Entry #53

My Stupid Dog
by Sandra L. Tauber


I awoke from a sleep I'd thought would never come. Princess hadn't come home last night. I opened the door hoping that my dog was waiting for me. She was nowhere to be seen. I trudged to the tip of my peninsula and warily gazed over the melting lake ice hoping I would find nothing. I was rewarded with finding nothing. The cool spring day held a deep foreboding that chilled me. A lone bird soared overhead and I eyed it uneasily. Was it a buzzard? It soared out of sight and I breathed a sigh of relief that it had not sensed carrion. My throat tightened and I found it hard to swallow; tears welled in my eyes. I emailed friends and terror glistened through my words. The phone shrilled and I answered with a disembodied voice I did not recognize as my own.

"Has Princess come home yet? Have you called neighbors?" my friend asked.

"No...I didn't think I could talk" I croaked.

She promised to check. A moment later the phone rang again "Princess was guarding Carla's bird feeder! She's on her way home! "

Thanking her, I ran to the door to be met by a dog that evidentially had no clue what she had put me through. Her whole body wagged enthusiastically. I didn't know whether to scold her or love her so I did both. I'd always known I loved my stupid dog. I just never knew how much I loved my stupid dog.