Mike continued to spend his lunchtime at the peaceful forest retreat. He would watch the clouds and sometimes close his eyes for a short nap.
It was on a sunny but cool day that he
noticed a patch of golden fur. At first,
he thought he had been imagining this bit of gold, but as he started to pick up
his lunch containers, he saw that patch of golden fur near a distant tree. He had an extra roast beef sandwich that he
had not eaten, so he decided to see if he could lure this animal with the
food. He laid a roast beef trail from
his lunch area to the dirt road. He then
hid behind some shrubbery and watched to see what would happen.
Goldie saw the food trail, and when Mike
got out of sight, she was too hungry to be cautious. Goldie gobbled all the food on the trail to
the road and bolted back to the seclusion of the forest.
The next day, Millie had reluctantly
agreed to take a break and have a cup of coffee with Mike. “Millie,” Mike said, “I am so glad you were
willing to join me this morning!”
Millie was about to take a sip of her
coffee but set it down instead. “What’s
up, Mike?” she asked.
Mike continued, “You know that I’ve been
taking my lunch to a peaceful forest location.”
Millie nodded yes, and Mike continued, “I’ve discovered an adult dog
that looks like a Golden Retriever is living near that area. She reminds me of a dog I used to have as a
child. I believe she is a young
adult. She may be two or three years
old. If I can get her to trust me, I
would like to give her a home. She is
thin, and I am afraid she might not be able to survive the upcoming
winter. Can you help me?”
Millie was interested and decided it would
not hurt for her to go with Mike and see what she could do to help this
dog. She asked another waitress to cover
the rest of her shift and then joined Mike.
As they left the diner, Mike asked, “do you have any ideas?’
“I do have a number of tricks that may be
helpful.” Millie replied. They continued
to talk about the golden-haired dog as they drove to Mike’s forest lunch spot.
When they got to the forest, Millie and
Mike decided to lay another roast beef trail.
Mike showed Millie the hiding place he had used the day before, and
together they watched for Goldie. It was
only a short time before Millie whispered, “I think that is her! She is so beautiful.” Then Millie added, “You were right about her
being thin. I can see her ribs.”
They waited as they watched Goldie’s
movements. She was trying to hide behind
a tree but slowly began to move to the roast beef trail. She gobbled the treats and then bolted back
to her hide-a-way.
Millie recognized Goldie’s need for
food. They decided to move slowly from
their hiding place and drop more roast beef as they moved to Mike’s lunch
spot. They continued to toss the food
away from where they were sitting.
“Don’t look in her direction,” Millie warned Mike. “She is hungry but will not come to the food
if she thinks we are watching her.”
Goldie would bolt from her tree and grab a
piece of food. However, she came to
realize that Millie and Mike were not a danger but a source of the good food. She
gradually began to trust Mike and Millie.
The food was satisfying her hunger and they gave her a lot of it. She came closer and closer. Neither Mike nor Millie made any attempt to
touch her. Soon Goldie did become brave
enough to take a piece of the food from their hands. They still made no move to pet her.
The next time they came to Mike’s lunch
spot, Goldie came to them and not only took food from their hands but nudged
them as well. That was when they decided
that it was time to reach for her slowly.
Mike was so excited when Goldie began to
run to Mike whenever he came to his lunch spot.
That’s when Mike knew it was time to bring Goldie home.
Millie began to enjoy spending the
evenings with Mike and Goldie. Millie
especially liked to bring new toys for Goldie.
Mike laughed at how Goldie seemed to look for a toy every time Millie
would arrive at the house. Mike kept
saying, “You’re spoiling her,”
Millie’s response was always, “I enjoy
watching Goldie play with her toys.”
On this occasion, Millie had brought a
long unstuffed fuzzy creature. Millie
was trying to get Goldie to pull on it.
Goldie gave a Play Bow and pounced on the creature. Then Goldie tossed the toy into the air. When she caught it, she shook it. Mike
laughed and asked Millie, “What was that all about?”
Millie explained the Play Bow and the
other actions. Mike looked at Millie and
said, “Wow, that college behavior you are learning is interesting!” Millie smiled at Mike and only answered,
“Dogs understand more than you realize.”
#
With her permission, I am serializing a chapter a week, on this blog, near-final material from this novel by Helen A. Bemis, published by Outskirts Press and available through amazon.com:
https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Sassie-Novel-Human-Communication/dp/1977206093/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=Understanding+Sassie&qid=1559053238&s=books&sr=1-2
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