the night. I'll dump this trash and get back to the comfort of my home, when I heard a rustling sound in the dark. A chill ran through my body, my heart beat faster, every muscle tensed, I slowly looked around, wishing I had thought to bring something to defend myself with.
Nothing, I told myself, it's just the wind, that's all. And then I spotted it - a twisted plastic bag lying on the ground near my feet. Some people, I thought! I reached to pick up the bag to put it in its rightful place. It was then that I heard the sound again, and it was coming from the bag. Fearing a mouse or a squirrel had got himself caught up, I'd set the little fellow free. Good deed done.
Cautiously I untwisted the bag to peer inside. Wrapped in newspapers, covered with an old rag, I could see it breathing slowly, and it was cold, very cold. I saw fur and knew right away that this was no mouse, no squirrel...this was a puppy! A tiny puppy, and it was alive!...
Enjoy the continuing true story of a throw-away dog's struggle to overcome abuse and fear as she learns to trust and love, knowing now that people don't hurt dogs!
"The Miracle of Mikayla, From Dumpster to Dance Floor"
e-book available for download in June, 2012.
Briarhook's Miracle of Mikayla earned her 3rd leg and AKC Rally Novice title at the Oriole Training Club in Baltimore, Maryland!
Now, we're working on her Rally Advanced Title. Just look at the enthusiasm! Rally Advanced is entirely off lead and contains 20-30 stations.
"We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way. We cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fully understanding the necessary plan."...Irving Townsend
There are really 'No Bad Dogs' - they're just misunderstood!
